Although I use them to save money, I don't agree with the idea that cloth reusable grocery bags are the way to go to reduce resource usage. I can definitely agree that they reduce litter which is an important consideration as well.
There have been studies that show it is vitally important to regularly wash reusable grocery bags to prevent cross contamination of groceries purchased, along with any surfaces the bags come in contact with. The overwhelming majority of RGB users don't do this. Aside from health risks of this, an emergency trip to the hospital likely costs far more resources than you'd save in a lifetime of re-using bags, and while motivated individuals may be vigilant against cross contamination, the population as a whole will not be which makes forcing this as the only cost-effective strategy to grocery shop somewhat short sighted.
I agree in spirit but not really with most of your bullted points
Big fan of super market boxes, not a fan of the thicker 'reusable bags'. Unsure of their use case as I'm already swimming in actual reusable bags that are given away everywhere. Meanwhile I would reuse the thin bags for garbage liners and other waste disposal which relegates even a multi-use bag to single use, upping the resources spent per use.
Not sure if glass is a better alternative to plastic as we're starting to use up all the sand in the world. Sure it's recyclable but that doesn't always happen, it's also heavier and bulkier so more petroleum will be used to move the goods it houses than would otherwise be used further diminishing theoretical gains.
Some people do need straws, especially if they are facing jaw / dental problems. Also straws are correlated to a reduction in cavities. If you prevent a single cavity from being formed I'm willing to bet you're coming out thousands of straws ahead in terms of resources as you'd be consuming fuel to goto the dentist for consultation on tooth pain, and an additional trip for fixing the cavity after insurance approves plus materials used by the dentist, the paperwork that has to get faxed back and forth to the insurance providers, etc. Non-plastic reusable straws would be a better alternative to no straws, ie: harvest straws, re-usable stainless straws, glass straws are all good choices.
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Although I use them to save money, I don't agree with the idea that cloth reusable grocery bags are the way to go to reduce resource usage. I can definitely agree that they reduce litter which is an important consideration as well. There have been studies that show it is vitally important to regularly wash reusable grocery bags to prevent cross contamination of groceries purchased, along with any surfaces the bags come in contact with. The overwhelming majority of RGB users don't do this. Aside from health risks of this, an emergency trip to the hospital likely costs far more resources than you'd save in a lifetime of re-using bags, and while motivated individuals may be vigilant against cross contamination, the population as a whole will not be which makes forcing this as the only cost-effective strategy to grocery shop somewhat short sighted.
I agree in spirit but not really with most of your bullted points Big fan of super market boxes, not a fan of the thicker 'reusable bags'. Unsure of their use case as I'm already swimming in actual reusable bags that are given away everywhere. Meanwhile I would reuse the thin bags for garbage liners and other waste disposal which relegates even a multi-use bag to single use, upping the resources spent per use. Not sure if glass is a better alternative to plastic as we're starting to use up all the sand in the world. Sure it's recyclable but that doesn't always happen, it's also heavier and bulkier so more petroleum will be used to move the goods it houses than would otherwise be used further diminishing theoretical gains. Some people do need straws, especially if they are facing jaw / dental problems. Also straws are correlated to a reduction in cavities. If you prevent a single cavity from being formed I'm willing to bet you're coming out thousands of straws ahead in terms of resources as you'd be consuming fuel to goto the dentist for consultation on tooth pain, and an additional trip for fixing the cavity after insurance approves plus materials used by the dentist, the paperwork that has to get faxed back and forth to the insurance providers, etc. Non-plastic reusable straws would be a better alternative to no straws, ie: harvest straws, re-usable stainless straws, glass straws are all good choices.