Environmental impacts of different types of grocery bags

Number of times a given grocery bag type would have to be reused to have an environmental impact as low as a standard single-use plastic bag.

Recycled PETRecycled PET96 uses68.5 uses44.7 uses25 uses12.6 uses8 usesFreshwater eutrophicationWater useOzone depletionAverage across all indicatorsTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissionsBiopolymerBiopolymer41.8 uses9.7 uses8 uses7.8 uses0 uses-2.3 usesFreshwater eutrophicationOzone depletionAverage across all indicatorsTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissionsWater useBleached paperBleached paper43 uses18.2 uses13.6 uses11 uses5.9 uses1 usesFreshwater eutrophicationOzone depletionWater useAverage across all indicatorsTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissionsConventional cottonConventional cotton7,069 uses1,358 uses1,178 uses840 uses265 uses52 usesOzone depletionWater useFreshwater eutrophicationAverage across all indicatorsTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissionsOrganic cottonOrganic cotton20,000 uses3,830 uses3,326 uses2,375 uses755 uses149 usesOzone depletionWater useFreshwater eutrophicationAverage across all indicatorsTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissionsPolyester PET, recycledPolyester PET, recycled35.1 uses21.6 uses14.6 uses8 uses3.6 uses2 usesFreshwater eutrophicationWater useOzone depletionAverage across all indicatorsTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissionsPolypropylene, woven, rec…Polypropylene, woven, recycled31.9 uses30 uses25.9 uses10 uses5 uses4.8 usesWater useOzone depletionFreshwater eutrophicationAverage across all indicatorsGreenhouse gas emissionsTerrestrial acidificationUnbleached paperUnbleached paper43 uses13.6 uses9 uses7.9 uses3.6 uses0 usesFreshwater eutrophicationWater useAverage across all indicatorsOzone depletionTerrestrial acidificationGreenhouse gas emissions
Environmental impacts of different types of grocery bags

Interactive visualization requires JavaScript