Immediate and Unexpected Benefits of Replacing Single Use Plastics with Reusables

We all have that space tucked away in our house reserved for unwanted plastic bags. Yes, they may come in handy, but there’s also a hesitation there to throw them away immediately after receiving them (The average person uses a plastic bag for only 12 minutes before discarding it).

Rather than collecting an abundance of single use plastic bags that are not only inconvenient, but harmful to the environment and costly, try using a reusable shopping bag. There are plenty of benefits to investing a reusable bag. Listed here are some of the most advantageous benefits to using a reusable shopping bag.

1. Save Money
Using reusable bags over plastic bags can save money in several areas – Including your own pocket.

Many stores are beginning to impose an extra charge for plastic bags. By bringing your own reusable bag, you are saving money each time you go to the grocery store, buy a new outfit, or run errands. Many stores, if they don’t charge for plastic, are offering an incentive for bringing your own bag. So either way you look at it, you’re saving money on each purchase.

2. Save Resources—And Therefore, Money

Plastic bags are non-biodegradable, use crude oil and natural gas to manufacture, and require even more fossil fuels to ship.

By using a reusable bag, you are not only reducing the amount of non-renewable resources necessary to produce plastic bags, but you’re also reducing the amount of money your community spends on clean up costs each year.

Regardless of how you dispose of plastic bags, they end up blowing onto the street, clogging waterways, and infiltrating other natural environments. Not only is this an eyesore, but it also costs money to clean up.

The state of California spends $25 million to send plastic bags to the landfill each year. And that doesn’t include the $8.5 million spent on removing plastic bags from the streets. By using reusable bags, you are reducing the amount of taxpayer money that goes into litter clean up, leaving room for other community funded projects.

3. De-clutter Your House and Save Space

Plastic bags take up a lot of room and often clutter your household, car, and workspace. Think about it: If you take home 5 grocery bags worth of food a week, that comes out to 260 bags a year. And that’s only on groceries. Those plastic bags end up cluttering your kitchen cabinets, your pantry, and your car; wasting space for other, more important things other than trash that we can’t seem to part with.

Though larger than a plastic grocery bag, reusable bags can fold up and end up taking up significantly less space than your guilty storage of plastic bags. And as opposed to the 20 to 50 plastic bags floating around your house, you’ll have maybe three or four reusable bags to take their place.

4. Durability and Reliability

Unlike the flimsy plastic bag you receive from retailers, reusable bags are durable and can carry more at a time. Go ahead, fill up that cotton or hard plastic bag to the brim—it won’t break. That means less trips to and from your car and more to be comfortably carried at a time.

Their durability also prevents them from ripping or tearing. Say goodbye to spilled groceries, multiple trips, and double bagging.

And because they are reliable, you can use them for multiple purposes. Personally, I use my reusable totes for lesson plans, groceries, beach bags, and even as a purse. There are infinite uses to these convenient and packable bags.

5. Peace of Mind

Not only will you create more space in your home, but you’ll have peace of mind. Plastic bags are one of the top ten most common objects found in oceans and on beaches. An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used each year, and they’re ending up in oceans, soils, animals, and rivers. 

Believe me, you’ll feel so much better once you stop accidentally collecting unnecessary plastic bags. Whether you’re aware of your consumption patterns or not, as you begin to see the waste disappear, you’ll feel it, and it feels great.

When it comes to reusable grocery bags, there are so many options out there that it may seem a bit overwhelming. You have to consider which one is right for you: Do you need something small and compact so you can carry it with you everywhere? Or, do you need something large and durable for your big weekly grocery trips?

But you may also be thinking, “What is this bag actually made of?” Different reusable bags are made from different materials, and because of that, some are more environmentally friendly than others. So you may also be considering, “Is a cotton bag more sustainable than a polyester bag?” Or, “Is the hard plastic bag I want to purchase really that much better than a plastic grocery bag?”

Reusable bags, regardless of material, are going to create less of an environmental impact than the mass amounts of single use plastic bags that enter the environment everyday. But the difference in impact is actually quite surprising. 

