One environmental trend you've likely seen popping up lately is the use of reusable grocery bags. There are many different reasons people buy reusable grocery bags instead of using the plastic ones at the checkout counter. Here are just a few of those reasons.
- Durable - Have you ever had the handle on a flimsy plastic bag snap while walking in the door? This simply won't happen with reusable bags.
- Recyclable - According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 3% of plastic bags are recycled in the United States. This is because you can get new ones the next time you go to the supermarket, they aren't used for anything else, and it is inconvenient to recycle. When you buy reusable grocery bags, you have the ability to recycle them into other things at home.
- Versatile - If you are going to the beach or the park for a picnic, pack it inside of your reusable bag. Easy, right?
- Renewable - The cotton or other fabric that these bags are made from is harvested in a sustainable and renewable way, unlike petroleum-based plastic bags.
- Safe - Worrying about your children or pets choking or suffocating from a plastic bag s a thing of the past. Feel free to let your dog wear your reusable bag as a hat.
- Biodegradable - Plastic bags don't biodegrade, but fabric bags do. This makes them more environmentally safe if they ever end up in a landfill.
- Washable - Say you spilled ketchup on your reusable bag. Run it through the laundry and you're all set to use it again. If you did this with a plastic bag, you would get weird looks.
- Incentivized - Many grocery stores are adopting a policy that charges you for using a plastic bag, and offers you a reusable one for a very low price.
The convenience and versatility alone should sell you on reusable grocery bags' value. In the not too distant future, we will certainly look back on our plastic bag consumption and realize how ridiculous it was. Why not make the change now?
