Platform thepaperbag has created the labelReuse me – Recycle me”, a hallmark that was created with the aim of combining two recommendations: la reuse of the paper bags and their recycling in the blue bin.
This badge is now available on all newly manufactured paper bags. The sector thus responds to compliance with Royal Decree 1055/2022, of December 27, on packaging and packaging waste, which requires that packaging indicate where it should be deposited for recycling by 2025.
Nine out of ten consumers reuse paper bags
The high valuation by consumers and merchants of the environmental attributes of the paper bag –reusable, biodegradable, recyclable and renewable– translates into a growing use of these bags in all types of commercial establishments.
For 90% of consumers, the paper bag is reaffirmed as a transmitter of the values of sustainable ecology and care for the environment. Nine out of ten consumers reuse paper bags, on average, three times: 45% to buy again, 46% to carry personal goals and 56% to store belongings. These data confirm that the paper bag has established itself as a natural alternative in Spanish shops. 65% of businesses use paper bags, thus responding to social demand, since 86% of consumers, if they can choose, choose paper bags.
Even if a paper bag does not enter the recycling circuit, it biodegrades in a period of between two and five months without harming the environment.
In addition to consolidating itself as the natural alternative, the paper bag is resistant. According to a study by the Technological Institute of Packaging, Transport and Logistics (ITENE), the small-format paper bag with handles in supermarkets (food products) holds more than 12 kilos; for department stores and specialized stores (textile products and bazaars), the medium bag with handle can carry up to more than 14 kilos; and for fruit and bulk purchases, the envelope-type paper bag without a handle can hold 5 kilos or more if it is medium format or 2 kilos or more if it is small format.