Regardless of type though, it’s always important to keep in mind that these bags are not meant to be single-use. The more times you use them, the more environmentally friendly they become.

We’ve compiled a list below of various fabrics and materials that are most commonly used to produce reusable bags. You’ll be able to determine which bags are made from what materials and the environmental impact of each type.

Natural Fibers

Jute Bags

A great, natural option when it comes to eco-friendly reusable bags is a jute bag. Jute is one of the few alternatives to plastic that is completely biodegradable and has a relatively low environmental impact. Jute is an organic material that is mainly grown and cultivated in India and Bangladesh.

The plant requires little water to grow, can grow in and actually rehabilitate wasteland, and reduces large amounts of CO2 due to it’s carbon dioxide assimilation rate. It is also extremely durable and relatively cheap to buy. The only downside is that it’s not very water resistant in its natural form.

Cotton Bags

Another option is a traditional cotton bag. Cotton bags are a common reusable alternative to plastic bags. They are lightweight, packable, and can be come in handy for a variety of uses. They also have the potential to be 100% organic, and they’re biodegradable.

However, because cotton requires so many resources to grow and cultivate, they must be used at least 131 times in order to outweigh their environmental impact. 

Hemp Bags

Hemp is also a good natural alternative. Hemp bags are much stronger than cotton, durable, and can be machine washed. The plants themselves require little water, and one acre of hemp can yield up to 6 tons of fiber.

The only disadvantage to hemp bags are their travel footprint. Hemp cannot be grown in most Western countries and therefore must be imported. However, compared to other reusable bags, hemp is a fantastic low impact, organic material.

Synthetic Fibers

Polypropylene (PP) Bags

Polypropylene bags, or PP bags, are the bags you see at grocery stores near the check out isle. They’re durable reusable plastic bags that are designed for multiple uses. They can be made from both non-woven and woven polypropylene and come in a variety of colors and sizes.

While these bags are not compostable or biodegradable, they are the most environmentally efficient bags compared to traditional HDPE grocery bags. With just 14 uses, PP bags become more eco-friendly than single-use plastic bags. They also have the potential to be made from recycled materials.

Recycled PET Bags

Recycled PET bags, as opposed to PP bags, are exclusively made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or recycled water bottles and containers. These bags, while still made from plastic, utilize the unnecessary waste from plastic water bottles and produce a wholly recycled, more eco-friendly, and useful product.

PET bags pack down into their own tiny stuff sack and can be used for years. They’re strong, durable, and from a resource point of view, have the lowest environmental footprint because they make use of otherwise disposable waste.

Polyester

Many fashionable and colorful bags are made from polyester. Unfortunately, polyester is also made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and unlike recycled PET bags, virgin polyester requires nearly 70 million barrels of crude oil each year to produce.

But on the plus side, each bag only creates 89 grams of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the equivalent to seven single use HDPE bags. Polyester bags are also wrinkle resistant, water resistant, and can be easily folded down to bring with you everywhere.

Nylon

Nylon bags are another easily packable reusable bag option. However, nylon is made from petrochemicals and thermoplastic—it actually requires more twice as much energy to produce than cotton and more crude oil to produce than polyester.

On the plus side though, nylon is extremely durable and long lasting. Therefore, if you invest in a nylon bag, you can use it for many years. There are also more and more recycling programs being established for nylon as well as more eco-friendly closed loop companies such as Econyl.

There are many options to choose from, but that doesn’t mean that choosing a reusable bag has to be confusing. As stated before, the more times you use a bag, the more environmentally friendly it becomes; so it’s important to find a bag that suits your personal needs.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH PLASTIC BAGS?

You’ve probably seen and heard a lot about plastic lately, especially disposable plastic bags. We’ve been using them since the 1960’s, so why are plastic bags suddenly the bad guys?

Plastic use has become an epidemic: more than one trillion plastic bags are manufactured every year and they take up to a thousand years to disintegrate. What happens to all those discarded plastic bags and what harm do they cause? 

