Claim:Ordinary plastic bags have the lowest environmental impact .” (Report from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, March 14, 2018)

Let's start with the short answer: No, it's not that simple.

In principle, it is impossible to compare the total environmental impact of different cash registers. Everyone has their pros and cons, and if you really want to do the environment a favor, you should carry your groceries in your arms - which for most people is an unsustainable tactic.

Most things are instead about what you do with the bag when you get home from the store. Will you use it several times and recycle it?

A maximum of 40 per year 2025

Regardless: Today, the plastic bag is the focus and it has been a year since the new law that forces stores to inform their customers about the environmental impact of the plastic bag came into force.

And from a political point of view, it has been decided that we should use fewer plastic bags. The EU has set a target of using 40 bags per person per year in 2025 in the EU Member States.

The EU average is around 200 today and in Sweden we use just over 80 plastic bags per person per year.

Has the plastic bag received an undeserved bad reputation?

- Yes maybe. We use plastic because it is practical, but at the same time the plastic bag has become a symbol for over-consumption. It gets shot for many things, says Åsa Stenmarck, waste expert at the Swedish Environmental Institute and the government's special plastic investigator.

And the focus then, have we stared blindly at the particular plastic bag?

- Yes, I can agree with that. The fact that many of us fly far every year actually has a much greater environmental impact than how many plastic bags we buy. But it is also impossible to avoid that we have used too many bags.

The debris in nature is a major problem

But what about the environmental impact of the plastic bag compared to other bags?

Clearly, plastic bags are often made from crude oil, which releases carbon dioxide and thus poses an environmental problem.

Then we have this with the garbage. Plastic and plastic bags damage plant and animal life and we have all seen pictures of animals stuck in plastic or eaten so much of it that it has been deadly.

Most recently the pictures of eight kilos of plastic bags found in the stomach on a gate choice off the coast of Thailand.

In addition, it takes a long time for plastic to break down and small particles, so-called microplastics, can remain in nature for hundreds of years.

Also called "environmental bags", plastic bags made of sugar cane have their drawbacks. Just like bags made of oil, it takes a very long time before they break down in nature, and the production and transport of the bag itself is not fossil-free.

"There are pros and cons of all materials"

At the same time, the plastic bag has indisputable advantages over its competitors. They are waterproof, lightweight, strong and relatively resource efficient to produce and transport.

- But if the plastic bag gets out into the wild then it deserves its bad reputation. We must reduce the plastic waste both in the sea and on land, ”says Karin Lexén, secretary general of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

- In some situations, however, the plastic bag has properties that make it very suitable. The whole discussion about which material is best becomes cumbersome as there are pros and cons of all materials.

And earlier this year a large study came from the Danish equivalent of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, which showed just that.

The researchers looked at the environmental impact of different bags within 15 categories - including climate impact, ozone impact, toxicity to humans and the environment, and water consumption.

According to the study, the most environmentally friendly alternative was an ordinary thin bag made of LDPE plastic - however, provided that after purchase it is used as a garbage bag and then incinerated.

The cloth bag then?

To match the plastic bag as the most environmentally friendly alternative, seen in all 15 categories, an organic cotton fabric bag would need to be used 20,000 times and a "regular" cotton bag 7,100 times, according to the study.

The result, of course, generated big headlines, but it should be borne in mind that it was a factor that made the numbers stick out properly for the cotton box.

In addition to cotton cultivation requiring large amounts of water, child labor and pesticides, the ozone layer is affected by nitrous oxide from the fertilizer used.

If you did not take into account the ozone, you would need to use an organic cloth bag 3,800 times to match the thin plastic bag.

If you look only at the climate impact category, ie carbon dioxide imprint, you only had to use an organic cotton bag 149 times and a "regular" cloth bag 52 times to match the usual plastic bag.

Another reason why the organic cotton in certain categories was ranked as inferior to the conventionally grown is due to the fact that organic cultivation gives about 30 percent worse harvests and thus requires more land and water.

Does not catch debris in the seas

Similar results can also be seen in a study conducted by the British Conservation Authority in 2011 where it was concluded that a cotton canvas bag had to be used 327 times to match the climate impact of a plastic bag that was recycled as a garbage bag and incinerated.

However, this type of study must be taken with a pinch of salt as they do not measure all the environmental impact.

And because different materials have both good and bad environmental properties, the weighted result may not always be the most relevant.

Then you simply have to wonder what environmental impact you are most concerned about and make your choice after that.

Is it eutrophication, that workers are exposed to carcinogenic chemicals or that the production devours large water resources?

Those who are passionate about reducing plastic waste in nature and the sea will receive little help from the studies because the life-cycle analysis does not take into account precisely the waste.

Whatever bag, use it many times!

Now some concrete tips for a clean and fact-based conscience.

If you have plastic bags at home, use them several times. When worn, use them one last time as a garbage bag, or alternatively source them as plastic packaging. Whether or not the plastic bag becomes an environmental bow is largely determined whether it comes out into the wild or not.

If you have fabric bags at home, use them. Don't buy new ones and put them on high just because you love the pressure on the cash register and feel that it can convey something valuable about your personality.

And if you really worry about which bag is best for the environment, you might also want to focus on what you fill your bag with when you shop.

Because if you drive a car to the store and fill your bags with meat and dairy products and then get climate anxiety because you choose a plastic bag, which you then also do not even throw in nature, you are stuck in the details.

Summary : The best bag is the one you use many times. The plastic bag has become a grateful symbol for man's environmental impact and when it comes out into nature it is very much a real environmental problem. At the same time, the plastic bag is relatively resource-efficient to produce and transport compared to bags in other materials. Replacing your plastic bag with a fabric bag does not have to be good for the climate and fabric bags, especially in cotton, cause major environmental problems early in their life cycle. In a larger context, even those with climate anxiety should rather worry about what to fill their bags with than what material they are made of.

If you have any facts that may contribute to the text or other claims made by those in power that you think SVT's Factakollen should review, email us at faktakollen@svt.se.

Sources :

  • Interview, Åsa Stenmarck, waste expert at the Swedish Environmental Institute and the government's special plastic investigator
  • Interview, Karin Lexén, Secretary General of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
  • Danish Environmental Protection Agency study: Life Cycle Assessment of grocery carrier bags
  • Swedish Environmental Protection Agency: Reduced consumption of plastic carrier bags (accounting of government assignments)
  • British Environmental Protection Agency: Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags) (2011)
  • Which carrier bag is least bad for the environment? Consumer Association Stockholm