The Ultimate Reusable Bag
- Filed in:
- Bags & pouches,
- Recycling
Nashville Wraps
Long ago in a galaxy far, far away it was decided that disposable bags were the biggest environmental problem on the planet. They were responsible for lasting thousands of years in landfills, killing sea life, sticking in trees, consuming imported oil, leaking toxic chemicals, and expending vast amounts of energy.
A rebel alliance was formed to dispel the half-truths, deceptions and alert the good people of a better way. And more importantly to reveal their secret defense… The Ultimate Reusable Bag; a bag that can literally make another one from itself.
About the rebels
I am one of them and so are many other people I know and thousands on thousands that I don’t know. I am a consumer; I go to the grocery too; I am a man, plus I am 55. These last two are personal elements that are naturally against voluntary change. But you know what…I have made changes and they are now a natural part of my life.
One of my best friends makes bags. He is a rebel too, as well as his counterparts but if I thought his products were harmful or even not the “right” thing for the time I would be the first to say so. He knows that. But it is not the case. So many times across the years we have discussed what the “right” thing in retail packaging is.
The real question people want answered is “What is the best and lasting solution - or in today’s terms, a ‘sustainable’ solution?”
The solution is a no brainer on our part because my friend and I have seen it time and again, looked at the math, looked at the science and looked at the social, business and personal elements of it; been there, done that and are in the smack dab middle of it. Those of you who read these blogs know what I’m about to say but the answer in every argument is a recycled plastic bag.
Why it will work and why it won’t…
We know the environmental and economics of this will work, but it really depends on the consumer; more specifically if the consumer is given the opportunity to hear the truth and makes a simple decision to recycle. If the consumer will recycle plastics, the rest is magic and we close the loop on this entire argument. No more bans, no more bitching, no more problems with more imports getting into the economy when we can do it all here.
I know that from my perspective it is working. Over the weekend I asked 4 guys from our warehouse to help me harvest hay (yes I am a farmer too). During the day we all drank bottled water and cold drinks in cans. After the work was done it was beer and burgers. Everyone was conscious of where they put their recyclables and in fact we kept a sack of them circulating. Never has that happened before. And oh they all came in one vehicle too. This is a small example but it is the small things which are significant…
The cumulative effect of small things will change the big ones.
Our entire company does this, their families and friends; and I estimate conservatively that we have directly influenced about 500 more people associated with us that now do too.
The point is that if consumers at large will recycle plastics then it will provide the raw materials to create more bags and other products with very little energy and the lowest carbon footprint of any bag regardless of the type, style or material. It is inconceivable that local governments cannot seem to embrace this simple concept; instead their solution is tax and/or ban. The alternatives are far worse for the consumers, economics and environment long term.
About the facts:
Landfills: Studies show that plastic bags are less than 3% of the volume in any municipal landfills. Modern plastics had learned a lesson taught by the infamous IMF (Impossible Mission Force) in that they simply self destruct! Today our PE bags are made with a degradable additive that is non-toxic and decays even in land-fill conditions (anaerobic). They decay even faster when carelessly tossed on the street and even when washed into culverts, creeks, rivers and yes…even oceans.
Sea Life: The plastic which endangers sea life are those impossible to pull apart cold drink rings that keep a 6 pack together…not thin PE bags. Inspections made by marine biologist of the contents of fish and sea mammals stomachs reveal no dangers caused by PE bags. Those reusable totes now at your grocery store however have a much greater potential for danger in our opinion as they are darn near indestructible.
Litter in trees and other places: There is no doubt that we have been a throw away society. But we can change and are changing. My neighbors are changing! We have not had much help from our local or federal governments to recycle. But we know that some people do not care about being responsible citizens and continue to litter; maybe it’s about education and awareness. Our ace up the sleeve is the degradability of PE bags in that they decompose quickly into trace amounts of C02, H20 and silicon (sand). Paper also decomposes into C02, cellulose fiber and other trace compounds. Non-woven reusable totes do not presently break down as a practical matter.
Consuming imported oil: All domestic PE bags are now made from a byproduct of natural gas which used to be burn off. It has been years since they were made from crude oil, but be aware that is not the case overseas. In Asia, bags are still made from foreign oil and their political alliances and sources are often unfriendly to North American interests. Most bags today which are made in the USA actually use a very small portion of new PE resins if any at all due to recycling efforts and new technologies.