Top three reasons to ditch the plastic

There are three main problems with plastic bags: they cause environmental harm, have a negative impact on our health and they cost money.

Environmental harm of plastics

You see them everywhere you go. Discarded plastic bags blow around in streets, parks and fields and float on lakes, rivers and shorelines causing an unsightly mess in the local neighborhood.

As well as looking ugly, plastic bags cause major environmental disasters. In 1989 and 1998 Bangladesh suffered catastrophic floods that submerged two thirds of the country. A major cause of the flooding was plastic bags clogging up the water and sewage systems.

Wildlife is also suffering the consequences of our discarded plastic bags in their environment. Plastic bags cause the deaths of more than one million sea birds every year and an estimated 100,000 dolphins, sharks, turtles and whales are killed by suffocating on or ingesting plastic bags.  

Worse still, instead of decomposing, plastic breaks down into ever smaller pieces. It’s estimated that every square mile of ocean contains around 46,000 pieces of floating plastic, and 44 percent of all seabird species, 22 percent of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies.

But it’s not only the disposal of plastic bags that’s a problem.  Approximately 8 – 10 percent of the total oil supply is used to make plastic, with an estimated 12 million barrels of oil a year used to manufacture plastic bags used in the US. This industry creates greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, and contributes to global climate change.

Health impacts of plastics

Since we humans also live in the environment, our health is impacted by the environmental damage caused by plastic bags.

Incidents such as the Bangladesh floods have a major impact on human health, increasing the incidence of water-borne diseases and destroying crops, homes and infrastructure.

The small plastic particles that are accumulating in marine life are polluting our food chain. Plastic bags are a source of dioxin, an endocrine disruptor, which causes gender mutations in fish and in the animals that eat fish, like seals and polar bears. When we eat fish and seafood, we also absorb these plastic chemicals, some of which have been found to alter hormones or have other human health effects.

Costs of plastics

When they are handed out ‘free of charge’, retailers build the cost of plastic bags into their profit margins – so consumers are really paying for them anyway! A growing number of countries and cities have introduced a ‘plastic bag tax’, so it often costs a few cents extra to buy a bag, but this is an insignificant sum compared with the social and environmental costs.

The manufacture of plastic bags depletes the global supply of oil and hastens the onset of global warming, which threatens the sustainability of life on this planet – that’s a pretty big price to pay!

The global cost of removing all the discarded plastic bags from the environment is almost incalculable. In 2004, the City of San Francisco estimated the cost of clean-up and landfill for the 50 million bags used annually in that city alone as $8.49 million/year, or 17 cents per bag.

The cost of habitat loss due to our use of disposable plastic bags is also immeasurable. From areas of land and ocean used for oil extraction and refining, to landfill sites to dispose of our waste and the pollution of ocean environments, useful habitat for flora and fauna is being destroyed daily. The cost of losing species forever is largely unknown, but the value of nature’s ‘ecosystem services’, such as the pollination of crops and carbon sinks, has been estimated at between $2 trillion and $6 trillion.

No matter why you do it – do it!

The consequences of using plastic bags reach far beyond what we experience in our daily lives. Whether you do it for yourself or others, for your local environment or global ecosystems, for wildlife or for future generations, stop using plastic bags.

There are lots of great alternatives – see how you can change the world by changing your bag: Best Alternatives

It’s becoming more and more common to see shoppers using their own cloth tote when they go shopping. Stores are beginning to pose the question, “Do you need a bag?” And many countries and companies around the world are looking to reduce their plastic use by taxing or banning plastic bags altogether.

When this happens, it leaves us with the option to either

1. a) pay the tax or added cost, or
2. b) invest in a reusable cloth bag.

But what makes cloth bags so much better than plastic?

Cloth bags are better than plastic bags for many reasons, but two of the biggest reasons are:

• Cloth bags are reusable, decreasing the need to use more materials for single-use production, and
• Cloth bags reduce plastic use and therefore plastic pollution

Reuse vs. Single Use

So what are we talking about when we say ‘cloth bags’?

