The current state of affairs
According to Government data, the total number of single-use carrier bags sold in the UK between 2020 and 2021 was 488 million. This may sound like a large number, and that’s because it is, but it may be surprising to know that this is down by over 75% from a whopping 2.12 billion between 2016 and 2017. This is because of the introduction of the single use plastic carrier bag charge which came into effect in 2015, which required retailers to charge a minimum of 10p for each single-use carrier bag supplied.
The introduction of government legislation has had an active impact on behaviour of consumers, forcing them towards reusable bag options and reusing their plastic carrier bags. The impact of such a change in behaviour cannot be understated, as the ecological and environmental problems caused by single use plastics are significant – from damage and harm to animals and ecosystems, to toxic pollution caused by the disintegration of plastic harming our environment. What these laws and initiatives fail to do is take away the requirement for the plastic carrier bag, as despite introduction of plastic bag ‘taxes’, we’re still seeing significant amounts of plastic packaging used in day-to-day products and services.
With an undying shopping culture, and the transition to online purchases changing nothing about the requirement for plastic packaging - even as the landscape of human behaviour evolves to become more digitally oriented – disincentivising single-use plastics is not enough to achieve the required impact. Enter: the paper carrier bag, fabric carrier bags, and plastic alternative packaging – products that are incentivised and relied upon to replace plastic with reusable and recyclable solutions. Improving the reusability of bags is fantastic as it allows consumers to make use of the improved utility and longevity of their bags. Recyclable solutions are also great as repurposing the raw materials increases the effective lifespan of each bag.
The problem is that even with these solutions, the net impact on the environment remains significant. The production of paper requires large amounts of timber, and forestry loss has not only caused ecological impacts, but it also exposes people to more diseases. Over 50% of paper that is made each year is produced for packaging (which includes carrier bags), showcasing the reliance on paper as the ‘answer’ to reducing reliance on plastic. However, though paper products are recyclable, only half of the pulp that goes into paper packaging is recycled, and much of it cannot be recycled after use. Further, the paper industry is one of the world’s largest polluters, as well as being one of the heaviest fresh water consumers. It’s certainly true that paper is helping reduce our reliance on plastic, but to achieve what agenda? And at what cost?
Being realistic and honest about the real goal – the goal that will have the desired impact - is crucial to making real progress. While the UK government and corporate businesses may claim to care about the environments with their CSR pledges and PR policies, activities to improve the situation remain very narrowly focussed and avoid the bigger picture. Namely, to have truly eco-friendly packaging (and in our case, carrier bags) we need to care about more than just replacing impactful solutions and bad habits. We also need to avoid replacing them with alternatives that create new, different problems. We shouldn’t be asking the question: how do we reduce single-use plastics? We should be finding a solution to reduce our reliance on all packaging that has harmful impact on the environment. Because a solution should be just that, a solution. Something that solves the problem. So, let’s ask ourselves, what are the ecological problems with carrier bags that need solving?
1. Production – Carrier bag production needs to utilise raw materials in a way that is sustainable and waste-minimising.
2. Utility – Carrier bags need to be strong, functional, uncompromising, and reusable. That, or their minimal usage needs to have a non-damaging impact on the environment.
3. Disposal – Carrier bags need to be either be recyclable such that their material wastage is mostly reutilised, or disposable such that their net environmental impact is non-harmful.
Making carrier bags eco-friendly-ly
How a carrier bag (or any packaging product) is produced is an often-overlooked factor in considering what makes an eco-friendly bag. Production, in this instance, refers to the damage from raw material harvesting, quantities of non-renewable materials used, efficiency of production, material wastage, and carbon emissions generated from both supply and manufacturing. Government agendas claim to care about reducing single-use plastics and replacing them with recyclable solutions such as paper, but when the production of a recyclable alternative also causes damage and wastage, one must question the benefits of such a solution.
Natural & sustainable materials that are not only renewable, but non-harmful to the environment and waste-efficient (both in terms of utilising waste materials and reducing waste output) should be favoured. Wastage is the most significant and perhaps overlooked issue. Reducing energy, water and material waste can both improve the efficiency of the production process as well as the environmental impact of harmful biproducts. Supply chain impact also needs to be factored, and solutions that take advantage of domestic or clean material transport solutions can also improve the net impact of carrier bag production.
