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For other uses, see Green Bag.

Green Bags are inexpensive reusable shopping bags common in Australia and also used in some other countries. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

Green Bags are commonly distributed in Australia at the point of sale by supermarkets and similar retail outlets. They are priced very affordably (usually AUD1. 00) and are intended to be reused repeatedly to replace the use of hundreds of HDPE plastic bags. High-Density Polyethylene ( HDPE) or PolyEthylene High-Density ( PEHD) is a Polyethylene Thermoplastic made from Petroleum

This arose from an Australian Federal Government initiative in 2003 – essentially a threat to outlaw plastic bags if retailers did not voluntarily discourage their use. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions A plastic bag or pouch is a type of flexible Packaging made of thin flexible plastic film

Contents

History

Australia

In 2002 the Australian Federal Government studied the use of purple and orange spotted throwaway plastic bags and threatened to outlaw them if retailers did not voluntarily discourage their use. A plastic bag or pouch is a type of flexible Packaging made of thin flexible plastic film

In 2003 the government negotiated with the Australian Retailers Association http://www.ara.com.au a voluntary progressive reduction of plastic bag use which led to a number of initiatives, including the widespread distribution and promotion of Green Bags.

There are two types of recycled paper and different combinations of the two. Post-consumer paper or board is made from office waste or in the case of boxes, newspaper waste. and mill waste. Generally recycled paper is not as strong as virgin materials; however, new developments have produced 100% post consumer bag paper that is suitable for retail packaging. It is also possible to make mixtures of virgin and post consumer materials in order to enhance the strength factors for particular applications. Post-consumer packaging is made from recycled shopping bags and papers, while mill waster is new packaging created from left over materials at a paper mill.

Paper remains the superior selection. Plastic does not recycle as well as paper. The primary reason it is much harder to collect the same forms of plastic materials. In addition it is difficult to maintain a pure white base color because of the contamination of the plastic collected. Unlike paper, there is no de-inking process. Generally, plastic loses more strength when recycled compared to paper.

Many reusable green bags or environmental bags, however, are made to last rather than be recycled, and often use materials such as Tyvek and polyethelene. These are stable materials made of plastic, commonly used in the artifact preservation field.

Physical description

Naming of parts

The standard nonwoven polypropylene bag has two parts: the bag itself, and its base insert.

The bag

It seems that most nonwoven polypropylene bags are made of 100% Non-woven Polypropylene which is recyclable but not biodegradable nor ecofriendly. Nonwovens are Textiles which are neither woven nor Knit, such as Felt. Polypropylene or polypropene ( PP) is a Thermoplastic Polymer, made by the Chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications Recycling involves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent the waste of potentially useful materials reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials reduce

Similar bags are made of jute,canvas calico or hemp but are not discussed here. Jute is a long soft shiny Vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse strong threads Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making Sails Tents Marquees Backpacks and other functions This article is about the cultivation and uses of industrial hemp not its psychoactive cousin Cannabis (drug.

The base insert

A typical base insert is 200x300 mm and weighs 30 g.

Format variations

Insulation bags are built with insulating properties in the interior providing added heat or freshness to food and drink. See www. jmpholdings. com. au

have internal dividers and are intended to carry two, four or six glass bottles, typically wine bottles.

Fold out bags can be folded back into their own tiny pocket for convenience of carrying.

Messenger bags are intended to sling across the opposite shoulder.

Coffee bags are small bags designed to hold two or more cups of takeaway coffee eg www. inspiro. com “Cafe Bag”

Takeaway bags are small bags designed to hold lunch plus drinks.

Produce bags are designed to hold individual produce purchases at the point of purchase and to store them in the fridge or pantry. See www. green-pac. net or www. inspiro. com

Zip closing, velcro closing, drawstring closing, duffle / sling bags, shoulder bags, backpacks and garment bags are all variations.

Retail sources

Australia

UK

US

Research

Environment Victoria (Australia) has published a study Supermarket bag packing: a comparative time trial which compared the amount of time taken to pack reusable green bags compared with single-use plastic bags. Environment Victoria is an Australian not-for-profit charitable group and Victoria 's peak non-government environment organisation It found great difference between green bags and single-use plastic bags in packing times for small to medium shopping loads (4-16 items); medium-sized loads (32 items) using green bags increased packing time, but by half a minute; larger loads (48 items) increased packing times by almost one minute when using green bags; and the increasing in time and staff costs equates to AUD41. 6 million annually.

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