Re-useable bags.

If you're anything like me you'll have a number of re-useable bags sitting in your home, all brought with good intentions, but never actually being used.  Here are just some of my plastic long-life ones (I managed to get rid of a number at Christmas time when I used them to help protect some of the presents I posted), but I also have a number of material ones too.

Of course, there are a number of good reasons for using re-useable bags instead of the thin plastic ones we get each time we go to the stores.  Firstly, plastic is made from the by products that come out of processing oil and natural gases.  So, while it won't have any extra affect on that front, these are finite supplies meaning that the supply of plastic will not be around forever.  On my part, I would rather the plastic was used only for storing things like medical supplies and items that need to be kept sterile, rather than used to make the bags I get everytime I buy something.  That way the supply will last a lot longer.

Like all plastics, there is an issue with recycling plastic  One the whole, most plastics can be recycled by heating the products (of the same plastic family) until they melt and can be formed into different product.  The problem is that, unlike glass and metal, the product degrades each time it is recycled and in most cases it can only be recycled once.  Once you no longer have use for this 'new' item the only place for it is into the landfill.  It also requires a lot more energy then glass and metal to transform, as well as releasing CO2 in the process.

There's also the well known problem that occurs when the plastic is thrown into landfill.  How long plastic bags actually last in the ground is still up for debate, afterall they've only been around for around 50 years so we have no first-hand experience in this.  Revolve states that it takes 100 years, but other estimates include 500 years and 1000 years....lets just read 'a really long time' here.  While they're in the ground they don't actually biodegrade, despite what the bags might say on it no plastic bag biodegrades, they photograde.  What this means is that they break down into smaller and smaller pieces.  Some get eaten by passing wildlife that mistake the pieces for food, but there is also the issue of what is released in this process.  Pure plastic have very low toxicity, but many plastic bags contain additives, such as adipates and phthalates as well as some metals like lead and cadmium, which are toxic.  These compounds that leach from the plastic have been connected to cancer, fertility problems, and hormone function interference.

For me, the biggest issue is probably the most visual.  This is the death of the animals that mistakenly eat the plastic we leave.  According to the Marine Conservation Society 60% of litter found on UK beaches are plastic and most of this ends up being washed into the sea.  Birds and mammals regularly mistake this floating debris as food, but eating this leads to starvation and dehydration as the belly becomes filled with this plastic and is unable to take in anything else. When a sperm whale died on the coast of Spain, scientists took a look at what was in its stomache and found it full of plastic, specifically plastic greenhouse covers.  Not only did this cause starvation but it was believed that the cause of death was due to the stomache rupturing after the digestive tract was blocked with all the debris it had swollen. Parents even mistakenly feed their young with these plastic pieces, usually leading to the death of their offspring.  The consequence of this is that it can lead to repeatedly bad breeding years, and the possible loss of a species.  Even the Pacific now has the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area which is covered in rubbish mainly made of plastic.......nice.

But if none of that is of any importance to you and all you care about is the money. How do you thiink they pay for the plastic bags?  Certainly not out of their own pocket!

While I do re-use the plastic bags that I get (and it is re-use, not recycle as some websites are stating) by using the bags as my bin bags, I am certainly not using the same number of bags for rubbish as I am collecting while I'm shopping.  Definitely time to reduce the number of bags that I pick up and maybe start using bags that do actually biodegrade for rubbish rather than photograde.  So here's the plan. I've taken two of my plastic re-useable bags (it makes sense to use those to death first) and put them into my everyday handbag so that they're there when I need them.  Now, the next time I go shopping I have bags I can use, and that I will remember to use as they're sitting in my bag staring at me.  The biggest thing will be remembering to put them back into the bag onced I've emptied the products out once I'm home.  A habit I definitely need to get into.