To Bag or Not To Bag

As I stood in line at the checkout counter with my reusable bags in hand, I couldn't help but think "Are these bags really doing any good for the  environment?" Yes, I didn't use a plastic bag. Instead, I used a bag I received free from a business expo. I have no idea what the bag is made of. Where was this bag made? I checked. No label. Strange. For all I know, the bag I am using to  transport my groceries is made up of the very stuff I am trying to avoid!

Here are some interesting facts I came across while looking deeper into the "great bag debate".

Many of the so called eco-friendly bags are, in fact, made with recycled plastics like bottles but many of them are also made overseas. What did it cost to manufacture and then ship those bags here for us to use? In the manufacture process, were harsh chemicals and dyes used? You may be surprised to find the answer is yes in many cases.

A bigger issue is surfacing with regards to reusable bags - disease. Yes, people are actually getting sick from using reusable bags! Why? Because we are used to using disposable bags. When we use something that is reusable, we have to treat it as such and take care of it. But most of us don't do that. So why are we getting sick?

Let's look at this scenario: Off you go to the grocery store and being an Earth conscious consumer you remember to actually bring your reusable bags into the store. You pick up your veggies, a few cans of soup, some bread, milk, eggs and some chicken. Of course you tell the bag clerk to separate the chicken and put that in one reusable bag and the rest in the other bags so you do contaminate your other items - right? You bring everything home, put it away, fold your bags up and remember to store them back in your car for the next trip.

So what's the problem?

When you get to the store on the next trip, did you separate the "meat" bag from the "veggie" bag and the "general groceries" bag? Do all the bags look alike? The most important questions is did you remember to wash the bags before you put them back in your car to use again? If not, you could be making yourself sick!

So what about paper and plastic? Let's start with paper. Sounds better than plastic right? Think again! Most of the paper used to make paper bags comes from trees in areas that have been clear cut and then dried and mixed with chemicals to produce the paper bags use see at the store. Plastic? Well, that is the more anti-eco of the two since it takes the average plastic bag 500-1000 years to decompose! The span is based on the type of bag but even using just the 500 year decomposition, we are talking multiple generations before those things are gone.

Does this mean we shouldn’t bother using reusable bags? On the contrary! You just need become an "informed bagger".

Here are some tips for using reusable bags:

1) Know what your bag is made of and where it came from. There are organic cotton bags and other bags made from "Earth-friendly" materials.  If you are offered a reusable bag for free at some event, don’t take it if you are just going to throw it in the closet and never use it.  Doing that pretty much defeats the purpose and creates its own issues.  Next time you are at an event like a
professional ball game where they are giving out bags, take a look in the trash
bins on the way out.  You would be surprised to see how many people just toss them.

2) Segregate the bags in different colors or mark them appropriately.  Use one just for meats, one for veggies only and one for general grocery items.

3) Wash your bags regularly. Note – Some say this makes the bags not eco-friendly due to the resources being used to clean them.  Really?  I have a couple bags and I throw them in with the rest of my wash that I am doing anyway.  I also use a non-toxic laundry detergent.

Bottom line is that the jury is still out as to whether or not using reusable bags is really helping the environment. It all depends on what study you read and who you chose to believe. I have not personally found any conclusive data on the subject but here's what I do know. As a person who used to use literally hundreds of plastic bags a year, I now use approximately 50 plastic bags per year. And that's usually because I forgot to out my reusable ones back in my car before I went to the store! Of those plastic bags, I either reuse them or donate them to the local food kitchen where they need bags to distribute food to their needy families. One way or another - yes - they will eventually end up in a landfill but my personal contribution to that landfill is much less than it used to be.

So ask yourself - "To Bag or Not To Bag" because that is the question!