oops I did it again.....
April 13th 2008 23:40
I try to be good, have as little impact as possible. with the compact in mind, I made my weekly Saturday trip to the Supermarket, fully focussed on buying essentials only, the less packaging the better, I get all the way around the Grocery store and low and behold, I forgot my green bags AGAIN!!!! So over I go and buy more, when i got home and looked at my stash of Green Bags I thought to myself, am I really helping the environment by using these things? They certainly don't look very good for the environment, in fact they almost look worse than plastic bags, so I decided I'd do a bit of checking.
Are we being brainwashed into thinking these green bags are better than plastic, or are they genuinely good? I am sure I am not the only person who has about 100 of them now, have I really helped?
Well I am afraid the answer of course is tainted with shades of grey. The green bags are made form a substance called non-woven polypropylene, yes this is about as bad as it sounds, there is nothing good in there, all fossil fuel based chemicals. The catch is, the material lasts a long time, so is better in the long run than using hundreds of plastic bags, and they are technically reclyclable - that is when someone sets up the recycling for them that is - so if you use them for a long time AND recycle them, then you have done a little good for the environment, but the results are pretty marginal in the grand scheme of things, especially when you take into consideration the fact they are made in China.
Here are some comments from an article i found see below for link
Now I am all for, every little bit helping, my concern is that if we accept these Green Bags as the solution then we are compromising the development of a truly green solution being developed. Fro example a genuinely bio-degradable plastic bag made for non-food starch would be a far better alternative, but like all things, money is needed to develop the product, if we speand all our green dollars on non-green items true solutions won;t be developed.
I am not saying to ban the green bag, i am saying, don't be fooled, like i was into thinking it is good, it may be a little better but it is far from perfect.
Here is a link to an article with some facts and figures
cheers
Louie
Are we being brainwashed into thinking these green bags are better than plastic, or are they genuinely good? I am sure I am not the only person who has about 100 of them now, have I really helped?
Well I am afraid the answer of course is tainted with shades of grey. The green bags are made form a substance called non-woven polypropylene, yes this is about as bad as it sounds, there is nothing good in there, all fossil fuel based chemicals. The catch is, the material lasts a long time, so is better in the long run than using hundreds of plastic bags, and they are technically reclyclable - that is when someone sets up the recycling for them that is - so if you use them for a long time AND recycle them, then you have done a little good for the environment, but the results are pretty marginal in the grand scheme of things, especially when you take into consideration the fact they are made in China.
Here are some comments from an article i found see below for link
Australians are being conned," says a letter writer in The Age newspaper. "Your environmentally friendly green bags are made of plastic - polypropylene is a fossil fuel-based plastic. The bags are also imported from China. So, plastic, non-renewable, doing nothing for our balance of payments and guess what? You're paying for the privilege. Supermarkets are laughing all the way to the bank."
Another reader writes: "I've just retired after 30 years in the packaging industry and, frankly, I'm amazed at the constant rave about the 'environmental' green bags ... Doesn't anyone realise these bags are made of the same 'almost indestructible' materials used in car bumpers and wheelie bins? ... These bags replace the plastic bags, which were in the throes of changing to a safe cornstarch biodegradable form ... what happens when these 'cool' bags reach their use-by date? Will there be millions of them in circulation?"
Another reader writes: "I've just retired after 30 years in the packaging industry and, frankly, I'm amazed at the constant rave about the 'environmental' green bags ... Doesn't anyone realise these bags are made of the same 'almost indestructible' materials used in car bumpers and wheelie bins? ... These bags replace the plastic bags, which were in the throes of changing to a safe cornstarch biodegradable form ... what happens when these 'cool' bags reach their use-by date? Will there be millions of them in circulation?"
Now I am all for, every little bit helping, my concern is that if we accept these Green Bags as the solution then we are compromising the development of a truly green solution being developed. Fro example a genuinely bio-degradable plastic bag made for non-food starch would be a far better alternative, but like all things, money is needed to develop the product, if we speand all our green dollars on non-green items true solutions won;t be developed.
I am not saying to ban the green bag, i am saying, don't be fooled, like i was into thinking it is good, it may be a little better but it is far from perfect.
Here is a link to an article with some facts and figures
cheers
Louie
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Comment by Jarrah
Back to the Eighties
I've always known this was a dead idea.
The supermarkets are cleaning up on this one.
Great work for the research Louie and looking past what is just given.
Sons of bitches.....
lol
Seriously though, this kind of thing really gets me going.
Back to the Eighties
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Comment by Louie
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Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Mrs M
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I heard about this a while ago and like you I was a little disappointed that these suckers are not biodegradable.
I didn't know about using cornstarch as material for bags. Interesting.
If nothing else, I now have a spare cupboard in my kitchen that doesn't get filled with plastic bags.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
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I don't know it what they gave me.....
Comment by Louie
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I agree, not having a cupboard full of plastic bags s a bonus.
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Comment by Rosemary
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Perhaps with compartments to separate the squashables from the heavy stuff.
Know where I can buy one?
I've seen silly little plastic ones that you have to lift into the boot - obviously designed by a genius who's never done grocery shopping.
Comment by Louie
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hopefully some entrepreneur will see this blog and make one
Comment by AmyHuang
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I think the fact that these bags are not biodegradable is not a great issue - so aren't many of our wallets and handbags. It's more about their durability so that you can use them over and over and over and over.... again... (just my opinion)
I used to forget them too actually and I also have a stash of green bags at home, but I am now remembering every time I go and have been making a good use out of them
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Comment by ChrisC
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Thankyou
Comment by Wayne F
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I really think she brought these because they save a lot of trouble and space when you take all of the groceries home. I don't think she was really thinking about the environment when she bought them
Nice research Lou, interesting to see that the environmentally friendly bags everyone is using are really the enemy in disguise!
Comment by Lilla
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I use green bags, and orange ones and Bakers Delight Burgandy ones and neo-blue ANZ ones, hell I think I even have a red one from some bottle-shop... *laughs* they are better than plastic bags every week, no doubts and by the time we have to recycle them, they'll be able to have developed the technology to create biodegradable shopping trolleys from then, which will stop them from clogging up our waterways.
Meanwhile, every fourth shop, I just let the good times roll and get the plastic bags... there's enough there to line the garbage bin with plastic for weeks, free of charge - well almost if you don;t count the air I have to breathe... *cough*
Didn't everyone notice (striaght off) that they weren't made of cloth?
I have about a half a dozen brown paper bags too, they are incredibly durable and you get 2 cents back on them - off the bill - each time you use them... I noticed though that most of the packers tear them... tey don;t like them for some reason?
I have learnt in life, not to ask "what next?\" but this has become so bizarre it's laughable. In UK plastic is charged for heavily and people use their buggies, or jalopies as they are called in Melbourne... they are the way to go, but be warned they are also not all cloth... is anything, anymore?
Lilla ...
Comment by Tracy
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Didn't everyone notice (striaght off) that they weren't made of cloth?
but I trusted the research...
No wonder the old adage, ignorance is bliss is so appealing...
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I do the same, especially with dogs, I either re-use the ones i have or i have to get them from the park.. I think that's why I lean more towards bio-degradable plastic -from NON-FOOD sources of course.
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Comment by Jill Browne
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I am BAD and have not used them enough yet.
But my sources, in Canada, so far are:
Lee Valley Tools
IKEA.
Possibly IKEA in other countries has them.
Here's an article from IKEA UK on the topic of their cornstarch bags.
I'm not trying to promote their store, just to mention where such bags might be found.
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Comment by Michaelie
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Nice post, Louie.
Michaelie