Recently, there has been discussion about these supposedly "green" shopping bags that are appearing at every store across the nation. They consist of recycled plastic converted to a "reusable" cloth-like bag. Now the experts are saying that they aren't exactly helping out with waste reduction. I am not surprised. I haven't really bought into this whole not using free bags conveniently supplied by our shopping venues. I will say that it is annoying when the bag person uses a single plastic bag for one item, so that at the end of the grocery shopping I have way too many plastic bags to make useful. I usually send them on the wild goose chase after the once ubiquitous paper bags (now rarely used), which are local for folks in my area (from Florida & Georgia paper mills). Paper bags often contain recycled products, and are renewable. However, they are rare at the grocery store today, as for some reason people prefer the less useful, plastic bags.
Growing up with frugal parents (especially my father), we always re-used all the bags, but especially the paper bags (yes there was a time when there were no plastic bags). I would use them as book covers, for covering parcels before mailing, blotting oil from homemade fried fish or doughnuts, and of course as garbage bags. My father never bought garbage bags (he was the primary shopper in my family). Why would he, when the grocery store would give them to us at no extra charge. My father was an environmentalist without even knowing it, being frugal (a nice way of saying cheap), and I look upon his frugality with admiration.
But alas today, the green movement pays little attention to the three R's, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I always laugh to myself when I see a customer who fills their "green bag" with a package of costly garbage bags; why buy something whose sole purpose is to be thrown away?
Reduce: This is a basic principle, reducing is easier than you think. Stop buying pre-packaged garbage bags. Use plastic bags to hold your purchased goods sparingly. Don't buy recycled "green" bags, which come all the way from China in most cases, and then you have the whole carbon footprint issue (how much fuel did it take for the product to reach me?). These solutions at worse cost no money and usually save you money. You won't be able to advertise as well to your fellow shoppers how "green" you are though. Don't be a sucker, the real green movement should focus on reduction, not consumerism.
Reuse: Why not reuse the original plastic bags, better yet, switch back to paper. Paper bags coming from farmed trees (and recycled paper) are a renewable resource, whereas plastic is a petroleum based product. It isn't any more inconvenient to bring in your paper bags and reuse them when shopping, than these new "green" bags. Use these paper bags also for garbage bags, gift wrap, and the other uses described above. Leftover plastic grocery bags can be used for wet garbage. Believe it or not they also make a great fire starter in wet conditions (like when camping); I have been told that they are used for this purpose by indigenous people in the rain forest. The reuse principle should be utilized as best as possible for all items which are normally tossed out.
Recycle: This is the last step, and if you are good, won't be needed. If you have too many bags, you are shopping inefficiently. But the plastic bags can accumulate, and perhaps your space at home is limited. Most grocery stores today have containers for recycling excessive paper and plastic bags.
