“We’re not going to recycle our way to a sustainable society,” said Dean Kubani, GCC Steering Committee member and Director of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability. That’s the conclusion of the latest report on carry out bags.
This report confirms what we know about bags: reusable bags are best for the environment, and PP reusable bags have particularly low environmental impacts. Ireland commissioned a similar study in 2002 and Australia did in 2005.
The momentum is building now here in the US for reusable bag policies that will help Americans make the switch to cleaner bags and help clean up our air, our roadways, and our waterways. The report, a Master Environmental Assessment, emphasizes 3 key points:
- Reusable bags have substantially lower impacts than single use bags, particluarly PP fiber bags.
- Paper bags have an overall worse affect on air quality and water consumption than plastic bags.
- Biodegradable bags do not biodegrade in open environments and contaiminate the recycling stream.
You can read the whole report, or just the 2 page the executive summary here. Thanks to everyone who worked hard on this report to make it comprehensive, honest, and help California cities and other municipalities make decisions that make sense!
This report will help set real, quantitative standards for bag use and reduction programs throughout California and across the nation.