Reusable Bags Ecozuri

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As plastic grocery bags have become the center of debate in environmental issues, more retailers are turning to alternatives: paper or biodegradable bags. However, a quick comparison indicates clear challenges in both. To reduce the environmental damage of excess plastic bag consumption, reusables continously prove to be the best solution.
Pros
Cons
Paper Bags
  • Degradable in well-run landfill Hold more stuff
  • Higher percentage of recycling (10% -15% versus 1%-3% for plastics)
  • Consume forests
  • Take 4 times as much energy as needed to produce
  • Generate 70% more air pollution and 50 times more water pollution in production
  • Take 90% more energy to recycle when recycling rate is low
  • 7 times heavier than plastic to transport
  • Take up more space in landfill
Biodegradable Bags
  • Light and convenient like plastic bags
  • Biodegradable in certain conditions
  • Highly confusing definition of bio-plastics. Many bio-based products are not necessarily biodegradable
  • Many biodegradable bags require special processing facilities. There are limited collection and processing platforms
  • When mingled with traditional plastics, this causes contamination and makes the product unrecyclable
Reusable Bags
  • Reduce energy usage, landfill, and pollution due to its reusable nature
  • If the bags are not reused a sufficient number of times, more energies are wasted as most reusable bags are made from materials that require more energy to produce
  • Difficult to remember as it requires personal habit changes
  • Inconvenient since most products are bulky to carry