Eco Advent Not-plastic bags

Eco Advent Not-plastic bags

It is much easier not to use a plastic bag these days. Since companies started charging for the bags, then there has been an 80% reduction in their use. It is a shame that the government had to legislate to persuade people to take a bag with them but it seems to be working.

 

Beware, however, of the freebie tote bag. It still has a carbon footprint and in fact a 2018 study by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark found that an organic cotton tote needs to be used 20,000 times before they meet the environmental performance of conventional plastic bags. 

 

It takes three reuses of a paper bag to neutralize its environmental impact, relative to plastic. A bag’s impact is more than just its associated carbon emissions: Manufacturing a paper bag requires about four times as much water as a plastic bag.

 

If you’re trying to contribute as little as possible to climate change and the swirling gyres of plastic creating islands in our oceans, there’s really only one way and that is to use your bag many times, and don’t buy or even accept free new ones.

 

To really understand the carbon footprint of a bag you need to look at the complete life style from raw materials, manufacturing it, use and disposal. Both cotton and paper bags involve a huge amount of water in their making.

 

Click here for an interesting web article 

Click here for the Danish 2018 study (pdf)

Click here for a UK study 2011

Today’s advent fairy person is Guernsey Gwen who is part of the Guernsey fairy folk. Each of the UK Channel Islands have their own witch. It looks like Guernsey Gwen has a cast on her broken foot. She needs to conjure up a bone melding spell! I like the renewable energy solar powered broomstick. With the short days of winter, it is probably rather sluggish at the moment.

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