Along with reducing overall use of disposable bags, the use of reusable bags is an increasingly popular and beneficial alternative. Reusable bags can be made from plastic or cloth and are designed to be used up to hundreds of times. Assuming the bags are reused at least a few times, studies have shown reusable bags have significantly lower environmental impacts, on a per use basis, than single-use bags. Their exact impacts depend on the number of reuses and the material of the bag.
In order to equal an HDPE plastic bag used just once, the UK government’s Environment Agency Report states that: a paper bag would need to be reused three times; a low density PE “bag-for-life” would need to be reused four times; a non-woven polypropylene bag would need to be reused 11 times; while a cotton bag would need to be reused 131 times.
Some concerns remain in relation to the hygiene of reusable bags (they need to be watched regularly) and their post-consumer disposability. Other critiques have included the cost and inconvience of having to remeber to bring them.
Buy Smart! Check material, durability, washabilty, source and disposal.