Preeti sent us a lifecycle analysis that should answer, once and for all, that oft-heard question. It's an engaging read, well designed, and full of eye-opening facts. Did you know:
- 7 in 10 Americans do not know plastic is made from petroleum products,
- Paper bags take four times as much energy to produce as plastic bags, and
- To process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags can cost $4000, which produces $32 worth of recycled product commodity.
Like so many questions about green, the "paper or plastic" one is a bit of a false choice.
We liked the suggestion to carry either a reusable shopping bag, or, better yet, a collapsible plastic crate like the one pictured above, so it's easier to lug the groceries in from the car. (The author does make the assumption that a car is involved in grocery transport, which is not always the case.)
image from Washington Post graphic linked above. And thanks to AT:Green Home reader Preeti for the tip!
The only plus side to paper is that it's much more easily recycled than plastic, and the paper bags also have far more practical uses once you've got them home from the store. All my school book covers (remember those?) were made from brown paper grocery bags. You can also use them for giftwrap, sketch paper, and really anything you ever need a heavy paper for.
view the opoponax's profile
This is one of the best articles I've seen specifically detailing the environmental effects of each choice. Here, I've always felt paper was a more eco-friendly option since it was easier to recycle and didn't have the same bad effects on wildlife; I gave little thought to the production side of things.
I became more diligent about using cloth bags earlier this year, but I am going to give cloth shopping bags to my family as Christmas gifts--along with copies of this article.
view bohemiangirlpdx's profile
Wow, shocking statistics! (Especially about plastic bags costing so much to recycle.) This makes me feel even better about toting my reusable bags around with me anytime I might go grocery shopping!
view pisceanchick's profile
I've always gotten plastic grocery bags and reused as garbage bags (apartment living, so it's normal to take out small trash bags every other day). When I first moved in with my partner, I was actually surprised that someone would pay money to buy trash bags when you can reuse the grocery bags for free. It didn't seem logical...
view saudoso's profile
One of our big grocery chains here in Canada sells big green plastic bins with cloth handles and they're brilliant if you do your shopping with a car. Unfortunately, they're so useful that they end up being appropriated for general storage purposes. I've got one at work to carry around contract documents and stacks of engineering drawings and one dedicated to my hard hat and safety boots. When we redid our bathroom they were pressed into service carrying construction debris and they did a fantastic job. When they're not is use, they stack neatly away.
I'm not sure if you can get them in the States, but Ikea in Canada sells huge, blue, reusable plastic bags. They're pretty useful if you're picking up a lot of groceries or other bulky items. When I was a kid in England my mum would take two similar bags to the store and use them to lug a weeks worth of groceries for four people home on the bus.
view AndrewC's profile
Yes, Ikea US sells those same multi-use blue plastic sacks. I have a couple around the house which I've kept for at least 5 years and used for everything from moving to laundry.
view the opoponax's profile
Costco has been selling some really nice reusable bags recently. They are really big and groceries will stand upright in them. The long handles and large size make them more convenient than disposables. It saves me a few trips to the car on big shopping days.
view JulieR's profile
JulieR,
I'm glad to hear that Costco is doing this. I go there and tend to forget to bring any bags with me, so I end up stuffing things into my backpack and trudging back up the hill with the rest of the stuff in a cardboard box.
Thanks for the info!
view sciencegeek's profile
i keep this bag in my purse all the time:
http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=10904891&itemIndex=1&CATID=255&PRODID=74340
solves the problem i used to have of forgetting my canvas bags at home and i find i'm using it all the for random purchases, not just groceries. best five bucks i've spent in a while!
view sbrz's profile