Why don't supermarkets use biodegradable plastic bags?

Question

Why don't supermarkets use biodegradable plastic bags?

Answer 1

In some placess they do.

Answer 2

Alot do! Say you find an old plastic bag in the loft for example, if it is biodegradable it 'crumbles' and looks a bit like a mouse has been nibbling it.

Answer 3

it costs money.its always about the money with these kinds of things

Answer 4

They do, most carrier bags are bio-degradable but take up to 1000 years to do so. The problem is the annual consumption of carrier bags is huge with an average of 60 per person in the UK being sent to landfill each year. That amounts to 348,000,000 carrier bags being sent to landfill each year!

Thats why the government is urging us to reuse or recycle our carrier bags so they avoid ending upin landfill. Tesco are now giving one green clubcard point for reusing a carrier bag or for purchasing a "green natural bag" that is better quality and can be used as  an every day bag!

The problem is that many use the old carrier bags as waste bins and that is how they end up in landfill. We should recycle and compost more and reduce our houshold waste by up to 75-80%.

Sorry if i went slightly off the point, but i hope that is a help! :)

From Rhys Thomas, Wales, UK

Answer 5

Because they cost more than conventional plastic bags, and they want to make as much money as possible.

Answer 6

The process by which biodegradable plastic bags are made is really not that much different.  One of the reasons that plastic bags are so bad is that they're made from petroleum.  Biodegradable plastic bags are still made from petroleum, they just breakdown.  When they breakdown, the petroleum-based materials from which they're made is absorbed by the ground.  Just like a little oil-spill without liquid.  

People just need to man-up, and start using some reusable grocery bags.  You can fit a hellofalot more in them, and they don't end up the ground, biodegradable or not.

-J

http://badhuman.wordpress.com

Answer 7

:)

Answer 8

Why not just go straight to paper or cloth bags instead? Is there really a point in plastic bags to begin with aside from them giving me free wastebasket liners for the bathroom?