Reusable Grocery Bags Raise Environmental Concerns

You see them on the streets all the time, people walking around with their reusable shopping bags. These bags started an environmental revolution in stores across the country, and quickly became the premier accessory for the socially conscious and a green tend for everyone else.

But these green bags may soon find themselves in the middle of a massive environmental dilemma: reports that some of these bags actually contain led have been trickling in from across the country. Stores such as Winn-Dixie, Publix, CVS, Wegmans and many others have reported that some of their bags to indeed contain led. For those of you living in the South, don't worry, apparently Publix bags have tested at the lowest content for lead.

While the bags pose no immediate threat to anyone, it is still rather ironic (and maybe even funny) that this icon of environmental concern is actually harming the environment. The New York Times reports that studies have found that the lead in these bags can actually seep into water after they have been disposed. Furthermore, overtime the paint on the bags could flake and get into food. To the true socially conscious individual, this really isn't a very big surprise considering that most of these bags are made in China.

While some people are appalled that we still can't seem to get it right, there is still a general consensus that these bags are better than their paper of plastic alternative. According to the eco-conscious website Mighty Nest, single use paper and plastic bags cause serious environmental damage and use up to 32% of landfill space because they can take up to 1000 years to decompose. The average American uses between 300 and 700 of these bags a year, adding up to about 100 billion plastic bags used in the U.S. per year. Furthermore, by cutting single use bag waste in half we can significantly reduce oil usage by 2,000 barrels a day and keep 73,000 tons of trash out of landfills.

As you can see, simple math dictates that lead ridden reusable bags, while still bad for the environment, are clearly the lesser of two evils.

Sources:

The New York Times

The Daytona Beach News Journal

Mighty Nest