With all the talks about plastics being bad for the environment, it’s also easy to overlook the benefits that they offer. Though the ecological drawbacks are true, the use of plastics can also be beneficial for consumers, retailers and even the environment. At present, more than 500 billion plastic bags are produced every year. That’s a lot of bags but compared to paper bags (a supposedly environment friendly counterpart), they also help save so much. Recycled and reused in the right ways, plastic bags can be a huge advantage to the environment. After all, paper bags come when you put down a tree and that isn’t too environment friendly either!
Here are the advantages we enjoy with plastic carrier bags:
- Packaging / shipping
Plastic carrier bags are probably the lightest option when it comes to packing goods. With alternatives, you will always rely on bulky cardboard boxes, envelopes and other wasteful means. Further, plastics for packaging come in several thicknesses and densities and are also more permeable and durable than paper counterparts. Being waterproof and chemically resistant adds to the advantage. These in turn also keep the packaging/shipping costs down and have been the prime reason why manufacturers have favored them so long. Lastly, plastic bags are lighter and are easily stored in compact rolls which are not the case with cardboards of other paper/organic alternatives.
- Recyclable
One of the biggest advantages with plastic bags is their ability to be recycled. The carbon footprint that one use of a plastic carrier bag generates is three times the use of a similar sized paper bag. However, we seem to ignore the fact that the same plastic bag can be used multiple times while a paper bag is mostly for single use – thus turning the tables. Secondly, plastic bags use a lot less energy to be produced than paper counterparts, making them a logical choice. If you have experienced your paper bag takeaway bottoming out, you might as well know the advantages with plastic carrier bags.
Another popularly presented alternative to plastic bags are cotton/jute carrier bags. However, did you even think how much more energy it would consume to produce one cotton/jute bag? Also take into consideration the energy that would be used in regularly washing, cleaning and drying a cotton bag. If you could use the same plastic bags for far less number of trips to the market, you would have saved the environment much more!
- Cheaper
Compared to any kind of alternative, a plastic bag is cheaper to manufacture and use. This has also been the reason why they have become so popular across the globe, even in remote places, as a means of packaging and carriage.
- Transparent
A strategic advantage of plastic carrier bag is its translucent property. You always know and see what you are carrying inside. In the retail market, especially with local shops, this is a huge advantage. In some case, you can judge the quality of a product just by seeing it. With other alternatives, you would have to tear open the packet to know that you were sold a rotten or broken product.
The only thing that we, as consumers and seller shave to ensure is that plastic carrier bags have to be used judiciously. The problem arises when we don’t follow proper disposal methods with plastic bags. It is then it becomes a hazard to the environment. As long as we care to reuse and recycle our plastic bags, it would be the most convenient and logical choice.
