plastic grocery bags vs. cloth

[moodymaximus]

i'm, probably missing a simple answer, but why is it better to use / reuse a cloth grocery bag, then to use plastic, if this same plastic is used for garbage bags? i'd have to use some plastic bags for garbage anyway...

[annekevdbroek]

Well, I get about 40 bags per grocery trip, it seems. If I use cloth bags (which I do) then I am not adding to the landfill another 40+ plastic bags with each trip. I do use a couple plastic bags for scooping the cat litter, but overall I was getting way more bags than I could possibly reuse. In our house we only throw away maybe a maximumof 2 plastic garbage bags per week. So, plastic shopping bags greatly incresae the amount of trash going to landfill. If you are reusing all your bags instead of buying a garbage bag, then there is really no difference (and you are saving the landfill some amount of plastic).

[moodymaximus]

Originally Posted by annekevdbroek

Well, I get about 40 bags per grocery trip, it seems. If I use cloth bags (which I do) then I am not adding to the landfill another 40+ plastic bags with each trip. I do use a couple plastic bags for scooping the cat litter, but overall I was getting way more bags than I could possibly reuse. In our house we only throw away maybe a maximumof 2 plastic garbage bags per week. So, plastic shopping bags greatly incresae the amount of trash going to landfill. If you are reusing all your bags instead of buying a garbage bag, then there is really no difference (and you are saving the landfill some amount of plastic).

that's what i thought, but i thought i was missing something. if we never buy garbage bags, but re-use grocery bags, than it is the same. unless, and i wonder if this is true, i subconsciously use more of the grocery bag for the same amount of garbage, as compared to the "bought" garbage bags...

thanks for responding!

[askew]

A little OT....

You know you can buy garbage bags that are biodegradable. They are called bio bags, that way you are not putting plastic in landfills.

[rmzbm]

We use cloth bags, once in a great while I may not have them so ask for paper. I keep those and use them for the bathroom trash cans, and like a PP said, for scooping kitty litter.

[Garden~Lover]

have you ever noticed though, those 40 plastic bags of grocery will all fit into say 10-12 re-usable bags. I bought these cute Simpson's bags at a grocery store that hold alot. I get comments on them where ever we go. I have noticed so many more people with re-usable bags, makes me happy.
If I do ever get bags, its paper, I love the paper for projects for the kids, recycling junk mail.

[pixiepunk]

i can't actually imagine generating anywhere near as much garbage going out of my house as groceries i bring into my house. in fact, before i switched to the reusable bags, in just two years of buying groceries for my family i had accumulated.... i don't even know how many bags. they filled two large drawers in my kitchen and one of the drawers wouldn't even close. we used them for garbage, but it didn't come anywhere close to the same amount of bags used for garbage as bags coming in.

[MommytoTwo]

I love my cloth bags because I can fit $100 worth of groceries into 6 bags instead of 20 plastic bags and so I make fewer trips from my car into the house.

[annekevdbroek]

I have some bags from Ikea (not canvas - some sort of "plastic" fabric). They are big (about 3x the size of a regular paper grocery sack), indestructible, fold up tiny, and hold a ton. I also love making only 3 oe 4 trips from car to house to bring in the sacks. I get so many compliments on them. I have 5 of them and have never completely filled all of them even on the largest grocery trips.

[artemis33]

Originally Posted by angelika13

A little OT....

You know you can buy garbage bags that are biodegradable. They are called bio bags, that way you are not putting plastic in landfills.

I was also going to mention the Biobags. We just switched to these a few months ago (we were using recycled plastic bags like Seventh Generation before).

I use cloth for the grocery store and any plastic bags that creep in (there are always a few!) get used for cat litter or other icky garbage. Any paper grocery bags we end up with get reused (in a variety of ways!) or recycled. I have muslin bags for produce and bulk items, though I don't always use them.

But yeah, I strive for cloth for groceries and Biobags for trash....

[Traci mom23boys]

I have been using cloth bags for 10 years or so and would occasionally get some paper bags to use for garbage. Then one day I had an *aha* moment when I was in World Market and saw these super cute, small, stainless steel, red garbage cans and thought why not use this and just rinse if needed after dumping the trash in the big can outside. How is that for a run-on sentence!

