Is reusing the plastic shopping bags as dustbin bags a wise reason to bring grocery in the plastic bags ?

Question

Does it make more enviornment sesse to reuse these shopping bagsas compared to buying the black dustbin plastic bags ?

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

agree. The plastic bags often end up in places like the ocean & on beaches. Would be one less type of item for the volunteer beach clean-up crews to be picking up. Sure, the plastic bags are handy for some things, but I've saved up a bunch already. Several plastic bags can be carried at once, but they will also split under a heavy load, & each one doesn't hold much when the baggers try to pack them light. As it happens, we're in the process of making the switch over to reusable bags with the paper ones costing 10 cents each. We'll be joining 75 other jurisdictions in CA that have already made the switch. Trader Joe's & the health food stores have done a lot in leading the pack. Trader Joe's sells great colorfully designed vinyl bags the same shape as the paper bags for $1 & $2 & have had campaigns with prizes drawn for those who bring their own bags. The vinyl bags seem to be lasting 10+ years. I've been using these bags there & at the health food store for many years & another store that gives us a nickel back for each bag we bring. For bags that don't have sturdy bottoms or sides, I'll put a piece of cardboard or a box inside. Works great for groceries & for potluck dishes. Sometimes I bring a nylon insulated picnic carrier with blue ice inside for my milk & other perishables. So now the next step will be to start carrying these bags when I go to Safeway & other stores like CVS. It's good we'll now have a strong nudge to do this, too. A couple of us at work also use the cloth bags for carrying our lunches rather than buying an expensive lunch tote. So, they can be just as versatile as the plastic & paper bags.

Answer 3

I don't know because what is worse to produce the shopping bags or the black ones?
i use the shopping bags & never buy the others
the shopping bags that disintegrate in a short time are good BUT how are they produced are they just as bad for the enviornment to make?
the same as paper ones made from trees grown especially for paper etc
how bad for the enviornment is it to make paper??
I don't know all this stuff & it all should be talked about more
in the media i think
you have raised a very good question

Answer 4

Its not a bad way to go. However it might be even better if you could re-use the plastic bags for your groceries over and over and then use just as few garbage bags as possible for the trash.

I am not an expert on this subject but it seems that it may be better to use paper bags as opposed to plastic at the grocery since paper is (can be) a renewable resource and presumably takes less time to biodegrade in a landfill. That said I dont know if the makers of the paper bags use a renewable source or if its pristine forest they are cuttting down.

Answer 5

Recycling is always a good bet. Years ago there was a craze to weave rugs with bread bags for in front of the kitchen sink!

Does it make sense to use these bags instead of buying new ones? Depending on what you do with them after the groceries are home. If you just throw them into the trash, then obviously, no. A lot of stores have bins for recycled bags. You can also drop them off at Goodwill stores for resuse.

Answer 6

I reuse my plastic shopping bags as garbage can liners. Ecologically and economically it makes more sense than it does to pay extra for small garbage bags, unless you're dealing with a medical-type of situation where everything must be kept very clean.

Answer 7

Garbage bags are not bio-degradable either, because the are much more expensive to produce, so using shopping bags as rubbish bags reduces the number of no bio-degradable bags buried in our environment.

Why don't our councils provide households with the cloth bags to replace plastic bags for shopping. I know they are only cheap but councils should do their part to, other than making thousands of dollars a ton on our recycling and not passing any of it on???

Answer 8

I always use the bags in my smaller wastebaskets. I still have to use regular garbage bags in the kitchen, however. It's good to get another use from them. I also request paper bags at times for my groceries. Those bags can be used for recycling my newspapers and magazines.

Answer 9

Yes, also, you bring in roaches with paper bags and cardboard boxes.