I love my produce bags!
Our first step on our plastic free journey was to eliminate single use plastic bags!! Not just the ones at the checkout but also the ones used to store my fresh produce in the crisper. There had to be a way.
I (Nikki) started by recycling some old calico flour bags, perfect for a couple of kilos of potatoes and they worked brilliantly as long as I didn’t fill them too full. But I just didn’t have enough to do all my shopping.
Next I tried mesh produce bags. At first glance these seemed like the perfect solution. They’re lightweight, easy to use and you can see exactly what you have in each bag. And for months I carried around my green pouch of Onya bags in my handbag and proudly used them whenever I collected fresh fruit and vegetable from my local farm shop.
I was a little concerned that Onya Bags were made from recycled PET bottles. My dilemma was that if I’m choosing to live a plastic free lifestyle are these a good choice? Ultimately I decided that PET bottles are everywhere and while I personally refuse to use them and like to discourage others too. The reality is they are a ‘legacy plastic’ meaning they are not going to disintegrate so perhaps repurposing this plastic into bags is not so bad. And they do store some produce well in the fridge BUT!!!
Now I am back using my repurposed calico bags as these are much better at keeping vegies such as beans and carrots fresher in the fridge. They are also great when you get caught at the bulk food shop without glass jars.
Using both works well as zucchini, cucumbers and other similar types of vegies are best in the mesh bags with air flow.
My set of Ever Eco Calico Bags now happily live in my glove box next to John’s keep cup and our set of Onya produce bags – ready and available to grab when I dash into the shops.