Stop wasting time and groceries on cheap plastic bags!
You NEED cloth bags. Seriously, stop carefully carrying one box of cereal in at a time because you are afraid your plastic bag will break. Stop wasting years of your life carrying and putting away 20 bags of groceries wrapped in plastic when you can quickly carry and put away the same amount using only 5 bags of cloth. For goodness sake, clear a space under your sink for things that really belong there. And don't say I didn't warn you the next time you are scrubbing your kitchen floor after the darn plastic bag breaks and the juice bottle explodes. Here are 5 more reasons you need cloth bags!
Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photo-degrade
This means they break down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the foodcarrin web when animals accidentally ingest them. We may mean well and choose paper, but let's admit it… paper is not convienient! You can only carry one at a time and awkwardly at that.
Plastic bags are produced from polymers derived from petroleum
The amount of petroleum used to make a plastic bag would drive a car about 36 feet. The USA imports most of it's petroleum.
Plastic bags cost big bucks
The average household will be charged an additional $250/year in retail costs (markups to make up the price of the bags).
And you can save even more money
Many grocery stores offer a bag discount of $0.05-$0.25 per bag. It's not a ton, but if you are using 8 bags a week then you will save $20-$104 each year.
Plastic bags do not hold much and they RIP
Plastic bags are an inferior way to carry items! They hold very little and tear easily. Most stores automatically double bag because of the horrible quality of the plastic bag – and even that is not enough. I can get my groceries in faster (cloth bags hold more) and with less loss (no tears) when I use cloth.
Where to find great cloth bags
You can find free promotional bags many places, but if you are really looking to get the best then go with Chicobags. After 7+ years of use they are still my favorite. Small enough to fit a couple in my purse in case I forget and small enough to carry quite a few through a grocery store. Plus, they hold 25 pounds – and expand to a good size. Amazon does sell some “knockoff” Chicobags, but I have never tried them so I can't vouch for the size or strength like I can with Chicobags. A chicobag folds into a pouch that is about 3″ x 2″, but expand to a larger size than a grocery store bag. I have found that they hold 2-3 times the amount of a plastic bag. Some of that is due to size and some is due to strength.
Chicobags do cost about $5 each. I have been using mine for more than 7 years, which comes out too $0.06/mo and they are still going strong. Most of my promotional bags do not last long (possibly because I load them up expecting them to handle it!).
If you really want to reduce your footprint (and extend the length of time your produce lasts) then try reusable produce bags too!
Happy Homesteading 🙂
Greetings from Buffalo!
I had no idea plastic bags were so expensive.
My biggest gripe is that like you said, they tear so easily. I’m so sick of my groceries tumbling to the floor because of inferior bags.
And is it just me, or have plastic bags been getting flimsier over the past few years? You can barely put a box of cereal in and they still rip. Or should I say R.I.P. plastic bags in general? bleh.