Leaching toxic chemicals: There are more toxic chemicals in a glass of water than in a PE bag. Polyethylene is an FDA rated food safe material approved for direct food contact when processed under the FDA requirements (our domestic bags are all that way). The chemical makeup of these bags and the inks all conform to the most stringent requirements of California’s Water Quality and Toxins in Packaging legislation. Now all bags imported into the US have to meet these same requirements, so even the imports are much safer now than they used to be.
Energy requirements: I know from personal observation and facts that the energy required to produce even a new plastic bag from 100% new resin (non-recycled) is a fraction of the energy required to make paper and the non-woven polypropylene totes so prevalent today. The closest bag to PE in terms of low energy required is a PET bag which is made from recycled plastic drink bottles. Of course some municipalities want to ban those too. The energy requirement for making recycled plastics is even lower. I have personally watched the machine take a bale of old plastic bags and turn them into usable resin pellets in only a few minutes and I saw what little power it was running on as well.
The final analysis: Recycling plastic bags, bottles, and other similar packaging is now economically viable, and sustainable from every definition of it. The process creates no significant pollution, does not depend on imports, uses low energy and therefore has a the lowest carbon footprint of any bag. And by the way, it makes a superior product.
It is in fact The Ultimate Reusable Bag: A bag that can literally make another one from itself.
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The Ultimate Re-Usable Bag
Sean Slavin Account Executive Dordan Mfg. Co. Inc
Dear Sir,
I applaud your efforts and the scientific data that supports your position. I agree with you whole heartedly, however be forwarned that the whole "anti-plastic" movement that is taking place currently has little to do with scientific data and everything to do with public opinion and perception. More people such as yourself need to come out with scientific data and specific information that supports the reality that plastics as a medium are not all bad. I have personally been wondering for close to a year now about where my peers in the plastic industry have been and why no one is standing up for plastics and the value and benefits that they offer over the alternatives. I find it ironic that we continue to "ban" things based on fear and not fact. Once again in our efforts to raise the conscious awareness of the masses regarding the pro's and con's of the products that we come into contact with in our daily lives, we have turned the "green" movement into a marketing campaign based on our own agendas. We all need to work together to improve things and not pit ourselves on one side of the fence from each other.
Thanks
Ken Holmes
Nice to see an article written by someone that actually understands how plastic bags impact the environment. We are a plastic bag manufacturer in Seattle, and have seen our sales dropping lately. Seattle's mayor wants to impose a tax on all disposable bags, and another city just north of Seattle just banned plastic bags completely. The justification has generally centered around litter reduction and a vague "protect the environment" stance. I suspect that the real motivation has less to do with the environment and more to do with tax revenue. When will a politician do the right thing instead of the popular thing?
I've tried to get into the debate with the politicians and citizens that are pushing for bans. I have Google Alerts set to send me news stories about plastic bags, and make sure that I chime in on the comments section if I have time. The roadblock I keep running into is the distrust of my opinion, since I work at a bag manufacturer. We're being compared to big tobacco, which is just nuts.
Here at American Plastic, we have been manufacturing 100% biodegradable bags for several years, and sales of those are steadily going up. My fear is that with all the various new biodegradable options, consumers will be more careless with packaging - figuring that since it will biodegrade, it's ok to litter. And many people don't understand the differences between different types of biodegradable bags.
I think you bring up alot of
Sasha Welland
I think you bring up alot of great, valid points and make a remarkable statement when you say, "The cumulative effect of small things will change the big ones."
But, by saying that disposable bags from the market are still a good alternative, takes away from formulating good, reusable habits. Although my priorities remain with reusable goods manufacturers/designers such as Simply Green Solutions, I'm still a big fan of doing those small things that change the big ones. It's not ok to let plastic bags or bottles get swept through the streets so it can create another Giant Plastic Island in the ocean.
I do agree with you on some things, as well as commenter Sean that we need more education and awareness rather than just outright ban plastic bags - but that comes with spreading the word and changing mindsets, not necessarily hinting that the FDA says its ok to eat plastic bags and that sea life isn't affected. Yes, improvement is needed and is coming - I think we're all looking forward to that day.
Thank you though, good article!
Plastic bag is a problem
Los Angeles Locksmith...Plastic bags are reusable but not environmentally friendly. This is a big problem in developing countries due to the fact that there is no proper way of collecting and recycling them. Rather people should use jute bags or paper bags, etc.
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