Anyway, we have been doing that for about a year and it feels good. I have made a commitment to use only my own bags when shopping. I have some pretty ones for other misc. shopping too.

[glorified_rice]

Originally Posted by artemis33

But yeah, I strive for cloth for groceries and Biobags for trash....

Me too BioBags are simply wonderful. I wish they were cheaper, but yeah. What a wonderful invention.

[bwylde]

I also love that cloth bags don't break if they get over stuffed. They may be heavy to carry, but I have never ever had one break on me (I think most that I have can hold 30-50lbs of stuff).

[flapjack]

Daft question, but if the biobags are going into landfill then don't they release methane??

OP, there's waste involved in the production of plastic as well. I have no idea what the comparative footprint of a plastic bad versus a non-organic cotton one, but that's another issue.

[Jojo F.]

The "cloth" bags I have are made from recycled plastic (Whole Foods). The other bag I use is hemp and doubles as my purse.

This site has the best info that I have found on paper and plastic bags- http://www.ilea.org/lcas/franklin1990.html

We just don't use either.

[Pariah]

Originally Posted by Traci mom23boys

I have been using cloth bags for 10 years or so and would occasionally get some paper bags to use for garbage. Then one day I had an *aha* moment when I was in World Market and saw these super cute, small, stainless steel, red garbage cans and thought why not use this and just rinse if needed after dumping the trash in the big can outside. How is that for a run-on sentence!

Anyway, we have been doing that for about a year and it feels good. I have made a commitment to use only my own bags when shopping. I have some pretty ones for other misc. shopping too.

Does that work well for you? I've been wanting to get rid of our plastic trash bags, too. We've been using cloth grocery bags for awhile, and having the trash bags around bugs me. I just worry about the trash can getting gross inside...we're in an apartment, so we don't have a yard and hose to clean it out really well. I guess we could just do it in the bath tub.

[TinyBabyBean]

I think the bio bags are a good way to go. But, here our garbage is incinerated. My goal is to be garbage free and I know I will get there. But, for now we use cloth bags at the store. I think using cloth bags makes a big statement and hopefully gets people to start thinking. Sometimes I think people seem asleep and wouldn't know what on earth to do without plastic bags. We throw out two bags of garbage a week for an eight person household. I just realized today that I think I can smoosh it all down into one but I have been doing that.

At any rate I believe in garbage free 100%. I think that is where we need to be. I am seeing what I can buy in bulk and reuse the bags, or use some cloth produce bags. It seems overwhelming but I know it can be done. We just went vegan Feb 14th for ethical reasons but now I see it is a HUGE environmentally way to eat so I am so pleased we did it.

I think rinsing out the can would be okay and not even using plastic at all.

To answer your question. I think anything that can be reused or recycled should be. So, I would be in favor personally of using a bag that could not be recycled or even better using biodegradable bags like biobags instead of using a grocery bag that could be recycled to throw garbage away.

[Arwyn]

Anyone else use mostly paper bags from previous visits?

We do used paper and some cloth for groceries (or ask for paper if we forget, which is getting rarer! , and biobags for garbage.

[barose]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

Anyone else use mostly paper bags from previous visits?

We do used paper and some cloth for groceries (or ask for paper if we forget, which is getting rarer! , and biobags for garbage.

I used to but I had one break on me. I donated all of my grocery and department store bags to a local consignment store that uses recycled bags only. Every blue moon, we end up bring home a paper bag, but I end up using those to take my lunch to work in.

I use all cloth for the grocery store and farmers markets.

[Ravin]

I went to all reusable bags. I have a combination of canvas bags bought at Goodwill, a couple of freebie bags from giveaways at Breast Cancer walks, and Wal-Mart's reusable grocery bags. I wound up with a bunch of the latter because part of my commitment with the new year to using reusables was that if I forgot my bags I HAD to buy a bag or go without, no cheating!

The result is that I have a good dozen bags now, and an established habit of stuffing a grocery sack in my backpack for just-in-case.