4 ms·

I feel like cotton canvas ones should be the thing we move toward. No plastic, and they last for so long. Never had one wear out before.

ajsnigrutin 3y ago
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/world/reusable-grocery-bags-cotton-plastic-scn/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/world/reusable-grocery-ba... > According to one eye-popping estimate, a cotton bag should be used at least 7,100 times to make it a truly environmentally friendly alternative to a conventional plastic bag.
- da768 3y ago
  Only if said plastic bags are used as trash bags and incinerated.
- tomtheelder 3y ago
  Yeah I've never been a fan of that study. They take a bunch of categories where the bags basically all have negligible impact regardless of material (ozone depletion, ionizing radiation, etc) and compare them on those without using a particularly reasonable weighting scheme. And in all those categories, none of them really have anything to do with the actual reasons we want to move away from plastic bags (terrestrial and oceanic plastic waste, microplastics in water sources, etc). I guess I think it just sort of misses the point. It's like if they were to say "oh we should keep burning fossil fuels instead of solar because solar uses 1000x more land" but then didn't mention or compare CO2 emission.
positr0n 3y ago
Cotton bags must be used 7100 times to be less environmentally impactful than single use thin plastic bags. Organic cotton bags 20,000 times. Source: https://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2018/02/978-87-93614-73-4.pdf https://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2018/02/978-87-93614-... (First time I've posted hoping I'm wrong and get down voted and yelled at for spreading FUD, haha. But I've seen this figure a lot)
- oftenwrong 3y ago
  I think that is possible. My mother has had the same cotton canvas grocery bags for ~40 years. They are faded from washing, but are still strong, and she still uses them. The other advantage is that cotton bags do not shed as many microplastics (the thread is almost always synthetic). Many of the "re-usable" woven plastic bags I've acquired in recent years are of extremely poor quality. I have had to re-stitch many of them, and some had to be discarded after a very short service life.
  - positr0n 3y ago
    I agree, certainly possible if you are diligent. Most people are not though, for various reasons, most commonly not caring enough. Plastic bag legislatures should keep that in mind if they want to do more than pass a feel good law.
- tomtheelder 3y ago
  I responded to a sibling comment, but basically I think that study sort of misses the point. The reason to move away from plastic bags is due to plastic waste and microplastics, and the study doesn't touch on that really at all. Their analysis is based on stuff like ozone depletion, eutrophication, resource depletion, and other things that just aren't really meaningfully impacted by shopping bag material choice. I don't think it's FUD exactly, I think it's just a bit of a weird analysis that focuses on the wrong things.

ajsnigrutin 3y ago

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/world/reusable-grocery-bags-cotton-plastic-scn/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/world/reusable-grocery-ba... > According to one eye-popping estimate, a cotton bag should be used at least 7,100 times to make it a truly environmentally friendly alternative to a conventional plastic bag.

da768 3y ago
Only if said plastic bags are used as trash bags and incinerated.
tomtheelder 3y ago
Yeah I've never been a fan of that study. They take a bunch of categories where the bags basically all have negligible impact regardless of material (ozone depletion, ionizing radiation, etc) and compare them on those without using a particularly reasonable weighting scheme. And in all those categories, none of them really have anything to do with the actual reasons we want to move away from plastic bags (terrestrial and oceanic plastic waste, microplastics in water sources, etc). I guess I think it just sort of misses the point. It's like if they were to say "oh we should keep burning fossil fuels instead of solar because solar uses 1000x more land" but then didn't mention or compare CO2 emission.

positr0n 3y ago

Cotton bags must be used 7100 times to be less environmentally impactful than single use thin plastic bags. Organic cotton bags 20,000 times. Source: https://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2018/02/978-87-93614-73-4.pdf https://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2018/02/978-87-93614-... (First time I've posted hoping I'm wrong and get down voted and yelled at for spreading FUD, haha. But I've seen this figure a lot)

oftenwrong 3y ago
I think that is possible. My mother has had the same cotton canvas grocery bags for ~40 years. They are faded from washing, but are still strong, and she still uses them. The other advantage is that cotton bags do not shed as many microplastics (the thread is almost always synthetic). Many of the "re-usable" woven plastic bags I've acquired in recent years are of extremely poor quality. I have had to re-stitch many of them, and some had to be discarded after a very short service life.
- positr0n 3y ago
  I agree, certainly possible if you are diligent. Most people are not though, for various reasons, most commonly not caring enough. Plastic bag legislatures should keep that in mind if they want to do more than pass a feel good law.
tomtheelder 3y ago
I responded to a sibling comment, but basically I think that study sort of misses the point. The reason to move away from plastic bags is due to plastic waste and microplastics, and the study doesn't touch on that really at all. Their analysis is based on stuff like ozone depletion, eutrophication, resource depletion, and other things that just aren't really meaningfully impacted by shopping bag material choice. I don't think it's FUD exactly, I think it's just a bit of a weird analysis that focuses on the wrong things.