this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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Fun fact:
In terms of total greenhouse gas emissions, you'd generally have to use around 400 disposable bags made from sustainable products to equal one reusable tote.
This is because the vast majority of those totes are imported from southeast Asia.
It's important to note though that emissions are not the only thing to consider. My state banned single-use plastic bags a few years ago, and the number of them you see caught in trees or thrown away as litter has dropped to almost zero.
Plus, I think you could absolutely use those bags 400 times if you make good use of them. A few of the ones I have are from at least a decade ago and have probably been used far more times than that.
I don't disagree, I just thought that was a fun fact.
I work on sustainable packaging, and it's something not a lot of people think about. The company is extremely passionate about supply chain efficiency (both as a cost and as environmental impact), so it's something that comes up with us pretty regularly.
That actually sounds like a pretty cool job! I only said something because unfortunately a lot of people tend to use that fact to put down reusable bags, which sucks because even though they're far from perfect, they're still the better alternative (assuming you don't buy a new one every time you go to the store).
Your company has a vested interest in pushing sustainable disposable single use bags over reusable bags, your data is biased, and as mentioned, emissions are less of an issue than the physical pollution and damage of single use packaging being disposed of and ending up in the environment. One reusable bag ending up in the ocean isn't as bad as 400 sustainable ones.
This is not accurate. We could pivot to totes within 24 hours.
In fact, I argue in favor of legislation promoting totes like one comment away.
I have been using the same two cotton bags for 15 plus years. By my count that is at least 4,000 single use bags that have not been used.
The best time to ~~plant a tree~~ start using non-plastic bags is twenty years ago.
The second best time is today.
Even better, let's start making reusable totes in the US and cut that ratio down, so this is no longer true.
I can say, with insider knowledge, that the reusable packaging industry could start cranking out totes any time, should demand (or, better, legislation) prove sufficient.
Wouldn't hurt the industry at all, either, as sustainable single-use packaging - much of which is shifting to paper -is heavily on the rise
Sustainable packaging has almost unlimited growth potential and is seeing massive private investment, and we should leverage that market to curb both pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The ones I use were made locally, from cotton produced in this country so the threshold is way lower than 400.
To go one step further, make them yourself out of old cotton clothing.
Well that's not fun at all