[dqv]

The cloth reusables are a little more harsh on the environment for initial acquisition, but I like that if they get holes, I can patch them. I'm not sure how feasible that is with the thicker plastic bags, and a cursory search doesn't bring anything up, but it's worth looking into patching the plastic bags.

[em-bee]

duct tape, but now we need to take into account the environmental impact of that.

though the biggest problem with reusable plastic bags is the weakness of the handles. i'd rarely get more than a dozen uses out of a plastic bag before the handle rips. and that is not as easily to fix because of the stresses involved.

also, i feel the math is off, because cloth bags are a lot stronger and they get uses that no plastic bag is even designed for. so the reality is that even if i use plastic bags for shopping, i'd have a cloth bag anyways for other needs. and if i have it already, then using it more comes with zero additional impact.

plastic bags only have less impact on the environment than the cloth bags that i don't already own.

[Jill_the_Pill]

Well ok, in the "already have it" vein, how about just taking stuff home in the boxes that the store receives its goods in? Ours has a pile near the registers. Then we break them down and use them as sheet mulch.

[nyokodo]

> if i have it already, then using it more comes with zero additional impact.

Except using it more means more wear and tear which means replacing it sooner. So unfortunately it doesn’t make the math easier.