Cloth bags refers to any reusable bag that is not made from HDPE plastic. This ranges from natural fiber totes, to recycled reusables, to backpacks and even upcycled DIY bags.

While yes, it technically takes much less energy and resources to produce an HDPE single use plastic bag than a reusable bag, those same resources are surmounted by the sheer magnitude of plastic bags necessary to keep up with their fleeting usefulness.

For example, we currently use 500 billion bags every year worldwide. And each one of those bags requires a significant amount of natural gas and crude oil to make. In the US alone, it takes twelve million tons of petroleum to meet the production of plastic bags for the country each year.

It also requires a significant amount of money and resources to clean up and dispose of these plastic bags. In 2004, the City of San Francisco estimated a price tag of $8.49 million per year in clean up and landfill costs for plastic bags each year.

The advantages of cloth bags are also compounded by their environmental impact. While yes, it may take up to 170 uses  for a cotton bag to reach it’s “break even” number—the amount of times a bag must be used to balance it’s impact to manufacture—many reusable cloth bags are now being made from recycled materials, such as the Tern tote. These recycled, reusable totes are taking otherwise discarded plastic waste and producing long lasting, durable cloth bags that can be used for years to come.

What kinds of cloth bags can you choose from, and how environmentally friendly are they?

When it comes to reusable cloth totes, there are two main categories: natural and synthetic.

Natural fibers, such as jute, hemp, and cotton, are especially environmentally friendly when it comes to their ability to biodegrade after they’ve fulfilled their use. Jute and hemp are also economical to grow and cultivate, making them ideal plants to harvest for materials. Cotton utilizes large amounts of water to produce, making it a bit less economical compared to alternatives.

There are also many synthetic fiber bags to consider such as polypropylene, recycled PET, and polyester. Recycled bags, such as the Tern tote, are by far the most environmentally friendly and sustainable choice because they require less energy to produce, and they’re utilizing unnecessary plastic that would otherwise go to landfill. Additionally, polypropylene bags require only 14 uses before they become more eco-friendly than HDPE bags.

The breakeven usage number for recycled bags can be less than 2.

Reducing Plastic Pollution

Cloth bags, because of their reusable nature, help reduce the amount of single use plastic being used and inadvertently discarded into the environment.

It’s estimated that nearly 8 million pieces of plastic enter oceans every day.

One of the most impactful steps we can take as individuals is to reduce our use of single plastics and substituting disposable bags with reusable cloth bags is a great start.

Cloth bags are also multipurpose, which means that you could reduce your plastic use in many areas of your life. Many people associate cloth bags with grocery shopping, which is great. But, you can also use your tote as a bag for work, school, or a trip to the beach.There are many aspects of our lives where we can consciously cut down or eliminate our plastic use. One of the easiest and most impactful ways is to invest in a cloth bag. They’re economical, more sustainable, and might just give you the peace of mind that you’re preventing plastic pollution with every use. 

So you’ve decided to kick the plastic bag habit – great news!

But won’t ditching plastic shopping bags make life difficult? Will it really have a positive environmental impact?

Luckily, there are lots of reusable grocery bags that don’t cost the Earth – and help make your grocery trips a breeze. Today, we’ll review some of the most common types of reusable bags so that you can find the best reusable grocery bags for you.

Table of Contents

• Key Considerations: Choosing the Best Reusable Grocery Bags
• Top Picks for Best Reusable Shopping Bags
  • Synthetic Fabric Reusable Bags
  • Natural Fiber Reusable Bags
  • Recycled Materials Reusable Bags
  • Other Reusable Bags
• What Will You Choose?

Key Considerations: Choosing the Best Reusable Grocery Bags

When making the switch from plastic shopping bags to reusable shopping bags, the main factors to look out for are convenience and sustainability. The best reusable grocery bag for you should meet your standards in both categories.

How convenient are the alternatives to plastic shopping bags?

You need a bag that does the job. Think about what you need a bag for – how much will it need to hold? Can it carry a heavy load? Does it match your personal style?

Consider how practical it is for you to use.

