Nerd Pride Radio

I have questions about Plastic Bags. So we don't want to use plastic bags because a lot of them end up in the ocean, they don't break down in the landfill, and so on. However, we find a lot of hot takes focused, reasonably, on the question of the carbon impact of different methods of generating carrying bags. Where are the materials sourced, and how are the bags produced, and how heavy are they, and how far do they have to travel to accomplish their purpose? Are they re-used later, and re-used enough times to account for their overall cost in terms of global warming impact?

So I had questions. When I looked into the hot takes, however, I found that all of them were based on ONE study done in England, based on 12 year old information, with a small supplement occasionally offered from another study done in Australia. The England study has problems beyond our desire to replicate and update the results. The bags that come to me, where I live, may in some cases be made in the same places as those English bags, through the same methods. In other cases, they may not. Perhaps my paper bags are made closer to me and shipped via a relatively efficient method. Perhaps reusable store bags, or standard plastic bags, are made in the same Asian factory as they were before, but it's cheaper to get them to the place where I live, in terms of fuel expenditures, than it is to get them to England. The reuse factor is also puzzling, because I reuse paper and plastic bags at the same rate, and it's hard to count usage of cotton/canvas bags because I use them for way more things than the other kinds, and am probably not alone in that practice. They're not just for groceries, in other words.

The biggest factor that puzzles me about the English study, however, is that they don't seem to factor in the number of bags one needs and uses for different trips. If I make a standard grocery run, they will use way more plastic bags on those groceries than they will paper bags. You might have two cans and a bunch of bananas in a single plastic bag, but you're going to have 2-3 times that much stuff in the paper bag or the cotton/canvas bags.

I'm also interested in the impact of stores like Sam's and Costco, or places where you don't get any bags at all but you might use boxes, or just put the large bulk items straight into your vehicle with no bag at all. It seems like a combo of that method with the use of smaller reusable bags is ideal. And then you have to weigh how important different factors are: like is the main goal to prevent plastic from entering the ocean, or is the main goal related to carbon footprint? Maybe other factors beyond choice of bag on the consumer side would be more important to address, if the major issues relate to producing the materials and making the actual bags. Anyway, I'm puzzled over all of it and wonder if anyone knows of more recent studies, or analyses that go beyond this one study?

I share your concern and confusion over getting facts on this. I read an article that talked about how- while reusable bags may be better when used optimally (i.e., dozens and dozens of times if not more), that plastic may still have a smaller footprint ecologically because they are so cheap and recyclable (albeit not as easily recyclable as other plastics). It seems that the "hot takes" I read on this from one side or the other- because there are a lot of "don't tell me not to use plastic bags" people out there- are writing for a persuasive purpose rather than an analytical one. And they are almost always just selectively using arguments they like (floating plastic island) and ignoring the ones they don't (many reusable bags are also manufactured in Asia under questionable work conditions and materials).

All of that said, I think one of the shameful things that future generations will look back on us for is the "consume/dispose" commercial society. And we don't have a defense for it. The truth is that we all are horribly wasteful and selfish because it's easy and convenient. Our great grandchildren are going to be ashamed of us for it.

When I was a kid the idea of a BAG LADY, was someone who was mentally ill, so I can't get past that and refuse to carry bags with me! No sir, would rather pay the 5 cent a bag at checkout.