Is washing out sandwich baggies a waste of time?
It might be a hassle, but reusing your bags wins in the end.
Q: Is it environmentally efficient to wash all of our Ziploc bags for reuse, or do we use more resources than it is worth? And do the bags maintain their integrity for continuous washing, or does the hot water affect their chemical structure?Comments
Turn the bags inside out when washing. It exposes the 'working' side so you know it is 100% clean and rinsed, plus the lip lock is strong enough when reversed to make the bags stand up by themselves while they dry.
Store them in the freezer to keep them fresh that was passed down to me by my grandmother who has reused hers since they came out! the more we can conserve and reuse the better!
The first thing you learn when talking about LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) to determine the ecological impact of product, is that the results all depend on various variables that are partly determine by those who use the LCA-tool. A part of those variables is to value the different impacts and deciding which are more "important". Due to this, you could apply LCA in two ways, in one way you could get it is better to get rid of bags and buy new ones, in the other way it would be better to wash.... More
I can't say we've even gone through a small box of sandwich bags. We try not to use them, and if we end up using it, I'm the one guilty of washing them out and reusing them because no one else in the house bothers. As an alternative, we've purchased stainless steel reusable containers that we can stick sandwiches and other foods in as well as other storage solutions, such as those from Lunchbots.
I agree that there needs to be an equal amount of attention given to all throw-away plastic ideas we use. I personally reuse all my plastic baggies. I fill them half way with water and some biodegradable dish soap, zip them up, give them a good shake and let it sit for a couple of hours. Works like a charm. I have also purchased reusable baggies and love to use them for lunches. However, I have recently looked into making some myself and the material it would require to do that. I was rather.... More
