When you shop at a grocery store, what is is the first thing you think about? Probably what you want to buy, and how much it is going to cost. Chances are, you aren't thinking about your shopping bag. However, many grocers are now encouraging customers to bring their own shopping bags to "help save the environment." Nice idea, right? But is it really. When considering this, you have to think about two things--cost incentive and the actual environmental impact. Most people, when evaluating environmental impact think about reducing how much of something they use--but there are two other factors: reusing and recycling. Plastic shopping bags are not always immediately thrown away, many companies now make waste bins that can use plastic shopping bag lining. So instead of throwing away plastic bags, why not reuse them? You will otherwise need to buy trash bags, and they won't have two uses.
The incentive to grocery companies is very important as well. First of all, they save money if you bring your own bag. Second, they gain the support of environmentalists that favor the use of reusable (cloth or burlap) shopping bags. On top of that, they make money selling them to you with a huge markup. None of this benefits consumers, and in fact, it negatively impacts them because they must buy shopping bags as well as trash bags (which they wouldn't get without plastic shopping bags).
Another thing most people don't consider, is that the reusable bags need
to be manufactured also, and this too has a negative effect on the
environment. Why would you pay for a reusable bag? It is a ploy by
supermarkets to make more money.
I think they're a good idea unless people lose them on a daily basis. My mom usually forgets to bring them in the store though.
ReplyDeleteElena A.