A couple of weeks ago, CBC metro Morning host Andy Barrie had an interesting chat with Dave Robinson, sustainability co-ordinator at Mountain Equipment Co-op, and with Greg Beresford, president of Biobag Canada Inc. The audio file is here: http://cbc.ca/metromorning/media/20070118BBJAN18.ram

The substance of their conversation was the problem with plastic bags. What’s up with those things? Canadians go through tens (or even hundreds) of millions of plastic shopping bags every year. Only a small percentage of plastic packaging is recycled; the rest ends up in landfills or as litter. …and that’s just thse darned Canadians!

However, paper bags are not the panacea we might think they are. From MEC’s website…

At first glance, paper bags seem to be the solution: they’re made from a renewable resource, and they’re biodegradable and recyclable. But paper bags consume many times more energy to create and transport than plastic bags. Manufacturing paper also puts out a considerable amount of air pollution and consumes a lot of water. In addition, paper bags are not as durable as plastic in wet weather.

And then came the BioBag. The BioBag is a new generation of eco-plastic. Unlike older “biodegradable” plastic bags, BioBags are 100% compostable and biodegradable, and will disintegrate in compost in 12-24 months, depending on conditions. They can also be reused.

Primarily made of corn starch (made from non-GMO corn), BioBags also consist of Novamont resin and fully biodegradable polymers or polylactic acid. Production of BioBags use less energy and produce two-thirds less greenhouse gasses than the manufacture of plastic bags. BioBags cost several times more than conventional plastic bags, but they allow us to further minimize the environmental impact of our operations.

MEC is using them. Plus, they will donate 5 cents to an environmental cause when you make a purchase without taking a bag. They also continue to sell both nylon and organic cotton shopping bags for those who want a permanently reusable solution.