Most of us do not stop and think twice when the supermarket cashier asks if we would like a bag for our shopping. How else would we get our shopping home? But behind the growing pile of plastic bags that exists in many kitchens around the country, there is a growing environmental concern for the damage that these bags are causing. There are now numerous types of reusable bags available, each with a different up front cost and advantages. Most importantly, these bags offer an alternative to the conventional single use bags that often end up landfill sites or in oceans, where they cause numerous animal deaths each year.

Over the past decade there has been a significant effort to reduce the use of single use bags, and increase the use of more durable reuseable bags. Since 2006, there has been a 35% decrease across the UK in the distribution of single use plastic bags, from 12.2 million in 2006 down to 7.9 million in 2011 [1]. Some retailers around the UK already have a small charge for single use bags in place, but many parts of the UK are now looking to make this a countrywide act, with bag charges existing in Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Most recently, the Scottish Government has announced a 5p charge on all plastic bags as of October 2014, to try to encourage more reuse of bags. Scotland currently uses more carrier bags per head than the rest of the UK, and the government’s move aims to make carrier bag use in Scotland more sustainable [2].

Types of commonly used bags

• Plastic bags are made from high-density polyethylene, and are the most commonly found type of bags in supermarkets. They primarily end up in landfill sites rather than being recycled, where they can take up to several hundred years to degrade fully. Their environmental impact is large, especially when left as litter on the streets, digested by marine animals, or contaminating soil and water.
• Degradable plastic bags are conventional plastic bags in shape and size, but have a prodegradant additive that helps to accelerate degradation. It can take approximately 18 months to four years for the bags to biodegrade back into water, CO₂, biomass and trace elements [3].
• Bags for Life are made of low-density polyethylene and are available from most supermarkets. These types of bags are usually larger and are sturdier than a conventional plastic bag, and can be reused many times. The number of bags for life distributed each year has risen steadily since 2006 – from 245 million to 416 million in 2011 [4].
• Cotton bags are available from supermarkets, online and from a variety of other retailers, and are designed to be reused multiple times. The production phase of cotton bags is much higher than that of a plastic bag as growing the cotton requires a great deal of water. However, cotton bags can be used hundreds of times throughout their lifetime, reducing the need to pick up new plastic bags whenever shopping is bought, and can often be reprocessed when no longer in use, which helps to cut down on the number ending up in landfill.
• Paper bags were the bag of choice up until the 1970′s, when they were replaced by plastic bags. While not used in supermarkets anymore, paper bags are still commonly used by other retailers. Paper bags are less likely to be reused, and require more energy during the production and transportation phases, but they are made from more sustainable sources, and can be fully recycled, therefore significantly reducing the amount likely to end up in landfill.

Environmental issues

The production of any item uses energy, and while conventional plastic bags use less energy for production and transport than other bag types, the majority of these bags end up in landfill sites, where they break down into toxic materials, which can enter the food chain and cause harm to the animals that ingest them. Plastic bags also enter the oceans and other water bodies, where animals mistake them for food and eat them, which leads to the annual deaths of over 100,000 sea turtles and other marine animals [5].

Littering of plastic bags has become a major issue, and while plastic bags can now be recycled, most bags end up on the streets or in landfill sites. Methane release from degrading bags in landfill sites is of great environmental concern, as methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

A simple and easy change to make, find out below how you can reduce your usage of plastic bags. There are loads of other ways you can help the environment too with Energy Saving Warehouse.

What you can do

• Pack plastic bags until they are full, but don’t overfill so that they rip! This will reduce the number of bags you pick up each time you shop.
• Reuse plastic bags by taking them shopping with you. You can also use these bags as bin liners, which helps to reduce your carbon footprint as you no longer need to buy as many bin bags.
• Many supermarkets have plastic bag recycling points, so if you have a growing collection in your kitchen, get rid of a few this way. Bags are then recycled by specialists to ensure they are not deposited in landfill sites.
• If you order shopping online, you can unpack your shopping directly into your kitchen and give the bags straight back to be reused.
• Pick up a bag for life or a cotton bag and take these shopping with you each time you go. While they have a require more energy to produce and may cost you to buy, they can be reused over and over again, and significantly reduce the amount of plastic bags that you would otherwise pick up and likely throw away.

If you don’t fancy reusing your plastic bags in your bin, you can make more environmentally friendly purchases on these other types of bags used around the home, such as rubbish bags. Take a look at Energy Saving Warehouse’s range of green bin bags.

References

[1] Zero Waste Scotland. Carrier bags – more information. 2013. http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/carrier-bags-more-information

[2] BBC News Scotland. Scottish government plans charge for plastic bags. 28 June 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23096931

[3] ConservingNow. Plastic Bag Environmental Impact Facts. 2013. http://www.conservingnow.com/plastic-bag-environmental-impact

[4] Zero Waste Scotland. Carrier bags – material matters. 2013. http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/carrier-bags-material-matters-1

[5] Zero Waste Scotland. Carrier bags – more information. 2013. http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/carrier-bags-more-information