Every year billions of plastic bags are used all over the world to achieve the most mundane of tasks. Whether it be to carry one's groceries home, to carry a takeaway meal, or to carry a purchase back from the store. Unfortunately, the ones paying for this convenience are the environment. Since the harmful effects of single-use plastics have been brought to light, the switch to using sustainable and compostable carry bags has begun. At Revolve green, we believe it is never too late to be educated on the detrimental effects single-use plastics have on, so that we may make a better choice next time.

The Hidden Costs Of Single-Use Plastic Bags

Although single-use plastic bags are designed to serve the most short-term of purposes, the costs of using them are long lasting. From production to decomposition, single-use plastic bags have a significantly higher impact on the environment than one may expect. Here are some reasons as to why single-use plastic bags should be phased out for good:

1. Single-Use Plastics Don't Truly Disappear

Plastic bags are designed to be strong and durable. Although this may be a good quality for some applications, this characteristic can prove to be a bad one for the environment. Depending on the type of bag, it can take anywhere from 20 years to 500 years to decompose. Although conventional plastics truly disappear when they finally decompose, they do not biodegrade and instead photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic until they are no longer visible to the naked eye. Microplastics, which are the degraded plastics, that have broken down are incredibly harmful to the environment.

2. Single-Use Plastics Are Harmful To Marine Life

Marine animals and birds often mistake plastics for food and eat them, which can prove to be fatal for the animal. Furthermore, microplastics that find their way into the food chain are incredibly poisonous and make their way from the bottom to the top of the food chain.

3. Single-Use Plastics Are Taking Up Space In Our Landfills

Landfills all over the world are overflowing with single-use plastic bags, making spaces that could have been used for growing life and prosperity wasted on plastics that will ultimately poison the soil.

4. Single-Use Plastics Are Made From Fossil Fuels

Not only are single-use plastics harming the environment on the other side of their life cycle, but they also are incredibly harmful to the environment on the beginning of their life cycle. Single-use plastics are made from fossil fuels that are incredibly damaging to the environment in themselves. Before a single bag reaches the market, petroleum based products used in its production have already wreaked havoc on the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, etc.

5. Single-Use Plastics Are Not A Truly Recyclable Material

The most common plastic bags found nowadays are non-recyclable. If they are recyclable, it can be a difficult process to recycle plastic bags back into new products.

Why "Better" Isn't Enough, We Need "Different"

For decades now we have been in a tug of war with ourselves over the plastic bag crisis. Either lessening the use of the bags or making the bags more easily and efficiently recyclable. Recycling and reducing are not enough. We must think outside the box and find something fundamentally different from the single-use plastics that we are so accustomed to. We need a fundamentally different type of alternative to single-use plastics.

What Makes Compostable Carry Bags Different?

Carry bags made of compostable materials differ from the ordinary in that they can be decomposed and returned back to the earth, unlike single-use plastics.

Here are some reasons as to why Compostable Carry Bags are truly a fundamentally "different" and superior alternative to single-use plastic bags:

Genuinely Biodegradable

Since compostable bags are made from Biodegradable materials like corn starch and PLA (Polylactic Acid), they can be decomposed back into the earth without making any toxic by-products, and without staying intact for hundreds of years. Unlike traditional plastic bags that can only ever "photodegrade", compostable bags can "biodegrade", meaning that they can be returned to the earth completely, without leaving any remnants that might be harmful to the environment behind. The bags can be returned to the earth in the form of water, carbon dioxide, and biomass.

No Toxic By-Products

Since compostable bags are biodegradable, they do not leave behind any toxic by-products, which would normally be harmful to the environment.

Certified Standard

There are many bags in the market that claim to be "compostable bags" that aren't actually "compostable bags". Revolve Green's compostable bags have been certified compostable by CIPET (Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology) and CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board).

Lower Carbon Footprint

Since compostable bags are produced with plant-based raw materials the manufacturing process leaves behind a smaller carbon footprint than traditional plastic bags.

Functionality

Many people assume that compostable bags are lesser in quality and strength than traditional plastic bags, but that is simply untrue.

The Bigger Picture: Making A Choice For A Better Tomorrow

Although all of us play a role in the single-use plastic menace, it is always a good time to start making a better choice. Making the switch to compostable bags not only helps to reduce the burden on the environment, but it also helps to inspire others around you to make a positive change as well.

Revolve Green has taken it upon itself as a company to make a real difference in the world and we believe that a single compostable bag has the ability to change the world for the better. This is why we at Revolve Green have pledged to promote a sustainable future, one compostable bag at a time. We offer carry bags, grocery bags, garbage bags, bin liner alternatives made from compostable materials so that you can be a part of this revolution towards a sustainable future. We also work with rural women artisans to create handmade upcycled wares as well as our Sajja Decor initiative that brings you zero-waste event décor solutions. Together we can reduce the burden on the environment from single-use plastics.

Making The Switch: What Everyone Can Do

Making the switch from single-use plastics to compostable alternatives is simpler than one may think. Here are a few things that you can do as an individual, a company or even as a teacher to help make the world a better place:

As a company:

Make the switch from plastic carry bags to compostable carry bags so that you can play your part in reducing the burden on the environment.

As a consumer:

Make the switch from plastic garbage bags to compostable garbage bags as well as plastic grocery bags to compostable grocery bags.

As an event planner:

Encourage your clients to make the switch to sustainable event materials so that they can also play their part in reducing the burden on the environment as well.

As an educator:

Educate others on the effects that single-use plastics are making on the environment so that they, too, can make the switch to using compostable materials in order to contribute to a cleaner and greener planet.

Conclusion

Single-use plastics have been around for decades, but the time for change is now. Compostable carry bags serve as a sustainable alternative to single-use, non-recyclable plastic bags that are better for the environment. At Revolve Green, we believe in a better future for the planet and we are striving to make it a reality.