(First published December 2008, updated August 2011)
The worldwide annual consumption of disposable plastic bags is somewhere
between 500 billion and a trillion - that works out to be around a million
bags a minute.
It's been encouraging to see some stores discontinuing disposable
shopping bags of their own accord and some cities and states moving towards a
disposable bag ban - but that leaves us with another challenge, in a
world without disposable shopping bags; what type of reusable bag to buy?
I have some reusable shopping bags made of plastic that weigh as much as a couple
of dozen disposable plastic shopping bags and I've often wondered if they are doing more
harm than good.
While the type I have are recyclable, I always try and remember that Recycle is last of
the three R's of going green (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) for good reason - it
does take a substantial amount of energy to
recycle. Also, I don't even know
if the materials used were recycled or "new" plastic. Then there's
cotton bags - and cotton takes vast amounts of water to grow. And what about
hemp?
The following are various types of what are often referred to as
"green" reusable bags and their pros and cons. I'm not recommending
any particular solution, just providing the information.
Polypropylene and polyethylene reusable bags
Polypropylene and polyethylene are forms of plastic
Advantages
- Can be recycled
- Strong and durable
- Can be made from recycled materials
- Chemical resistant
- Very cheap to produce
Disadvantages
- Low quality bags made from thin materials tend to wear out very
quickly
- Polypropylene and polyethylene are made from fossil fuels.
- Recycling of these bags isn't available in all locations
Reusuable jute bags
Jute is a plant fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It's
often referred to as hessian in products, such as a hessian bag
Advantages
- Biodegradable
- One of the strongest natural fibers
- Relatively cheap to buy
- Durable
- Jute crops require little water
Disadvantages
- Not very resistant to moisture unless chemically treated
- Jute may be grown with the use of pesticides
- Most jute products are imported (travel miles = greenhouse gases)
Reusable calico bags
Calico is a usually a cotton fabric that's unbleached and not fully
processed
Advantages
- The lack of bleaching and processing makes it kinder to the environment
as less chemicals are used
- The fabric relatively cheap to produce
- Cotton is very strong and durable
Disadvantages
- Not water resistant unless chemically treated
- Unless organically grown, cotton requires a huge amount of pesticide
- The growing of cotton is very water intensive
Reusable cotton/canvas bags
Advantages
- Soft fabric
- Durable and strong
Disadvantages
- Unless the cotton is grown organically, high levels of pesticides are
used
- Fully processed cotton required extensive additional treatment
- Cotton is a water intensive crop
Reusable hemp bags
The word "hemp" tends to stir up all sorts of association with
marijuana. However, in terms of textiles, industrial hemp is a different plant
from the same family without the hallucinogenic properties of its
cousin. Learn
more about hemp.
Advantages
- Incredibly strong, durable and rot resistant fiber
- The crop can grow in poor soils with little water
Disadvantages
- Can be quite expensive due to resistance on the part of governments to
allow the crop to be grown domestically, purely due to incorrect
associations with marijuana; so most hemp products in the western world
are imported. Thankfully, this is slowly starting to change.
Cloth scrap bags
These are made up of repurposed materials - sewn together from old clothing
and fabric that would otherwise be thrown out or used as rags. It's a great use
of waste materials!
General tips for choosing a reusable bag
As you can see from the above, just about all reusable bags have strong
benefits, most similar, but usually a few disadvantages as well. After all,
there is really nothing we do that doesn't have some sort of negative
environmental impact.
Whatever your choice, look for quality as the more bags you have to buy, the
bigger the associated environmental impact.
If you do choose fiber over plastic, if you can afford it try to go for
organically grown fibres. Also check what sorts of dyes and colorings have
been used to make the product as some of these can be quite nasty
environmentally speaking.
In the case of reusable plastic bags, ensure the materials can be recycled
- that way when your bag has ended its useful life, the materials can be
reclaimed instead of heading to landfill where they will take generations to
break down. Even better, buy one made from recycled materials.
Additionally, and purely just a personal view - if you buy a
"designer" bag, you'll likely pay a ton more. Why spend the extra
cash on some pithy saying or brand name slammed on a bag? You could use the
money you save to do something really worthwhile. It's just a bag for your
shopping folks, we don't need to make a fashion statement every time we walk
out the door do we? :)