From single-use to a bag-for-life
It’s not just the functionality of a bag-for-life that needs to be considered in its eco friendliness, it’s the utility and desirability. Ultimately, a bag needs to perform the basic functions of a bag, but to extend its life past just a few uses, consumers need to want to use it. It’s the same with any form of container or receptacle – people can (and do) reuse plastic bottles, but it’s more desirable to reuse something stronger, comfortable, ergonomic and stylish, and as such most people opt for reusable cups and bottles for their day-to-day drinks’ container.
With shopping bags, it’s unlikely that a consumer will go out of their way to purchase a shopping bag, something that is typical for other products like bottles. In general, a carrier bag will be purchased from a retailer specifically to contain the main product/purpose for the transaction. Therefore, even though a bag can be considered just a form of packaging, retailers need to consider that their choices (material, features, style, ergonomics etc) will factor heavily in a consumer’s decision to purchase a reusable bag, and to then reuse it. Those choices also need to factor in considerations such as the eco-friendly production methods, so it’s a fine balance to achieve something that ticks all the boxes.
What also needs to be considered is that, if a customer simply finds something easier, they’ll typically prefer it. Shopping bags are not fashion pieces, nor are they products that customers will typically want to spend much money on. They’re very often an afterthought (particularly in retail). Because of this, the need for a single-use bag will never go away. Solely prioritising improvements to utility and functionality will help, but will it solve the problem? Can we find a way of creating a bag that is efficient in its production, satisfies the single-use bag desirability, and is non-harmful in its disposal? Well, we already have in biodegradable bags.
The primary issue with plastic waste is the toxicity of its production, pollution and disintegration, paired with its undesirability for reuse. Biodegradable bags such as potato starch carrier bags are made from natural materials that disintegrate into water, CO2 and organic matter over a short period of time, eliminating the problems with bag disposal. We’ll discuss this further in a second, but what a biodegradable option does is create an alternative narrative; one not focussed on reuse, but on materials that have less impact when used once.
Bag disposal: Recycle or rot
Ultimately, the disposal of carrier bags is perhaps the most important factor when considering their eco-friendliness. It’s the culmination of their cycle of usefulness (deemed by the user) and the point at which their properties will become waste, ready to either be recycled or rotted.
Recycling is often a great practice, and it allows us to get more use out of our raw materials. Most bags can be recycled, although the extent to which all of a bag’s material components can be repurposed will change from bag to bag. Also, recycling requires further input such as energy and material to repurpose the recycled materials, meaning that the process doesn’t have a net-neutral impact. Recycling mitigates single-use items, and prevents waste going to landfill, but it doesn’t solve the problem of waste having lasting effects on the environment.
Biodegradable bags change the problem. It’s no longer a case of how we better utilise our waste, it’s now a case of how we can produce bags (and other packaging products) using materials that have a neutral or positive effect on the environment when disposed of. Ultimately, the use of natural materials to create bags that can biodegrade is not just sustainable, its regenerative. As an eco-friendly option, a biodegradable bag should solve the problem of disposal. Unfortunately, because these bags require sunlight and oxygen to biodegrade, if these bags get mixed in with other landfill waste, they will take a long time to break down. Though their eventual disintegration will be less environmentally impactful, their benefit is reduced significantly if not correctly separated from standard plastic waste.
At the point of disposal, evaluating the bag’s eco-friendliness as a sum of all three of its stages can help give an idea as to what an eco-friendly option is. With lots of options, you’ll find that bags can tick boxes in one stage but lack in others.
Evaluating the eco-friendliness of a bag choice is not as simple as saying ‘this bag is recyclable and performs mostly the same function as plastic’. In fact, given that polythene is completely recyclable (just not in all home bins), by that argument it’s just as eco-friendly as paper. It’s incredibly important to measure the impact of the bag’s entire life cycle, from the sustainability of the materials, right through to its disposal and degradation.
It’s also important to measure the impact on businesses. Cost is important, and to force businesses to choose alternatives is like placing a tax on eco-consciousness. Should governments be taxing plastic bags, or should they be subsidising the use of non-polythene alternatives? Or should the disincentive fund the other? Ultimately, any move away from plastic is a compromise for businesses and incentivising them to seek out plastic alternatives (that tick all the boxes) as the most valuable solution could provide the best method to transition towards a plastic-free world. Ultimately, it’s the businesses who buy the bags, and the consumers who use them, that decide which bags will be used. To transition to fully eco-friendly carrier bags, alternatives with the lowest environmental impact need to be chosen, and only will if there’s a no financial or functional down-side to doing so.
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