Day 51 of 365 Days Of Low Carbon Living: using a milestone day to switch to cloth shopping bags.
Amid growing concerns about plastic pollution, a big story doing the news rounds in Australia today has been that the major supermarket chains here are finally ceasing to supply ‘single use’ plastic bags. The bags in question are those singlet-shaped ones that are made of very thin plastic that makes a crinkly sound.
The Australian Broadcasting Commission reports it like this:
For any states still able to get their hands on single-use shopping bags, the party comes to an end today in Woolworths, and on July 1 in Coles and IGA stores nationwide.
Also on July 1, Queensland and Western Australia will be joining the Northern Territory, the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia in a total statewide ban on the bags.
So with the writing on the wall, we can either pay for heavy-duty plastic bags, or start bringing our own.
The research says the majority of us will do the latter.
No choice
If we care about our future, then there really isn’t any choice.
Cloth bags is the way to go.
3 reasons stop using plastic shopping bags
The 3 main reasons to stop using plastic are that it:
- is almost always made from fossil gas and oil, which damages our climate
- pollutes our common home and all who live here (including we humans)
- is dangerous for our wildlife, oceans and waterways
Recycling plastic doesn’t deal with the problem. This is particularly the case with so-called ‘single-use’ plastic, the major cause of the problems.
And neither does shifting to thicker plastic bags. This is why the Australian Capital Territory is reviewing its ban on very thin plastic bags.
Shifting to thicker plastic bags does not solve the problem. That’s because they are still plastic.
And plastic never really breaks down. It simply breaks into smaller and smaller pieces.
Why use cloth shopping bags
1. Cloth shopping bags avoid the pollution problems that come with plastic. Bags made from natural materials can eventually break down and return to the soil.
They have other advantages too:
2. Most importantly, they can be used over and over. This means we need few of them…which means we need fewer resources to make them.
3. This leads to another advantage: you don’t have the big storage and disposal problem that you have with plastic bags.
- How much ‘rubbish’ would you have without plastic bags (and other plastic!)?
- If you keep your plastic shopping bags to re-use, how many times have you complained that they seem to ‘multiply’ in the cupboard or drawer?
- Alternatively, you wouldn’t need to have a ‘bag bag’ hanging off some door handle any more.
4. Cloth shopping bags tend to be stronger* than plastic ones – no more tears or holes for things to fall out! This feature also means that you can carry more in a cloth bag compared with a thin plastic bag of the same size. (*unless they are made of flimsy or weak or threadbare material – but most people wouldn’t make or use such bags anyway)
5. Cloth bags are quieter than plastic ones – no more crinkly noise!
6. The design options for cloth bags are limitless. This means that you can choose or make your bags to suit your needs and wants – including who makes them and how you look!
7. You can still have lightweight bags. While these are usually made of synthetic material (so still technically plastic), they can be made from other tightly woven, strong, lightweight material.
Pre-made ones tend to be the same ‘singlet’ design as lightweight plastic bags. (The small loop in the middle of the U between the handles is to help hold the bag on the bag-packing stand in a supermarket.)
So there you have it: 3 + 7 = 10 reasons to use cloth shopping bags instead of plastic ones!
How to use cloth shopping bags
I have been using cloth shopping bags for years. You use them just like ‘single use’ singlet-type shopping bags – except you don’t need anywhere near as many. (Remember how I said cloth shopping bags are stronger?)
Because cloth shopping bags are not one standard design (which can be a good thing!), make sure that the bags you use are suitable for what you want to carry in them. Check:
- how big they are: will they hold what you need them to hold?
- how low they hang – you don’t want them dragging on the ground. (This is something I have learned by experience. My remedy for bags that hang too low: hold the handles then wrap them once around your hand.)
Lightweight cloth bags fold up small. Usually the manufactured ones come in a small pouch to keep it neat. The pouches often have a clip for attaching it to other things like key rings, hand bags, or belt loops. And that means you can keep one or two on you so you are never without a shopping bag!
If your bags get dirty, simply wash them!
(By the way, the design of this cotton shopping bag is very strong: the sturdy tape used for the handles is stitched to the bag all the way down the sides and underneath.)
Join me!
Any change or challenge is easier if you have company along the way.
So let’s embark on this journey together.
- Read my blog every day for ideas, thoughts and experiences for living a lower carbon lifestyle, more in harmony with nature – while also adapting to the consequences of our damaged climate.
- Subscribe to get posts direct to your inbox.
- Commit to taking action yourself.
- Add a comment to let me know you’re joining in the effort to turn around our world so it can remain liveable – and what your experiences are.
- Share with others my posts and what you’re doing – our efforts, progress, experiences and challenges – on Facebook, on Twitter, in conversations with friends, on talkback radio and in letters to the editor.
A problem shared is a problem halved. We’re all affected by the changes to our world so we need to be all in on the action!