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this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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Showerthoughts
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Fun fact:
In terms of total greenhouse gas emissions, you'd generally have to use around 400 disposable bags made from sustainable products to equal one reusable tote.
This is because the vast majority of those totes are imported from southeast Asia.
It's important to note though that emissions are not the only thing to consider. My state banned single-use plastic bags a few years ago, and the number of them you see caught in trees or thrown away as litter has dropped to almost zero.
Plus, I think you could absolutely use those bags 400 times if you make good use of them. A few of the ones I have are from at least a decade ago and have probably been used far more times than that.
I don't disagree, I just thought that was a fun fact.
I work on sustainable packaging, and it's something not a lot of people think about. The company is extremely passionate about supply chain efficiency (both as a cost and as environmental impact), so it's something that comes up with us pretty regularly.
Your company has a vested interest in pushing sustainable disposable single use bags over reusable bags, your data is biased, and as mentioned, emissions are less of an issue than the physical pollution and damage of single use packaging being disposed of and ending up in the environment. One reusable bag ending up in the ocean isn't as bad as 400 sustainable ones.
This is not accurate. We could pivot to totes within 24 hours.
In fact, I argue in favor of legislation promoting totes like one comment away.