Day 63 of 365 Days Of Low Carbon Living: the how and why of washing plastic bags for re-use.
The first question you are probably asking is…
What?! You wash plastic bags for re-use?
Don’t you just throw them away or take them to the supermarket for recycling (maybe after re-using them once or twice first)…or use them to wrap your rubbish?
The answer is, no – not if I can help it.
And the idea of washing plastic bags for re-use is not new.
Once upon a time, people did not have many plastic bags in their lives – so they washed them for re-use. I remember that, when I was very small, my mum washed the occasional plastic bag that came into our home so she could re-use it. It is only as things become very common and cheap that people take less care of them, even to the extent of discarding them after use.
Why are you washing plastic bags for re-use?
In my last post I wrote that:
When I am buying larger quantities and travelling by foot or public transport but without my own shopping buggy (trolley), I tend to re-use clean plastic bags to reduce the weight and bulk I need to carry.
and then went on to explain why:
What?! You’re still using plastic for your bulk dry food purchases?!
You are probably wondering why I use plastic at all, given the focus of this post is on avoiding plastic.
Yes, the ultimate goal is to avoid plastic because of the damage caused by extraction of the raw materials (usually fossil gas or oil), manufacture and ‘disposal’. (There are also some people who are highly sensitive to chemicals and have to avoid plastic completely.)
However, the greatest problem is plastic that is only used once – and this applies to most plastic packaging used for food.
The key therefore is to avoid buying plastic food packaging in the first place – the so-called ‘single use’ plastic such as takeaway containers and plastic bags.
Aside from this, we can reduce plastic pollution by doing our best to re-use the plastic that has already come into our lives. Re-use is higher up the waste hierarchy than re-cycle.
And disposal is right at the very bottom of the waste hierarchy – it should be avoided at all costs. In our one and only common home there is no ‘away’ to which we can throw things. Would you just discard things around you as you walk and sit around at home? (There was a great advertisement in the 1970s that explained this concept.)
In nature, nothing is ever wasted – everything is eventually used by something else.
So…if plastic has come into our lives, we need to make sure it is used as much as possible – until it breaks or wears out or is irreversibly contaminated (e.g. by absorbing chemicals).
How do you go about washing plastic bags for re-use?
Here’s what I do:
1 Ensure the bag is empty. If it contains organic matter (perhaps fruit or vegetable that have gone mouldy or turned to slime!), empty it into your compost bucket or bin, Bokashi bin or worm farm.
2 Wash the bag inside and out in water that is sudsy and not greasy. Ensure that everything that is stuck to it is removed. Plastic bags are quite resilient (that is the problem!) and will usually withstand gentle scrubbing with a dishwashing brush or scourer.
3 Rinse the bag inside and out.
4 Dry the bag.
- I usually use my dish rack for this.
- I might first hang the bag off something like a chopping board or handle that is already sticking up on the rack.
- Then I lay the bag horizontally to finish drying. When whichever side is facing outwards is dry, I turn it inside out to dry the other side.
- At every stage, ensure that the bag is open, to help it to dry quickly and not grow algae or mould.
5 Store for re-use. Once I started doing this, I was astounded at how many bags we already had at home – even though I was avoiding plastic! Keeping a supply in the shopping bag or buggy means you will always have some at the ready. This is handy if you are buying produce that is wet (e.g. leafy greens or at a farmers market on a wet day).
6 When they really cannot be used for any other purpose (e.g. because they become torn or so full of holes that they will not hold anything or be re-used for filling holes or creating ‘rag’ bags or rugs)…then you can take plastic to the supermarket for recycling.
The challenge
Re-use any plastic bags in your life. Ensure that they are clean, washing any that are dirty before use.
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.
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- 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.
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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!
Till next time…