What Are the Benefits of Using Reusable Shopping Bags?

The checkout clerk at the supermarket always seems to ask, "Paper or plastic?" as a final decision is made before customers are allowed to leave the shop.

You probably have good reasons for responding in any manner you do. Perhaps you want to reuse that paper bag or put your plastic shopping bags to good use in the household. Perhaps you feel that the paper or plastic you've chosen is the greener alternative. However, whether you pick paper or plastic, it doesn't matter how good your intentions are; either way, you're making a "wrong" choice since there's a better alternative available: a reusable shopping bag. An increasing trend in many parts of the nation is for shoppers to bring their own reusable bags to the store. Reusable bags may be more expensive initially, but they save money in the long run by reducing plastic bag waste and minimizing other negative environmental impacts.

Why do people still use them if they're so dangerous to the planet? Several factors contribute to this. Plastic bags are detrimental to global health for several reasons, including their creation, the difficulty in recycling them, the frequency with which they wind up in landfills (or worse, outside of them), and the time required for their decomposition. Because paper bags can be recycled and biodegrade more quickly if they don't end up in a landfill, they avoid some of the problems associated with plastic bags. Still, NASA reports that the production of paper bags requires much energy since they come from trees or recycled materials.

Those are some broad arguments in favor of bringing your bag to the store rather than using paper or plastic bags. Still, there are some more particular advantages to doing so and some negative effects of plastic bag pollution.

Why You Should Use Reusable Bags

1- Reduce Waste

Although plastic bags may seem to have little impact on the environment, the energy used in their production has a considerably greater impact than you would think. According to Waste Management Northwest, the production of plastic bags used annually in the United States requires twelve million barrels of oil. According to SPREP.org, the amount of energy used in producing 14 plastic bags is equivalent to driving a vehicle one mile.

2- Minimize Air Pollution

The environmental impact of plastic is significant. It may take anywhere from 15 to 1,000 years for plastic items like plastic bags to decompose in a landfill, and that's assuming they don't end up in a body of water instead. A significant amount of yearly plastic bag pollution is caused by the United States consumption of 100 billion plastic shopping bags each year, of which only around 1 percent are recycled.

3- Keep Recycling Issues at Bay

According to a 2016 piece in Business Insider, even when people have the best intentions and try to recycle their plastic shopping bags, many facilities aren't equipped to do it. Bags become caught on the belts and wheels of the conveyors, slowing down the process and sometimes even becoming lost, wandering off to other areas of the recycling plant or even outside the facility. If you want to recycle these bags, the easiest place is at a designated drop-off location for plastic bags, which may occasionally be inside a grocery store.

4- Protect Wildlife

According to SPREP.org, more than 100,000 marine species are killed each year when they mistake plastic bags floating in the water for food. Snagged plastic bags in trees further threaten nature because tiny animals may get entrapped in them.

5- Relish Its Robustness and Persistence

Reusable bags are more durable than plastic ones, so you won't have to worry about the handle ripping off or getting a hole if you accidentally run over the corner of a box with it. Your goods are more likely to remain undamaged on the ride home if you use reusable bags, which are also more convenient to use while loading and unloading groceries. Reusable bags offer the advantage of being less prone to leak and being simpler to monitor for contamination.

6- Spend less and save money

Plastic bag fees have been implemented at several US retail establishments. A nickel or dime per bag may not seem like much, but if you use five or ten bags every shopping trip, you'll soon be spending a lot of money. The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that an average American household uses approximately 1,500 plastic shopping bags annually, mostly purchased through online shopping bags supplier when they go food shopping. If you use a bag every time you shop and it costs a cent, you might save $75 annually. 

7- Recycle and use in other contexts

There is a wide variety of other uses for reusable shopping bags. Friendly reusable bags may be used for many of the same tasks as tote bags because of their similar construction. They are helpful for various purposes, including transporting food and literature.

8- Because You Can

If you find it difficult to envision a world without plastic grocery bags, consider this: in 1977, plastic bags were first made available for purchase in grocery shops, as reported by Waste Management Northwest. Shopping with one's own bags has served shoppers well for millennia and will serve you well, too. There is no contest between plastic and reusable bags. Try this or this as an excellent example of a reusable bag.

The Summing Up

Reusable shopping bags are superior to single-use plastic bags in every way: they save resources, prevent Waste, and enable you to transport more items.