Andrew Schmid
Today everything is all about being “Green.” We hear and see a lot about green items, it’s all around us. There seems to be a green revolution going on these days and I’m for anything that helps our world. If we can save a tree, reduce waste going to landfills or being dumped in our oceans, our planet and the people who live on it all benefit.
What I want to talk about today are “Green Bags,” why they are considered green and what you need to know if you purchase them. In this article I’m going to discuss the most common types of green bags. I will tell you what the difference are and why they’re considered a green bag. The most common green bags are: recycled bags, reusable bags and finally what I like to call natural bags. You have probably seen all of these types of bags advertised but you might not know why they are considered a green bag.
Recycled Bags:
To most people it’s all the same, but there are big differences between them. First, let’s talk about “recycled bags,” and “no” it doesn’t mean that stores are using bags over again. It simply means the bag was made from a percentage of recycled plastics. The recycled plastic bags are melted down and added to newly manufactured plastic. This allows the manufacturer to call the bag a recycled bag. Usually the amount of recycled plastic is around 15% but I have seen more and even less than that amount used in the bags, it all depends on the manufacturer.
Now, let me explain something very important about recycled bags. As I said earlier, I like all things that help the environment but when we are talking about a recycled bag we are still discussing a bag that, if tossed in the garbage it takes hundreds of years to completely break down in a landfill. So, in this case the terminology “recycled,” even though it’s better than a bag that wasn’t made from any recycled plastic, is still bad for the environment if it isn’t disposed of in a manner that reuses the plastic again. On the other hand, what is good about these bags is they can be used more than once, therefore, cutting down on waste in the landfills.
Reusable Bags:
This next bag style is called a “Reusable Bag.” What does that mean? It doesn’t mean anything more than it says – it simply means it’s reusable by the person who owns the bag. It’s a bag that is mainly made and sold as a shopping bag. The idea is for a store to buy the bags and either give or sell them to their customer’s. These bags reduce the amount of bags that end up in landfills by providing a store with shopping bag that can be brought back time and time again to carry purchases home. The bags also serve another very good use because they provide the store with name recognition as their customer carries it around with them. Another benefit is savings to the store because they don’t have to buy as many disposable bags when the patrons bring the bags back every time they shop.
Natural Bags:
The last bag type I would like to talk about is the “Natural Bag.” These are my favorite because they have the most potential of being the greenest of all the bags. These bags are made of cotton canvas or jute. You’re probably wondering why I said, “have the most potential of being the greenest…” The reason for my saying that is even these bags sometimes are made in a manner that make them not completely biodegradable. Some of the ways this can happen are cotton canvas or jute bags can be manufactured with polypropylene handles or sewn with plastic thread instead of cotton, these things can make the bags, what I refer to as less than a biodegradable. However, as long as a natural bag is made of entirely natural materials they will break down when tossed in a landfill. Therefore, these bags, as long as they are made all natural, get both green thumbs up from me and are the true winners in the movement to save our environment. Written by, Andrew Schmid owner of www.greenbagpromos.com.
