Now more than ever, both businesses and consumers are making the switch to more sustainable bag choices. This bigger insights on the impact our lifestyles are having on the environment, making smaller changes can make a huge difference when it comes to the bigger picture. Whether that means switching to printed cotton bags or bringing old carrier bags on your shopping trips instead of buying new ones, every little helps to tackle climate change. The single use nature of plastic bags combined with the fact they take thousands of years to break down means the impact on our environment and wildlife is vast. By switching to more sustainable alternatives, here are some of the differences we can start to see:
Cleaning up our surroundings
Nowadays, wherever you go, seeing discarded carried bags seems to be a standard part of many environments. The lightweight characteristics of plastic means they are picked by the wind and carried around, making their way to areas of natural beauty. As well as on land, carried bags are also making their way to oceans and rivers, causing problems with drainage as well as wildlife.
Protecting our wildlife
Again, plastic bags are known for their negative impact on animals both on land and in the ocean. As well as being a suffocation risk, animals are known to consume the plastic which will fill their stomach and cause them to eventually die of malnutrition. Switching to more sustainable bags which are either reused or designed to break down will minimise the impact on our animals.
Reduce pressure on vital services
The more litter that is produced, the more pressure on our key services. With councils being required to hire cleaners to tidy our streets and manage landfill sites, this money is being distracted from other important services such as education and healthcare. By minimising our individual impacts, the strain on public services can be lessened.
Improve recyclability
Unlike single use plastic bags which tend to be made using non-recyclable materials, more sustainable alternatives reduce environmental impact as they can be recycled. Once they are disposed of, the materials can be reused and turned into something new, giving it a new lease of life and reducing the strain on our landfill sites.
Avoid the carrier bag tax
The implementation of the carrier bag tax means that we are required to buy any carrier bags when we head to the shops, normally at around ten pence per bag. Although the cost may seem minimal, this can quickly add up if you start to bring your own alternatives every time you head to buy groceries or pop to the town.
Make transportation easier
By bringing your own sustainable bags to the store, you are able to choose the perfect ones for your trip. With many designs being larger, you can fit more goods into each bag and normally ease the chance of breakage, using stronger materials which are more durable so you can carry your purchases without the stress.