1. Loading the landfills.
No matter how many uses you find for plastic bags, they are eventually going to end up in the landfill, where they will remain for quite a while (roughly a thousand years), taking up space, because they aren’t biodegradable. Paper bags are no picnic either (denuding the forest as they do), but at least they will eventually degrade if you throw them away. By selecting reusable bags, you won’t have to face any of these problems. And by the way, you can also use these totes when you do other types of shopping.