Large, bulky bags are fine if you always carry them in the car, but if it has to fit into your purse – or even your pocket – look for something lightweight that folds up small.

If it doesn’t fit your lifestyle, you’re less likely to use it. And that sort of defeats the purpose!

How eco-friendly are the alternatives to plastic shopping bags?

The more times you use your bag, the more eco-friendly it becomes. Each time you refuse a ‘free’ plastic bag you’re helping cut environmental pollution and plastic waste, so choose something durable.

A bag made from recycled, repurposed and/or recyclable material is a great choice, but beware!

Paper bags are often seen as a sustainable alternative to plastic, but they are likely to be used only once and then thrown away. Paper bags actually use more energy than plastic bags to manufacture and, although they can be recycled or composted, around 80 percent of all paper bags end up in landfill.

So what are the best reusable grocery bags that are convenient and eco-friendly?

Top Picks for Best Reusable Shopping Bags

There are three main types of reusable grocery bags: bags made from synthetic fibers, bags made from natural fibers, and bags made from recycled materials. Let’s review the pros and cons of each.

Synthetic Fabric Reusable Bags

Synthetic fabrics include any non-natural fabric, such as polyester or nylon. While these materials are often made from fossil fuels, synthetic reusable bags are still more sustainable than disposable plastic if you use them enough times.

Number of uses until break-even: You need to use a polyester bag around 35 times before it offsets the environmental costs of its production (and becomes more eco-friendly than a disposable plastic bag).

The key benefits of any synthetic fabric are its increased durability and strength compared to natural fabrics. You can count on a synthetic fabric like nylon or polyester to stand the test of time, meaning you may need to replace the bag less frequently. Synthetic fabrics are also highly elastic, which can give your bag a little stretch to squeeze in extra snacks.

The main drawback of synthetic fabric is that it’s still plastic-based, so synthetic bags are energy intensive to create and difficult to dispose of sustainably.

For a list of the best reusable grocery bags made from nylon and polyester that are actually sustainable, check out our article: “6 Best Reusable Nylon and Polyester Shopping Bags.“

Folding Reusable Bags

One of the most common types of reusable grocery bags made from synthetics are these convenient folding bags. Usually made from lightweight woven polyester or nylon, these bags fold up small enough to fit in a jeans pocket or on a keychain.

Key Benefit: A bag you can always carry with you will prevent you from ever having to use plastic. There’s nothing worse than getting to the store and realizing you’ve left your reusable bags back at home.

Potential Drawback: Due to the thin material that makes them so compact, they’re not always the strongest or most long-lasting bags, but they are super-convenient for impromptu shopping trips.

Consider how many plastic bags you think you can displace by owning a compact reusable bag. If it’s over 50 per year, you’re in the clear – it’s probably a good investment. 

If it’s less than 50, you might be better off reusing disposable bags. Jam 1-2 in your purse, car door, or backpack. Use those instead of the new ones from the store.

Natural Fiber Reusable Bags

The next most common type of reusable grocery bag on the market are bags made from natural fibers like cotton, hemp, calico, or jute.

Shopping bags made from natural materials look great and are usually eco-friendly. 

Pros:

• 100% plastic-free
• Washable
• Durable
• Versatile: You can use them as a book bag, beach tote or everyday purse.

Cons:

• Not always socially responsible
• Can require over 100 uses before becoming truly environmentally friendly
• Usually too bulky to fit in your pocket

Learn More: Bag Types and Break Even Points

The main criticism about natural fiber totes is that they are marketed as being environmentally friendly while many of them are not. Cotton bags, for example, are resource intensive to produce. Therefore they are not as eco friendly as some other alternatives like recycled materials.

Number of uses until break-even: You need to use a cotton bag 173 times before it’s more eco-friendly than a disposable plastic bag. Some estimates are even higher.

For a list of the best reusable grocery bags made from natural fibers that are actually sustainable, check out our article: “8 Best Sustainable Reusable Bags Made of Natural Fibers“

String Bags

The string (or mesh) bag is a European classic – and one of the more popular bags made from cotton. Often seen in the markets of France, these knotted bags are very strong and durable. As well as grocery shopping, they make a rather practical beach tote – just don’t put your keys in there, as they’ll fall through the mesh!

