Eco-Friendly Products

Though recycling may seem like an easy solution to disposable bag waste, there are negative as well as positive environmental consequences of recycling both paper and plastic bags. Because both paper and plastics become weaker through the recycling process, they can only be recycled a limited number of times, each time being downgraded to a different consistency. Plastic bags, bottles and other products may eventually become carpet or building materials that themselves cannot be recycled. Ultimately, even our recycled paper and plastic bags will end up in a landfill. In the long term we can help to reduce this waste by using reusable grocery bags and containers.

The recycling process requires a lot of energy and water, sometimes more than it is worth for the end products. Recycling paper bags requires more energy than plastic. According to the US EPA, it takes 91% more energy to recycle a pound of paper than a pound of plastic bags. However, plastic bags are less likely to be recycled than paper, with only 1-3% being recycled compared with 10-15% of paper bags. While recycling plastic bags uses less energy than recycling paper, it is also not a simple solution. Plastic bags cannot be recycled with other plastics because they can jam the recycling facility’s machines. They have to be brought instead to grocery store collection centers for recycling, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, only about 10% of consumers bother to do.

Plastic bags are also not very economical to recycle. According to Jared Blumenfeld, director of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment, it costs $4,000 to recycle one ton of plastic bags, the products of which can then be sold for $32. While in the short term recycling plastic bags may be more environmentally sound than throwing them away, it is by no means a sustainable solution. Instead, make a habit of carrying reusable bags.