Do reusable grocery bags really make any difference?

Question

I was thinking about it today while I was in Wal-Mart. It probably takes a decent amount of energy to produce one of those reusable grocery bags they have at the counter. They are canvas sewn up and have logos on both sides produced from what looks like a silk screen print. Assuming I use this bag 10 times, will the amount of energy it took to produce it be less than if it was never made and I just stuck to plastic bags (that I reuse in my garbage) how about after 50 times?

Answer 1

We have been using the same set of bags, about twice the size of your typical reusable grocery bag, for a good 3 years now, and no hint of deterioration yet. Green Party (Canada) chose these bags with an expected life of 10 years, or perhaps 500 trips back to the store. We find however that we use one plastic bag to hold meat, and we do not get it returned with the cloth bags consistently because they get meat residue in them and get smelly. That is why we do not put meat into the cloth bags.

Answer 2

It will eventually!

WalMart has receptacles for plastic bags!

Recycling will _-not-_ become 'CHIC' until we force the issue here in the United States!

  

Answer 3

While the others give you what you asked for, I will suggest that the next time you get a stain on your t-shirt, instead of tossing it into the trash/recycle, turn IT into a shopping bag, sew up the bottom night and tight, tuck the sleeves inside and use the neck to load it up. Shoulders make nice handles!

Then you are not buying the canvas ones, or tossing your old shirt before it is well used up! (also easy to clean when the grapes get a bit mashed!

k

Answer 4

Sturdy reusable shopping bags are EPA environmentally superior to single-use plastic shopping bags.  A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags (providing you somehow dispose of your household waste without using bags).

Reuse and recycling of plastic bags is encouraged, however reduction of use lessens overall environmental impact. Paper is accepted in most recycling programs while the recycling rate for plastic bags is very low, research from 2000 shows 20 percent of paper bags were recycled, while one percent of plastic bags were recycled.[14]

Shopping bags can also be reused as trash bags, storage bags, etc. However, bags that are reused as trash bags typically still go to landfills.

Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills due to the lack of water, light, oxygen, and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed

At 50 or 100 times it gets better but if you can use it for years.. it would best.

Answer 5

The cloth bags I use hold so much more than the plastic (I drive a Mini Cooper, and it only holds 4 bags in the back), and are more trustworthy than paper bags -- unless they're double-bagged, which is wasteful! I've had some of my bags for years, and use them for camping, going to the beach, etc.  So in my opinion they are more versatile.  

In addition, you are saving the store money, and many stores will deduct a nickel or so from your total to acknowledge that.  

Plastic bags are an irritating source of litter, too.  My cloth bag has never blown away and gotten stuck in a tree or clogged a waterway.

Answer 6

The plastic bag problem is bigger than just that it is made of petroleum. Plastic bags are a huge litter problem, they are hard to recycle and to contain. They fly away from garbage cans, automobiles and landfills. They are found in the middle of the ocean and in the backwoods, they pose a threat to both land and marine wildlife. Animals get fatally intangled, and they eat it thinking it is food. Plastic never biodegrades, it just continues to breakdown and is toxic to all life.