Are Reusable Grocery Bags a Good Idea?

01 Aug Are Reusable Grocery Bags a Good Idea?

The bags are meant to take fresh, unpackaged products with you: in the supermarket, but of course also in other stores. Think of sandwiches, loose fruit as mandarins or vegetables like green beans. The bags only measure 30 times 30 centimeters, so large quantities cannot enter. For such thing’s reusable grocery bags play an essential role.

But don’t people already bring their own shopping bag?

That’s right: since the ban on free plastic bags, more and more American people are bringing their own, reusable shopping bag. In 2016, 40 percent of American people said they always bring their own reusable grocery bags for their daily shopping, 43 percent often take it with them, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. But because people prefer not to put loose products in that bag, plastic bags are still used. Reusable grocery bags bulk is also a reality which we are seeing in which people are involved in their shopping from different shops.

How much is that?

According to Lidl, 60 million one-time plastic fruit and vegetable bags are taken from the store every year in America: tearing off a roll and hop, your vegetables in it. These bags will hopefully end up at home in the plastic recycling bin or else with the residual waste; in the worst case on the roadside or ditch. Then reusable grocery bags bulk is much better.

But such a bag also costs energy. And how long will it last?

The bags are made of nylon, just like plastic and petroleum plastic. They are washable at 60 degrees Celsius. According to Lidl, their ‘Lidl Green Bag’ is more durable after five uses than a plastic fruit and vegetable bag. The bags get that easily: with careful use (not overloading) they last dozens of times.

Can reusable grocery bags be recycled?

That is a tricky tip. The supermarkets advise to discard broken bags in the textile collection: but that is of little use, says the Textile Recovery Association. The volume is too small for recycling. The bags are then incinerated with the normal waste streams; you might as well throw them out yourself. And the plastic recycling companies are also not happy with it: similar fruit nets cause major problems because they get caught in the sorting installation.

Are they still that sustainable?

Even without recycling, the fresh bags, if you use them several times, are more durable than one-off bags. According to the Sustainable Packaging Knowledge Institute, reuse is always more sustainable than recycling.

But are those bags actually used?

The system stands or falls with that, says packaging expert Amcor Central information organization. Such an initiative is very good, but only if it is actually applied. So, you have to actively think about taking those bags with you: by putting them in your shopping bag as standard, for example. There may be many online stores that offer grocery bags but on Shopping Bags Free you will see the best reusable grocery bags in bearable rates. And such bags are actually a good idea for your shopping in bulk. Contact us now!