[lohszvu]

Used once is referring to plastic bags used to hold groceries and then immediately thrown out. (Not used more than once: ie a garbage bag, pick up dog poop, etc)

So it is comparing 1 reusable bag used 131 times to 131 plastic bags.

Further in the article another study considers plastic bags used more than once, which are much better for the environment.

>I think the fundamental problem with plastic bags is that since they are 1 or 2 use, they are always going to be entering the environment at a rate faster than they degrade. So there is going to be an ever-increasing buildup of plastic bags in the environment for as long as they go on being used.

I think it is much more important to look at scientific studies than what a random person hypothesizes with no evidence to back it up.

[Scoundreller]

> Used once is referring to plastic bags used to hold groceries and then immediately thrown out.

What percentage of people do this? We use them as “free” bags for garbage bins that we would otherwise have to buy, or for lunch where you won’t/can’t take an insulated bag (outing or when you won’t go home right after work).

[tgb]

How many garbage bags do you use per week? Just for myself I'd buy I guess ten bags of groceries a week and maybe three bags of trash a week. It doesn't add up.

When living with other people, we always accumulated huge numbers of saved plastic bags over the months. I'd recycle them but by myself I use reusable bags and a backpack that helps me carry them back. I get a handful of plastic bags every now and then when I get something without planning and those I put to use like you suggest.

[wccrawford]

We used to have a surplus of plastic bags before we started making a concerted effort to use cloth bags. (I don't know what they're actually made of, but they're designed for re-use.) Now, we actually run out of plastic bags that we used to use for various things like dog-poop (when we run out of smaller bags and forget to re-order), small bin liners, and general transportation needs. (Though for the latter, we almost always get to re-use the plastic bag again afterwards.)

So my answer is: For those who aren't recycling, I'd guess that most people throw bags out. For those who are, it's going to be a smaller number, depending on how hard they try to avoid plastic bags at the market.