I don't know where this bag came from, but the bottom is the interesting part that made me think.
PAPER
The Natural Package
*recyclable
*reusable
*degradable
*renewable
This product contains recycled material
Yes, I have a paper bag! As I read this, I could only think of the flaws in the convincing wording, meant to reassure consumers and to convince consumers of the rightness and goodness of using the paper bag.
The bag is definitely recyclable. But, how many people will actually recycle it? If it gets wet or food stains it, the recycling facility will not want it.
The bag is reusable. How many times can it be reused before it is torn. Once the bag tears, I could never use it again. If it does not function, it is no longer usable. Of course, it can be used to start a fire, I suppose? It can become and craft tool/material.
The bag is degradable. But, what other substances are now in the wood product. This bag won't be killing fish or floating around, hanging in trees and fences. It will work in a compost bin.
The trees from which the bag comes are definitely renewable in that more trees will grow. But, how many years old must a tree be in order to cut it and make more bags? 20? 40? I did not look it up. Since there are more trees still available while we are waiting for the replacement to grow, virgin forests can be consumed. Maybe not. What chemicals are used? How much water? How much energy?
At least the bag contains recycled material.
As I read this label stamped on the bottom of the bag, I thought back to a movie I saw and my thoughts then. As I watched HAWAII, I marveled at the shipping containers. There was not one metal shipping container or huge plastic bin used to contain and transport merchandise coming to the island. Of course, the burlap bags and large and small wooden crates were manufactured from raw materials just like the paper bag I have or the alternative--plastic.
The difference? A burlap bag will last much longer in use. No trees that took decades to grow are cut. Burlap bags will not kill fish.
Reusable bags that last longer than our present choices, paper or plastic, would be perfect. Reusing colorful bags for Christmas wrapping is one way to cut down on wrapping paper. There are quite a few other ideas for not using paper or plastic.
I will stop since I could write about this for days. Almost all of my bags I have had for twenty years are gone. So, I have to start over. In antiquity, an animal skin from a consumed animal could be used to carry items. Pottery that still exists was used to transport items in ships. Okay, I am stopping here.
I know some cities and stores either ban or no longer made free plastic or paper bags as a matter of course. Hopefully, that will come to our city or area. But, this paper bag is not the solution to our problems. It is not the natural package we need to use.
Do you use paper, plastic, or reusable bags? I use a mixture.
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