A benefit of the string bag is that some use less material, can fold up smaller than fabric totes, and you get more style points. 

Drawback: The same concerns apply to this bag as with other natural fiber totes. 

If you’re serious about reducing your environmental impact, we recommend you choose one to two styles that work best for you and stick with it. If the conventional tote isn’t quite your style, the string tote is a good alternative.

Recycled Materials Reusable Bags

Finally, some of the best reusable bags are made from recycled materials. Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Recycled Fabric Reusable Bags

Products made from virgin materials, even if the materials are natural or eco-friendly, cost more to make from an environmental impact perspective. Since raw material production has a high environmental impact, you need to keep using these bags for a long period of time in order for them to become more environmentally friendly than disposable bags. 

Totes made from recycled materials, on the other hand, can be more environmentally friendly than disposable bags even without high numbers of uses.

If you want to decrease your environmental impact as much as possible, do your due diligence before purchasing. Investing in a tote that is made from recycled or repurposed materials instead of virgin fabrics helps you become more eco-friendly even with your first use of the bag.

Cardboard Boxes

Chances are you’ve already experienced this at Costco.

It’s not glamorous, but using cardboard boxes to carry your shopping is much better than disposable plastic bags, as you get to give new life to something that would have been disposed of otherwise.

If you simply need to take your stuff from the shop to the car, and the car to the house, boxes will do the job just fine. Many stores and markets have them freely available, or you can save delivery boxes at home and take them with you. Reuse until they wear out then recycle them.

For bulk shoppers: Rather than buying a bulk reusable bag (usually made from vinyl) use cardboard boxes and recycle them when you’re done.

DIY Upcycled Bags

For the ultimate eco-friendly shopping bag, make your own using repurposed material. You can make a bag from an old t-shirt, a pair of denims, a pillowcase or any unwanted fabric such as a pair of curtains or bath towel; there are even some no-sew tutorials online you can find on YouTube.

Benefits: Unique, very eco friendly, and affordable.

Drawbacks: Requires a minimal level of sewing ability and time investment

You can also buy upcycled bags if you aren’t up for making your own. We recommend you ask a few questions to find out where the material came from, as not all ‘upcycled’ products for sale are genuine.

Other Reusable Bags

Finally, the most sustainable reusable bag for groceries is a bag you already own! Here are a few options.

Backpacks

If you have a backpack, why not take it shopping?

It’s probably not worth buying one specially for this need, since the materials and manufacturing process are not so eco-friendly, but a backpack is great for bringing heavy items home from the store. It also frees up your hands to carry extra bags – or allows you to cycle home.

Bike Panniers

Detachable panniers are a great alternative to disposable plastic bags. They are versatile and tough to forget if you’re taking your bike to the store…

Benefit: Biking + reusable bags is a double whammy!

Drawback: Only good for dedicated trips to the store. 

You may need to also invest in a compact bag to carry with you for time when you’re already out and need to swing by the store to pick something up. 

If you’re biking to the store less than twice per month, you might be better off just loading your groceries in a backpack and biking home. The more you use these alternatives the more eco-friendly they are, so keep that in mind when considering what is best for you and your goals. 

What Will You Choose?

Start now by checking out some of the best sustainable reusable bags for groceries here: 

• 8 Best Reusable Grocery Bags Made from Natural Fibers
• 6 Best Reusable Nylon and Polyester Shopping Bags

Or, start building your plastic-free kitchen with sustainable Ziploc bag alternatives.

Whatever you pick, by choosing reusable bags over disposable plastic, you’re helping rid the world of plastic pollution – one shopping trip at a time.

What are the pros and cons of reusable grocery bags?

Plastic is threatening many aspects of life these days. With 4.8 to 12.7 million tons of plastic ending up in the world’s oceans each year, and 80% of that coming from the land and coastlines, there’s overwhelming concern about the plastics we use in our every day lives.

