Pros & Cons for Reusable Grocery Bags

Disposable grocery bags, whether paper or plastic, are rapidly becoming a major environmental consideration. As consumption rates increase throughout the world, disposable grocery bags put more pressure on global paper and plastic resources and create a huge waste stream that either taxes scarce landfill space or fills the streets as litter -- and all for the few hours of use the average disposable bag is given. Not surprisingly, in response to this highly visible environmental threat, a number of supermarkets and governments have begun to encourage the use of reusable grocery bags. Overall, the use of reusable grocery bags has a positive effect on the environment, yet knowing a few of the potential problems with using a reusable bag can help you better use your bag and reduce your environmental footprint even further.

Pro: Reduce Resource Use and Litter

• The plastic used in grocery bags is, except in some cases of plastics refined from vegetable oils, a petroleum product. Although they have been marketed as a more environmentally friendly alternative, paper bags also have a considerable carbon footprint associated with the harvesting of pulp trees, paper pressing and transportation. If you think of the amount of resources used in producing a single disposable bag and multiply it by the millions of bags used and discarded every day, the resource impact of disposable bags begins to become clear. Using a disposable bag drastically reduces this impact and the amount of resources used to complete a simple task like carrying groceries.

Con: Unsustainable Materials

• Of course, the materials from which a reusable bag is made determine just how positive an impact it has. A reusable bag made out of thick plastic with an equivalent lifespan to the same weight of plastic in reusable bags, for instance, has virtually no net positive impact. An effective reusable bag should be made from renewable materials and be considerably more durable and have a much longer useful life than disposable alternatives in order to offset the environmental impact of using disposable bags. When selecting a reusable bag, make sure you keep these criteria in mind and select a reusable bag that actually helps to reduce the environmental impact of carrying your groceries.

Con: Health Concerns

• A clear advantage of disposable bags is the guarantee of a clean bag every time. Especially in the case of carrying foods, a clean, hygienic bag is an absolute necessity. Once again, the materials from which a reusable bag is made are critical. An effective reusable bag should be made from easy-to-clean materials that do not attract mold or insects. Reusable bags that are not or cannot be effectively cleaned on a regular basis can actually have a negative effect on human and environmental health.

Pro: Reduce Energy Use

• The disposable bag you get at the grocery store is the end-result of a long productive chain, from harvesting the materials to producing the bag and delivering it to the market. Each step in this process uses a considerable amount of energy in manufacturing and transportation. A reusable bag, therefore, not only reduces the use of visible resources like the paper and plastic in a disposable bag, but reduces the energy consumption of the long productive process that makes that bag possible. By using the same bag every week and storing it in your home, you also save all the energy used to bring a new bag to you every time you go to the grocery store.