by guest author Dennis Salazar
I realize the word “incredible” is typically used in the context of something that is excellent or amazing, such as “the incredible catch our right fielder made last night in the sixth inning.” In this case I prefer to use it in the less common definition “hard to believe” or as some put it, “lacking credibility.”
First, allow me to say that I am NOT a sworn enemy of big box retailers in general or specifically Wal-Mart. I realize there are people and groups for whom criticizing Wal-Mart and other mega retailers, is considered good sport, but I have no such inclination or agenda.
At the same time, when any retailer intentionally or unintentionally deceives and/or confuses the green public they claim to serve, they must be exposed because of the tremendous positive or negative potential impact they have on our environment.
My Problem with Most Mass Marketed, Reusable Shopping Bags
Almost every large retailer is now selling their own custom printed reusable shopping bags to satisfy consumers’ demand for a solution to the “earth threatening plastic shopping bag problem.”
These bags are typically printed with the retailer’s logo and at another time, they would have probably been given away to customers for free. However, in the 21st century one of the first rules of retailing is to never, ever give away anything you can sell and if customers are eager to buy, who can possibly blame the retailers for selling? Ironically, while each printed bag in use serves as a walking billboard ad for the selling retailer, that marketing and advertising value does not always appear to result in a lower bag price to the eco-minded consumer.
Yet cost versus green value is a very personal decision so I would rather focus on these three questions:
– What sort of carbon footprint are we leaving behind when we ship inexpensive, “eco friendly” bags from the other side of the world?
-What is the composition of the bag? Is it natural or synthetic fiber? Is that fiber virgin or recycled content?
-What do you do with the bag when it eventually wears out? Is it recyclable? If so under what circumstances?
The Results of my brief, informal analysis
1. Where do these bags come from?
I have to wonder how many eco minded customers even bother to notice these bags come from around the world. I took a close look at two different bags Wal-Mart is selling, and those from Meijer’s and Target and they were all manufactured in China. Somewhat surprisingly, at Sam’s Club, they offered a bag made in Vietnam, in a two pack of course. It is going to take someone far brighter than me to calculate the carbon footprint of these shopping bags but let’s assume it is far greater than the almost insignificant cost the large retailers are paying for them.
2. What are they made of?
The Meijer’s and Target bags are made of 100% non-woven polypropylene. Just for the record, even though these shopping bags are often designed to look like natural fiber fabric, they are not. In fact the process used to make nonwoven PP consists of plastic forced between rollers at high temperature so it is more of a molding or extrusion process.
The Sam’s Club bag is marked with a recycle logo and PP in the middle. I am not sure why they chose to not use the universal recycling code but maybe they did not know polypropylene is a number 6. Or perhaps there is something in the bag that they are not sure of. It just makes me curious when the self proclaimed leader of the green world does not follow the few standards that exist in this area.
The Wal-Mart reusable bag mystery continues on the black and blue bags they offer at their non-club locations. Those bags are marked as “100% recycled material and 100% recyclable.” We’ll deal with the recyclability question shortly, but since our food is being hauled in them, it would be nice to know what they’re made of. Do they not know the content, do they not want to tell us or do they simply not want their customers to realize Wal-Mart is now selling them a plastic bag to replace the free plastic bags they were getting before? My guess is that the material(s) content is probably not as green as they may lead you to believe.
3. Where will they wind up?
I know these bags are supposed to last a very long time, and generally plastic does. However, they will eventually wear out and then what becomes of them?
I spoke to a contact at Waste Management and was told that not many of these have shown up in their curbside recycling program, yet. I guess that is a good thing but we know it is just a matter of time before they do. They also anticipate them to be a problem because of the construction, protruding handles and often mysterious content. How can anything be recyclable if it does not have a recycle code or if we don’t know what it is made of? Shouldn’t it be mandatory for retailers to mark this somewhere on these bags?
Keep in mind most recycling centers count on some degree of automated sorting to help reduce cost. If recycled waste requires manual sorting or jams up processing equipment that of course increases the cost of recycling it. At the same time, if the waste is not easily or quickly identifiable in terms of content it must be sold as mixed plastic which reduces the value and limits what that waste can be used for in its next life, if it ever has one.
Conclusion
Product that is never made is probably the most eco friendly of all. If the use of these bags minimizes or reduces the need for new plastic or even paper bags; that is a very good thing. I am confident people feel good when they buy them and believe they are doing a good thing for the environment though I am not sure how many people actually use them regularly. Like most good habits, they are difficult to maintain.
I attend green conferences and festivals and I have seen some beautiful bags made of natural, renewable fibers but the mega retailers are not buying them. Some will claim it is about cost and price point and perhaps there is some truth to that. Others will claim that the polypropylene bags will last longer and there may be some truth to that as well.
