Reusable vs Single-Use

The Bad News

While plastic bags might seem like they're the easy, normal, and hygienic way to get our groceries, they are actually a recent development -- less than a half-century old -- and they have surprisingly large environmental and health impacts.

It was only in 1982 that Safeway and Kroger, two of the biggest supermarket chains in the United States, switched to plastic bags. A mere fifteen years later, in 1997, sailor and researcher Charles Moore discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Each plastic bag is used for a mere 12 minutes on average. After this time, the plastic bag becomes waste that lasts for centuries. Communities and governments spend millions of dollars to manage the ballooning amount of plastic waste: spending millions each year to landfill plastic bags and to remove plastic bags from its waterways. This plastic waste kills wildlife indiscriminately by trapping, strangling, choking, and poisoning them. It is estimated that 1 million marine birds and 100,000 marine mammals die from plastic ingestion every year.

In addition, large pieces of plastic break down into smaller pieces of plastic over time. These tiny microplastics move through the ecosystem and the food chain, absorbing toxins that are released when they are later ingested. Microplastics have now been found in our soil, our drinking water, a myriad of animals, and even in human placenta.

That's the bad news.  The good news is that we have a choice: we can do what our communities have done for most of our history, and what many of us already do today.  More than 1/3 of Americans already use reusable bags, and you can, too!

The Good News

What are some advantages to me of reusable bags?

Much of this is adopted, and very lightly adapted, from https://campuspress.yale.edu/ledger/why-everyone-should-use-reusable-shopping-bags/

Save Money

Many places in the world, including the United States, now impose a plastic bag levy on customers. While a plastic bag that only costs you a nickel may seem cheap, the expense can add up rapidly. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American family uses 1,500 plastic bags every year. At a nickel a bag, you can end up spending $75 annually.

Meanwhile, reusable bags are a one-time purchase that can last for years. They cost only a handful of dollars at most and can be easily purchased in most retail stores and supermarkets. Some places even throw in a reusable bag for free with a minimum purchase or offer discounts to shoppers who bring their own reusable bags.

Better Quality

Plastic bags at check-outs are designed for single use. They are only supposed to last as long as the trip home from the store, so they are typically flimsy and thin. Everyone has experienced plastic bags ripping from sharp items or their handles tearing off from a heavy load—a very inconvenient occurrence when it happens halfway through your commute.

On the other hand, reusable bags are tougher and more durable. They can carry more weight than regular plastic bags and are less likely to tear even when packed with sharp objects. This means

• quicker bagging,

• fewer bags to carry,

• fewer trips to and from your vehicle, and

• easier loading and unloading.

Protect your health and that of your family

Fewer plastic bags in our homes means we and our pets are less exposed to eating carcinogen-causing plastics.  The Division of Family and Children Services [https://dcfs.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/dcfsnvgov/content/Tips/Brochures/Prevent%20choking.pdf] notes that plastic bags are a serious choking hazard for children (also for pets).

Suit Your Style

Reusable shopping bags come in a huge variety of different materials and designs. From cotton and canvas to fabric made from recycled water bottles, consumers are spoilt for choice. While the materials may vary, all reusable shopping bags are lightweight, durable, and washable, allowing for several years of versatile use.

Reusable bags can be much more attractive than boring single-use plastic bags. Many brands are joining the reusable bag movement. With so many stores stocking their own range of reusable bags, you can get custom reusable bags from your favorite brand. Or you could choose a reusable bag with a design or slogan that you love.

Declutter Your Space

Although you may plan to reuse the plastic bags from the grocery store for putting out the trash or picking up dog poop, it can be impossible to use as many bags as you collect. This is why most people end up with kitchen drawers full of plastic bags or multiple plastic bags that are stuffed with other plastic bags just taking up valuable storage space.

As we grow increasingly aware of how clutter negatively affects our mental and emotional health, more people are seeking to adopt a cleaner, more minimalist lifestyle. Instead of having a continuous flow of plastic bags that you have to find uses for, switch to reusable bags. Your plastic bag collection will dwindle and you will enjoy more space for important things.

