A Quick Sustainable Swap: The Sandwich Bag

It might not seem big, but can be quite the impact.

Photo by Author

“The average American family uses 500 Ziploc bags every year.” Sophia Bennett, Recycle Nation.

That’s a lot.

How many of those are you reusing? If you’re like me, not very many, if at all.

To add to it, each of those 500 bags takes 500 years to decompose. (Center for Biological Diversity)

Multiply 500 by every American family, and you have a huge trash pile of plastic bags. Most of them floating around the ocean. An eternal destiny that will play out long after you’re gone.

Wow, that sounds depressing. There is hope. There’s a great alternative to this single-use plastic that’s even better.

The reusable/washable sandwich, snack, freezer bag is something of a powerhouse contender.

This was one of my first swaps towards living a more eco-conscious life and it was life-changing.

A Few Key Benefits:

• Freezer burn is no longer a thing. These bags keep frozen items more secure than even the best single-use freezer bag.
• The leaking plastic baggy is gone. Thank goodness. We all know it. Those times when you have a sore shoulder, you grab a bag and fill it with ice. Then it starts to drip all over you. Well, these are nice and thick. They don’t leak and they even protect your skin.
• Microwavable. Yes, you can throw some versions of reusable bags in the microwave. Think about how many heat packs you can create with some rice and one of these bags. Even popcorn! If you don’t believe me, check out Ashley Abramson’s blog TheKitchn for a testimonial.
• A more low waste kitchen. I haven’t bought a single-use plastic bag in over a year now that I’ve switched. I have upped the number of these reusable bags as I’ve started to use them in various ways other than the kitchen.
• They’re low cost. It might not seem like it on the surface, but after 2–3 years, you’ll be saving about $10-$20/year. 500 single-use snack bags cost about $10/year. 24 reusable snack/sandwich bags cost about $28 one time (based on my own purchases). This doesn’t even include the gallon-size freezer bags, which is saving you $10/year after only 1.5 years.

The one downside I found was handwashing. Pre-pandemic I wasn’t a hand-washer and didn’t like doing it. I wasn’t washing much pre-pandemic anyways. Then I found I was washing a ton during the pandemic. Adding these bags to the mix wasn’t a big deal. I quickly got over it, especially when I added in a brush with a handle.

If it still bothers you, there are different models out there that can go in the dishwasher.

Once you take that into account, there’s no downside to this switch.

Have you grabbed your reusable bags yet?