The Plastic Bag Solution?

Posted on January 19, 2009 with 5 Comments

FB posted recently about the problem of grocery bags in relation to the environment, and how to reduce the usage of them and increase usage of reusable canvas tote bags instead. She discussed the possibility of legally banning plastic grocery bags, as has been done in San Francisco, and having only canvas tote bags available at grocery stores for a minimum cost of $1 per bag. She suggests that a $1/bag price is high enough that we would remember to bring reusable tote bags with us. Her post prompted a great discussion in the comments section. Many people agreed with her that they use canvas bags whenever possible, but a common refrain was:

“I reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever I can, but I’m not ready to stop using plastic grocery bags altogether, because I reuse them at home as pet cleanup bags or trash can liners.”

This is an issue I discussed with some friends recently and I have a potential solution, which I wrote about in the comments on FB’s post, but I’d like to re-post my idea in greater detail and start a discussion about it here as well. After all, if we don’t start talking about this, nothing is going to change!

I completely relate to this issue. I personally keep a stash of plastic grocery bags under the sink, and I use them as trash can liners at home. I have also used them as pet waste cleanup bags on dog walks in a pinch. I use canvas tote bags about 75% of the time when I buy groceries, but I do need to collect plastic grocery bags about 25% of the time in order to maintain my stash! I do not think that banning grocery stores from distributing plastic grocery bags is the solution to this problem from an environmental standpoint; I think this will simply result in a massive boost in sales for Glad Kitchen Catchers and other garbage bags sold at grocery stores, because people still need something to hold their garbage at home. It doesn’t make sense to me to ban the free grocery bags, only to force consumers to purchase higher grade plastic bags to act as trash receptacles at home. This solves nothing. It just passes on a cost currently being absorbed largely by grocery store corporations, over to consumers. Plastic bags will still be used, even if we have to pay for them.

So what is the solution? The idea came to me while dog-walking last year. I don’t know if this is done everywhere, but in my neighbourhood, the parks board has a free supply of biodegradable pet cleanup bags that you can pick up at all designated off-leash dog parks. The material of these bags feels just like regular plastic. I thought this was great that I wasn’t contributing unnecessary waste to landfills as a result of cleaning up after my pets. But this begs the question, if we can use biodegradable plastic bags for pet waste, why can’t we use them as grocery store bags too?

When you realize that something as commonplace as a grocery bag has become a huge environmental or social problem, then the responsibility lies with the manufacturer of the product to amend their ways. We have seen a similar situation arise with the issue of the health risks posed by trans fats, and the Canadian government’s response to this as awareness of the health risks grew. As a result, Canadian food companies and restaurants are being asked to trim trans fats from their products by June 2009, and if they do not comply voluntarily, it will be mandated by law.

In this case, consumers are not being charged a premium price for foods containing trans fats. The government is placing the responsibility to fix the problem with the manufacturer of the products containing trans fats. So why then, in the case of plastic grocery bags, is the onus being put on the consumer to fix the problem? The grocery stores are manufacturing a product causing such immense wastage; it should be up to them to fix their product now that the negative long-term effects are known. Grocery stores need to start making biodegradable plastic bags instead of those they currently distribute.

I, for one, will continue using my canvas tote bags most of the time, and I would gladly pay a slight premium for biodegradable plastic grocery bags – say 25 cents per bag – if stores would begin distributing a more environmentally friendly solution.