The fact that we use too many plastic bags is not a new issue. We have been restoring the portfolio every time we make a purchase for years, without worrying about the damage that is caused to the environment. In particular, there have been municipalities and municipal associations that have recently taken over and focused on promoting reusable bags. Thousands of bags have been distributed free of charge in different locations in the Basque Country.

The bags are not only of different colors in each village, but they are also foldable. This is how they want to ensure the comfort of the wearer. These new fabric bags have more capacity than conventional polyethylene bags, as they have room to carry more weight and things. But they also have a limitation because, being made of fabric, it is not possible to use the products of butchers and fishmongers because of the liquids they can spill. Aware of this, in Zumaia (Guipúzcoa), a pioneering project will be launched: a hermetic vessel to avoid the packaging of fish and butcher’s shops.

The initiative to reduce single-use bags is not limited to small stores, as large supermarket chains have also been working in this area for years. In the north, plastic bags are difficult to deliver today in large areas and although they are still available in the south, the reusable bag is gaining strength. However, much remains to be done. The characteristics of current reusable bags vary from supermarket to supermarket and Alcampo, for example, has made biodegradable bags made from potato starch available to buyers. Even if you have to pay for the bags in these areas – between 0.15 and 1.5 euros on average – the consumer response is good. The Eroski Group, for example, saved more than two million plastic bags last year thanks to reusable bags.

According to the payment policy, the Municipal Association of the Costa de Urola believes that the use of non-biodegradable bags can be reduced. That is why it proposes that in the towns that make up the association (Orio, Aia, Zarautz, Getaria and Zumaia) the plastic bags be charged in three cents. In small shops this idea has not yet been implemented but the supermarket Dia has been doing it for a long time.

Projects at international level

In our country, measures are being taken for re-use at the moment, while at the international level the ban position is being strengthened. The village of Maodbury in England was the first to resist the use of plastic bags, followed by Ireland and South Africa. They will be banned in China and Australia before the end of the year and in Italy in 2010.

Several artists, taking advantage of the change, have designed comfortable and attractive reusable bags. Internationally Susan Bijl and Flip&Tumble have been some of them.