When they tell us those heavy duty plastic bags are better for us and the environment, well that’s just incredible.
by Dennis Salazar of SalazarPackaging.com
Also See: GreenWay® – Packaging with Purpose for alternative green packaging products.
I agree that it could be more eco friendly to make the bags out of other materials, but my family uses the Meijer bags, they were a dollar to buy, and we use them almost EVERY SINGLE time we go, except for spur of the moment shopping stops that we may have not thought about and left the bags at home, but those usually only use one bag. Being a mother of 3 is no excuse. My mom is a mother of three and uses them everytime, the plastic/woven/polyprothene material has not gotten gross, dirty, contaminated, or whatever. They have definitely reduced our waste and they have yet to break down or show wear and we have had these for 2 years, mind you our grocery bill was always easily 300-400, and thats a lot of wear and tear on those bags. The quality has proved to be the savior.
to the person who wrote this posting, do u burn your trash or do you have a disposal company pick it up from your house and throw it in a dump?
Spend a few extra dollars and get yourself a ChicoBag rePETe (www.chicobag.com). It is made of recycled PET, is durable, and won’t need to be replaced for many years. Even better, the company has a repurposing program for worn out reusable bags so none of them end up in the landfill. The poor quality knock off’s they’re selling at WalMart and Target might as well be disposable…
What good does it do to “look” green by carrying around a reusable bag when the truth is that bag is not good for the environment. I believe we need to be good stewards of what God has given us and not worry at all what other people think about us.
The cleaner environment is a part to the myth of reusable bags. For the most part they are made in China from crude oil derivatives, and under non-EPA controlled conditions at best, and then they are loaded in containers and shipped across the Pacific. They are not recyclable in any practical sense of the word. The carbon footprint, pollution, raw materials, energy, and security of US produced PE (Polyethylene Plastic) bags is literally a fraction of the NWPP (non woven Polypropylene) reusable bags, plus the PE bags being one-use bags do not harbor bacteria.
The issue that most people dwell on is not the science, but the aesthetics. That is where a social change is necessary to recycle. We are getting much better at it. We believe that retailers should offer both plastic and paper, but encourage the recycling side. That is the lasting solution and it closes the cycle.
I am not one to promote government intervention, but in this case a deposit on plastic bags may actually help the recycling movement. At least it is something to think about and is working in many other countries.
Register and I will send anyone the country list and the amount of deposit they levy.
Robby Meadows
Nashville Wraps
Despite the material used in some of these reusable bags, are they not better than plastic bags? Perhaps it’s not what they’re made of but, what reusable bags stand for, a cleaner environment.
I was ahead of my time. Ten years ago I purchased bags to carry my food items home. I was proud to do my part to save the earth. The baggers at the store were always surprised that I had my own bags. Now, once again, I startle the baggers by NOT having my own bags, giving it up when I became a Mom and demands on my time became greater. I pump my gas, invest my money for retirement, get my drinks at many fast food counters, and am happy to let the stores provide plastic bags which I do recycle.
We use cloth shopping bags and throw them in the washer with the towels. No fuss, no muss.
Dennis makes an excellent point as does the video about reusable shopping bags. As a mother of 3, I do not have time to wash multiple reusable bags and keep up with what food products go in which bag for fear of contamination. I certainly want to be eco-friendly but like most moms, I have to be practical too. The bans and fees being assessed for using plastic bags in some communities totally misses the point for the environmental movement. The biggest problem is not the shopping bags, but all the packaging that comes with the products we buy and the fact that many local communities still do not have organized recycling programs. In addition, the fast food industry is not being targeted even though they cause an enormous negative environmental impact because of the food packaging thrown away or littered. In the meantime, I will continue to use plastic shopping bags and simply recycle them. Convenient, eco-friendly and no health risks.
There is an ongoing debate now concerning these reusable totes. Some of the points are that they harbor bacteria when used multiple times. Also there is concern they are difficult to recycle because of lack of infrastructure at recycling centers. Oh, and they are “plastic”, the typical ones are made from polypropylene. What we feel is the real solution requires social reprogramming and it may be the next generation before it becomes the norm, but it is recycling the lowly plastic grocery style bags. These bags have the lowest carbon footprint, are easily recycled without loss of strength and use low energy. The bags can be made to degrade with additives. And even if the bags are not recycled, the resins are made from natural gas byproducts here in the USA. See Recycled and degradable Plastic Bags – Eco Retail Bags at http://www.nashvillewraps.com/ShowType.ww?Class=030
Robby Meadows
Nashville Wraps