Huffington Post Weighs In on Shopping Bags

We know that that paper and plastic bags aren’t exactly born of the best conditions. But when all is said and done, how much do we really know about the step-by-step process of making our disposable transport containers? Are we simply repeating rhetoric, or do we know how bad things really are?

Last night, premiere news-mag The Huffington Post published an examination of the reproductive cycle of the paper and plastic shopping bag. It is thoroughly above-and-beyond in its report, standing out as it weighs the environmental benefits and costs of even the processes you want to believe in the most.

When you’re done using paper shopping bags, for shopping or other household reuses, a couple of things can happen… If you choose the recycle paper bags, then things get a little tricky.

The paper must first be re-pulped, which usually requires a chemical process involving compounds like hydrogen peroxide, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, which bleach and separate the pulp fibers. The fibers are then cleaned and screened to be sure they’re free of anything that would contaminate the paper-making process, and are then washed to remove any leftover ink before being pressed and rolled into paper, as before.

When an article is willing to look at recycling as objectively as the landfill alternative, you can pretty much count on it to be a reliable source. Even biodegradable plastic bags are held up for shameful scrutiny, leaving no stone unturned in the investigation. So what form of grocery transportation does Huffington Post ultimately endorse? The answer should come as no surprise.

Ultimately, neither paper nor plastic bags are the best choice; we think choosing reusable canvas bags instead is the way to go. From an energy standpoint, according to this Australian study, canvas bags are 14 times better than plastic bags and 39 times better than paper bags, assuming that canvas bags get a good workout and are used 500 times during their life cycle. Happy shopping!

And isn’t the happiest shopping done when you know it’s not at the expense of your environment? If not, perhaps it should be.

Image via the article!

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 1:04 pm and is filed under The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.