In Summary

By using a reusable shopping bag, you can decrease the resources used on plastic bag production and disposal and protect the environment from plastic pollution. At the same time, you can save money, look stylish, and enjoy a better quality of life. With so many reasons to switch to reusable shopping bags, everyone should say goodbye to single-use plastic bags.

The Ugly: Can’t we just recycle plastic bags?

Alas, no, not in practice, as the New York Times reported: unfortunately, “plastics” is an umbrella term for a seemingly endless number of different compounds with different chemicals and additives that can determine every attribute from color to stiffness.  

That’s a problem for recyclers. Different kinds of plastic can’t be melted down together, so they have to be painstakingly, and expensively, sorted by color and composition.  But here’s the critical part: Don’t wish-cycle.  Follow the instructions provided by your local hauler. If you throw in stuff they don’t want, the effort needed to weed it out makes it less likely that anything will get recycled at all.

Also: Plastics, if recycled at all, are usually “downcycled” into garden furniture or plastic fiber for insulation, after which it’s no longer recyclable. Recycling plastics again and again isn’t usually possible.

The result is that manufacturers often opt for new plastic, made from the plentiful byproducts of oil and gas, because it’s cheaper and easier.

Can you guess Lancaster County’s tallest structure? You’d be right if you said the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, standing at 210 feet. But do you know the second tallest? You might be surprised to learn it is the Frey Farm Landfill. Since the landfill was established in 1989, the waste dumped there has accumulated into a mound that stands 200 feet tall. (1)

And it’s rapidly growing.

About 1,500 tons of waste is brought to the landfill each day. (2) In 2023 alone, 400,000 tons of inorganic waste was dumped there. To put that into perspective, the Empire State Building weighs 365,000 tons. (3)

In fact, so much waste is coming into the landfill that County officials are already looking for a new location, saying Frey Farm will reach capacity in just over a decade. (4)

And while the amount of waste dumped at Frey Farm is enormous, it represents just asmall portion – about 5% -- of all the waste produced by local residents and businesses. (5) Frey Farm, in fact, only accepts waste that can’t be incinerated such as concrete, steel, or other construction debris.

The majority of the waste we produce in Lancaster County is burned. That means almost everything we don’t recycle or compost – plastic shopping bags, take-away food containers, fabrics, and any other items we toss into our trash cans – ends up being incinerated by the waste management authority. And those ashes are then buried at Frey Farm.

While local authorities do their best to capture fumes from the incinerated waste and prevent them from getting into the atmosphere, chemicals from burnt plastics and other inorganic materials can escape into the air we breathe and seep from the incineratedash into our lands and waters.

It's up to all of us to reduce the amount of waste we produce to keep our lands, waters,and air clean and healthy.

And reducing our waste is a lot simpler than you may think.

The “Three Rs” is a good starting point: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

1. Reduce the amount of waste you produce, particularly plastics. Things like carrying your own shopping bags or take-away food containers can make a real difference. Or choosing non-plastic packaging when buying groceries or other items.

2. Reuse items that aren’t recyclable. For example, if you forget to bring your canvas bag with you to the store and end up bringing home a plastic bag, reuse it to line your trash bin or when you walk your dog to pick up his waste.

3. Recycle everything you can – bottles, cans, cardboard, paper.

Composting is another easy way to reduce waste and pollution. There are plenty of small containers you can keep in your kitchen to collect food scraps before putting them into outdoor composting bins which are available at nearly every home improvement store. Composting food scraps into rich soils and mulch not only reduces waste, it also fights climate change while helping you create a beautiful garden.

Remember, everything we put into our trash cans ultimately ends up in our lands, our waters, and our air. When you reduce waste, you are helping keep our communities – and our planet – safer, cleaner, and more beautiful.

1We're creating so much trash in Lancaster County that our landfills are running out of space [editorial] | Our Opinion | lancasteronline.com

2MW Landfills and Resource Recovery Facilities | Department of Environmental Protection | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 

3 We're creating so much trash in Lancaster County that our landfills are running out of space [editorial] | Our Opinion | lancasteronline.com 

4Waste authority takes first steps to expand Creswell Landfill in Manor Township | Local News | lancasteronline.com 

5 Frey Farm Landfill Process and Environmental Record | LCSWMA