So what can you do personally to reduce your plastic use? One of the simplest ways to do so is to invest in reusable grocery bags.

There are many advantages to using reusable grocery bags, and they’re also much more environmentally friendly. Below is a list of comparable advantages to reusable grocery bags. While we definitely recommend investing in one, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons before making this lifestyle choice.                                                                                                                                  

Advantages of Reusable Bags

Reusable

One of the biggest advantages to using reusable grocery bags is that they’re reusable! You can take them with you every time you go shopping. This means that you are one less person contributing to the 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags being used each year. And because you’ll be toting around your newest reusable bag, rather than all of the plastic bags you receive at the store, you’ll clear up space in your home or car where plastic bags used to reside, and reduce your waste overall.

Environmental Impact

Which brings us to the next advantage: environmental impact. Reusable bags are much better for the environment than single use plastic bags. Plastic grocery bags contribute to the death of one million birds, 100,000 turtles, and other sea animals that ingest plastic each year. And while the environmental cost of production for some reusable materials may be higher than single use HDPE plastics, that difference is counteracted by the amount of uses a reusable bag can have. In only 14 uses a durable polypropylene plastic bag becomes more environmentally friendly than an HDPE bag.  

Money Saving

Reusable grocery bags also have the potential to save you money. Many grocery stores and even many cities and states are starting to charge for plastic bags. Rather than spending an extra couple bucks at the grocery store on disposable bags, reusable bags allow you to save money on each trip. You’re also reducing the amount of money your city spends on waste disposal. Each year, California alone spends $300 million cleaning up coastal litter.

Multipurpose

That compactable bag you bring with you to the grocery store can also carry your work supplies, your laundry, your beach gear, or even the contents of your purse. Reusable bags, unlike plastic grocery bags, are stronger, more durable, and can hold more things. There’s an infinite amount of purposes for your reusable shopping bag aside from the weekly trip to the grocery store. Use it for trips, for storage, or to support your favorite event or brand.

Personal and Creative

Speaking of supporting your favorite brand, reusable bags are also a convenient and useful way to express your creativity. Whether you design your own canvas bag, carry your favorite logo, or merely buy the most visually appealing bag to match your style, reusable bags are a very useful tool. You can even make your own reusable plastic bags, which are not only creative and personal, but also utilize old, used grocery bags in your home.

Disadvantages of Reusable Bags

Bacteria

Many people fail to think about what exactly they’re putting in their bags. We already stated that reusable bags are multipurpose, however many individuals don’t think about the buildup of bacteria from the multitude of things that get put in there. Research has proven that reusable bags eventually build up bacteria, such as coliform bacteria and even E. coli, without proper washing. However, their study also found that a simple hand or machine wash in between uses cleared up any residual bacteria.

Extra Baggage

Yes, single use grocery bags are just plain convenient. There’s no getting around the fact that remembering to bring your own bag to the grocery store is more tedious than just grabbing one while you’re there. However, the more you do, the more of a habit you create, and the easier it becomes. I don’t even think about the compact purple bag that’s stuffed in my purse anymore. The more you use it, the more convenient it becomes, and the less convenient it is to house tens of used plastic bags in your home.

Difficult to Dispose Of

Currently, many reusable bags are made of materials that are hard to dispose of, such as polyester, nylon, or polypropylene. While some recycling facilities do exist for these materials, they are few and far between. Fortunately, most reusable bags are made to last, so you won’t have to worry about disposing of them for some years. And hopefully while you’re getting your uses in, more and more recycling opportunities sprout up for these types of materials. 

While yes, there are certain disadvantages to reusable bags, it seems there are far more advantages. Plastic pollution is quickly becoming one of the most pressing global, environmental, and structural problems to date. If we don’t act now, plastic will continue to infiltrate our oceans, waterways, soil, and food. Reusable bags may be lacking in convenience of single use plastic bags, but they are certainly one of the more simple problems we can stand to reduce merely through more conscious shopping.

Find A Solution

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