I picked up a jute bag from a pile that was being thrown out near a friend’s place, and it had pretty leaf designs on it. Very much in the vein of the “I’m not a plastic bag” fashion statement. Unfortunately, though its eco credentials were impeccable, it still had its tag attached, a strong indication that it had never been used before being thrown away.
I retrieved the bag, gave it a little wash, and plan to use it. I’m pleased with it, along with another shopping bag, lined with foil, meant for frozen meats, which I found in that same pile.
However, I’m even more pleased to report that I’ve never bought myself a re-usable, eco-friendly shopping bag. The way I see it, every bag that currently exists is reusable, and will be an eco-friendly bag, if only you’ll use and re-use it. Its manufacture has already taken up resources. Why take up more resources by clamouring for an “I’m not a plastic bag”?
Some of the stouter plastic bags they give you can be re-used very easily and conveniently. Just fold it up (plastic bags fold pretty small) and put them in your handbag. I don’t carry a huge handbag, but it accommodates two or three plastic bags quite well. I try to use these bags whenever I buy anything. They are generally sufficient for any sudden shopping bouts. If I plan to go grocery shopping, I bring more bags specially, which don’t have to fit into a handbag.
This saves on the the obligatory ten cents a bag if I happen to pop into a supermarket on Wednesdays, or if I get something from Ikea. NTUC Fairprice has a good attitude in going green, as it offers a ten-cent rebate on every purchase over $10 if you bring your own bag – it gives me a kick to think of my plastic bags earning their way. I hope that as the recession bites, more people take advantage of this green scheme.
The only exception is Mustafa’s, where it’s a company rule that they pack your stuff in their bags – the only thing I find negative in an otherwise admirable institution.
How to make a much-maligned but often unavoidable plastic bag eco-friendly? Re-use it so you won’t need to get more plastic bags, and when it finally comes to the end of its usefulness to you, either by breaking or getting dirty, give it a proper send-off – throw it in the recycling bin.
Like u, I've never bought an "eco" friendly bag. They are just another business ploy to push out more useless products. However, I don't recycle my plastic bags from supermart or other shopping sprees except to bag rubbish or, if they are still clean on the inside, to bag stuff that I give to other people. I certainly don't put any into my handbag, especially if they've been on the car or other floors. And of cos, never to carry fresh purchases. I pay like a duchess ;) when caught on Weds at Fairprice or at Ikea. As for Mustapha, I think they bag up customer's purchases and then strangle the neck of the bag with a tight plastic ring because they suspect every customer is a shoplifter. I don't need this sort of insult so don't shop there!
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