illusion of sustainibility
i was thinking, as i was handed a bag for the design conference the other night, that these bags are everywhere. they started as those greenbags in safeway and coles. but how green are they?
i want to find out what the material is, whether they are biodegradable, how many are sold in australia, or have been sold; compare this amount to plastic bags, compare per weight, how long before they completely replace the normal plastic bags.
are they just a very temporary solution, and in 10 years we'll be asking why we ever produced and sold so many green bags.
i want to find out what the material is, whether they are biodegradable, how many are sold in australia, or have been sold; compare this amount to plastic bags, compare per weight, how long before they completely replace the normal plastic bags.
are they just a very temporary solution, and in 10 years we'll be asking why we ever produced and sold so many green bags.
posted by ben at 1:18 AM
7 Comments:
i was going to put up the nina's adventures in eco-illlusion, but its been done.
to tote bag manufacturers in sydney
Hi!
I’m an industrial design student from RMIT in Melbourne. I’m doing some research into green bags and the tote bags which you sell as a reusable, environment friendly bag.
I was wondering whether you have information on the material that the bags are made out of, and its potential to be recycled.
Thankyou
Ben Landau
would verification be hard if you were dyslexic
Planet Ark reusable bags, like the 'Green Bags' seen in Coles and Woolworths supermarkets, are made from non-woven polypropylene that is manufactured from polypropylene gas, a by-product of oil refining. These reusable bags usually have a solid removable base that is manufactured from nylon or PET.
Polypropylene bags can carry more shopping than plastic check-out bags, so shoppers use less. They are sturdy and designed to be reused repeatedly over many years. At the end of their lives, they can be recycled - drop them into the plastic check-out bag recycling bins at all Coles and Woolworths supermarkets.
Polypropylene bags reduce consumption (and therefore environmental impacts) of single use bags and encourage customers to be more ‘waste-wise’ in their daily life.
http://www.planetark.com/campaignspage.cfm/newsid/59/newsDate/7/story.htm#2
I dont think it really matters too much what they are made from. the idea is just to had a bag that people can use over and over instead of using a new bag every time they go shopping. However, dont most people use their old plastic bags to line their rubbish bins? i no my family does.. if people arent getting new plastic bags every time they go shopping they may end up just buying plastic bin liners instead which would be just as bad...
but its still hydrocarbon - so more wars.
would cloth have been better. Cloth bags made in Cambodia by a community of kids - so you connect with income generation elsewhere - rather than give money to oil fat cats.
i think cloth would be better too, and involving somehting like communities would be beneficial as well. though would the jet fuel required to fly them over (or ship over) from cambodia equate to the hydro carbons used.
from what i understand, these bags are made from polypropelene gas, which is a by-product or waste of oil refining. so it is fact recycling the emissions? i doubt the demand for re-usable tote bags would ever outstrip the need for petrol (thank god i ride a bike - $1.38 for a litre!)
as for using the plastic shopping bags for garbage bin liners, Planet Ark acknowledges this loss fromt eh plastic circle, but suggests that people buy biodegradable bin liners, or use newspaper and a sieve like bin, rinsing it out after each empty. this might even make the bin small less...
i'm not concerned with the fact that people are using these green bags repeatedly, and therefore saving the earth from dealign witht eh normal plastic bags. all i'm saying is we;ve adopted these new bags without realising that they will break down sometime, and may be hard to recycle. we are still PRODUCING something, somethign which needs to be dumped and will not break down...
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