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bags get trucked down to its manufacturer in Houston, TX, which turns them back into resin and creates a percentage of the bags containing materials from the old plastic bags.
“Further, we actually reduced the size of the bag from 24 inches to 22 inches, which amounts to a savings of about 19 tractor trailer loads less per year of plastic bags,” says Guido. “That two-inch difference doesn’t sound like a significant amount, but it adds up when you look at such large quantities. We also elimi- nated the tie on it since we found most cashiers were just looping the bags anyway.”
“We often hear the argument that paper is more sustainable and that it’s better for the environment than plastic,” says Wadswor th, “and I guess it depends on what the end of a plastic bag’s life is or what the end of a paper bag’s life is. If you’re going to throw the plastic bag out of the window of your car, it has a bad end life compared to doing the same with a paper bag. If you recycle both of them, the plastic has a better end of life just because of the resources you use,” he continues. “It’s lighter and it takes seven tractor trailer loads to ship the same amount per bag of paper than
it does plastic.”
Further, “Most people think that plastic
bags are made from oil. And they’re actually made from polyethylene, which is made from natural gas. So it’s still a fossil fuel gas, but we’re not shipping oil across long distances in containers to make plastic bags in the countr y. People say we’re wasting so much oil, but natural gas is produced in America,” says Wadsworth, adding, “Still, there’s a finite life of how many times you can recycle.”
Other quandaries must be considered, as in the sale of reusable cloth bags. “We’re procuring a reusable bag from China, because we had to keep the price low to get people to embrace its use. It’s harder to create a habit when you’re paying more for a bag, so that’s why 99 cents is what we sell ours for,” Wadsworth informs. But the issue is, if people are not reusing those bags, then actually, that bag has a worst imprint than a traditional plastic bag, he points out.
“We encourage people to choose reusable cloth bags with signage and other communi- cation going out, but it’s a struggle because people are creatures of habit,” says Colleluori, adding, “I’m a diehard reusable bag user, and many times when cashiers get to my packages
44 PRODUCE BUSINESS • MAY 2013
Plastic bags, with 40 percent recycled content, and reusable cloth bags are sustainable options for consumers to choose