Are Cloth Bags Really the Heroes in Reducing Global Warming?

Recently, the trend of using cloth bags instead of plastic bags has come back into discussion, driven by the world's increasing challenges with disasters caused by global warming, including news about the loss of short-finned pilot whales, one of the causes being plastic waste.

As a result, many people are turning to cloth bags more, but wait a minute, are you sure that "cloth bags" are truly the heroes in this situation? Let's listen to this first and then decide.

The Loss of Short-finned Pilot Whales Due to Plastic Waste

At the beginning of June, it is believed that few people were unaware of the news regarding the death of short-finned pilot whales in Songkhla province. Despite the efforts of locals and medical teams to help, they could not save the poor whale. The medical team revealed that while attempting to insert a breathing tube for assistance, they found waste in the whale's esophagus.

After the whale's death and the autopsy, it was found that there was a significant amount of plastic waste in the whale's stomach, weighing approximately 8 kilograms, which is the largest amount ever recorded in Thailand.

This tragic loss has highlighted the issue of marine waste in Thailand, affecting the habitats of marine animals, especially plastic waste that is difficult to decompose and continues to increase every year.

It is time for us to recognize the growing severity of marine waste issues seriously.

Plastic Waste in Thai Waters

Thailand ranks 6th in the world for the highest amount of waste in the ocean (5th in 2017), with an estimated 30,000-50,000 tons of waste per year, a ranking that is far from commendable.

Although the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources has been working with relevant agencies to manage marine waste and has implemented tools like waste-collecting buoys, they still cannot prevent all waste from escaping into the ocean.

It is not only the relevant agencies that can help solve the marine waste problem; we, as citizens, must also contribute by not disposing of waste in rivers, which ultimately flows into the sea.

The Cloth Bag Trend

Following these events, society has become more aware of the global plastic waste crisis, and the trend of using cloth bags has surged again. Notably, famous department stores and convenience stores are increasingly promoting the reduction of plastic bag usage, alongside a rising demand for cloth bags.

This increased consumer demand for cloth bags has led to a variety of cloth bag designs flooding the market, with many department stores also producing paper bags as alternatives to plastic bags.

The advantages of cloth and paper bags over plastic bags include reducing the amount of plastic waste released into nature. Sounds good, right? But behind the production of cloth bags... it doesn't quite meet the goal of "reducing global warming" as much as one might think.

Are Cloth Bags Really the Heroes?

While using cloth bags is better than using plastic bags, it is not the ultimate solution. The production process of each cloth bag contributes significantly to pollution.

Cloth bags made from cotton or other plant materials require extensive resources such as land, water, fertilizers, and chemicals, along with harvesting and processing steps that release a substantial amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

According to a study by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food in early 2018, to offset the environmental impact of using cloth bags compared to plastic bags, one must use a cloth bag over 7,000 times, while organic cloth bags must be used over 20,000 times to be worthwhile. Who buys that much stuff anyway?

Paper bags also have a significant environmental impact. To make them worthwhile, they need to be reused about 40-50 times, which is challenging since paper bags are not very durable.

If Cloth Bags Aren't the Heroes, Then Who Is?

We cannot definitively say what or who can best help reduce global warming, but we can contribute to reducing global warming by each doing our part according to our convenience, as the "heroes" in reducing global warming differ for everyone, whether it be...

Reducing Plastic Bag Usage

This is something everyone knows well: plastic takes over 500 years to decompose, making it easy to litter our cities if we don't control plastic bag usage.

A simple way we can do this is by asking store employees to put items in one bag instead of separating them, except for potentially hazardous items like insect repellent cans, which should not be mixed with fresh food.

No Need to Buy More Cloth Bags

Carrying cloth bags to use instead of accepting additional plastic bags is a practical method in daily life. At the very least, we are not creating more plastic waste, but it is recommended to use the cloth bags we already have.

Everyone likely has cloth bags at home, so there's no need to buy new ones just to follow the trend, as that would also be wasteful.

Reuse

Reuse, in this context, means using plastic bags as much as possible. This is a good way to reduce environmental impact because one plastic bag can be used more than 10 times; thinner bags can be used more than 5 times, and ultimately can serve as trash bags.

Separate Waste Before Disposal

Sorting waste before disposal makes waste management easier. Waste won't be damaged by mixing everything together with spoiled items, and it will be easier to recycle.

Easy waste separation includes separating plastic bottles, milk cartons, aluminum cans, food scraps, and hazardous waste from other types of waste.

Choosing Products Wisely

Besides the issue of bags, the products we buy are equally important. Before purchasing, consider whether the product has a low environmental impact, uses carbon footprint, and whether the packaging can be reused or recycled.

Using cloth bags is not wrong, and using plastic bags is not wrong either, but we must learn to use them beneficially by “using less, reusing, and recycling” to minimize environmental impact. Remember that the resources on our planet are limited, and if we do not work together to preserve them, they will eventually be destroyed.

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