Why you should reuse grocery bags
The most common question you will be asked at the checkout is: “Paper or plastic?”
Whatever way you choose to respond, there are likely reasons. Perhaps you plan to recycle or reuse the paper bag. Maybe you are using plastic shopping bags for cleaning your home. Perhaps you believe your choice, regardless of whether it is paper or plastic, will be more eco-friendly. You’re wrong if you pick between plastic and paper, but there is an alternative, Reusable Bags.
There is a growing trend for people to buy and bring their reusable bags into the stores to take their products home. Although they are more expensive upfront, reusable bags have many advantages, including reducing plastic bag pollution and the environmental impact of plastic.
What makes plastic bags harmful to the environment? There are many reasons. There are many reasons plastic bags can cause problems for the environment.
Paper bags have a few advantages over plastic bags. They can be recycled easily and take less time to break down if they don’t end up in a landfill. NASA says that paper bags are made from either tree, which is important, or from recycled material.
There are many reasons to carry reusable bags instead of paper or plastic bags. However, let’s not forget about the environmental impact of plastic bag litter and other benefits.
Why you should use reusable bags
- Conserve Resources
Although plastic bags may seem light and small, they have a greater environmental impact than you might think. It all starts with the energy used to manufacture them. According to waste management northwest, 12 million barrels of oil are required to make plastic bags used in the United States every year.
- Reducing Pollution
The environmental effects of plastic can be severe. Plastic products like plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to be completely broken down. That’s just assuming they make it into a dump instead of ending up in the waterways, rivers, oceans, or other areas. About 1 percent of the 100,000,000 plastic shopping bag used each year is recycled. Plastic bag pollution is high.
- Avoid Recycling Problems
Bags become stuck on conveyor belts or wheels, which can clog the machinery. You can recycle these bags by dropping them off at a designated drop-off center for plastic bags. These are often located in your local grocery store.
- Protect Wildlife
More than 100,000 marine animal fatalities are caused every year by marine animals mistakenly eating plastic shopping bags in oceans. Plastic bags can also be caught in trees, trapping small animals inside. This leads to more wildlife deaths.
- Get strength and durability
Reusable bags will not have their handles ripped off like plastic bags. Reusable bags can be used for loading groceries and unloading them. Your purchases will also last longer. Reusable bags are less susceptible to leakage and you can easily track which germs and where they have been.
- Save Money
Customers are being charged for plastic bags in many stores. Even though nickel and a dime per bag might not seem like much, it can quickly add up for those who use five or ten bags every trip to the supermarket. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council grocery shopping statistics, the average family uses approximately 1,500 plastic shopping bags every year. That’s $75 per year in savings on grocery bags, even if each bag costs one nickel.
- Repurpose to make it useful for other purposes
Reusable grocery bags are more than just for carrying groceries. Reusable bags are structured tote bags that can be used to carry many of the same items as a tote. These bags can be used for everything: to take your lunch on the road, to transport snacks, to carry books to the library, and more.
- Because You Can
You might find it hard to believe that life would be easier without plastic grocery bags. This is waste Management Northwest. Over thousands of generations, people got along fine using their bags to bring their shopping home. It is easy to choose between plastic bags and reusable bags when it comes down to plastic bags.
