All you had to do was not use plastic

In theory. Some sort of wax cocoon or something. Of course asides cost, most plastic alternatives do have draw backs. Sometimes they aren’t microbicidal by nature, or like wax they may be more fragile and temperature sensitive- and can be a messy pain to “unpack.” There are types of plastic made from or containing alternative ingredients as well- but again- they tend to have draw backs in cost or durability in an age where consumer goods may sit on shelves for very Long times or be shuttled around the world and face all manner of abuse and harsh conditions in transit.... going to “bio degradable plastics”....

It’s a bit of a misnomer. There are two main types of “bio degradable plastics.” One is made mostly of plant materials or the like which can be broken down by bacteria found in nature. The other is made of multiple composites of materials. The problem is that from a shipping and storage perspective bags that can be broken down my natural organisms somewhat defeat some of the purpose of many plastic packages. It’s all important to not that these bags tend to require specific conditions to break down. They do not decompose in landfills (where most bars end up) and biodegradable plastics do not break down in ocean water either- meaning if these bags end up in the ocean or landfill they are in essence as bad as regular bags. Regular plastic bags are almost 100% recyclable- it’s just most do not end up getting recycled by consumers. Most alternative plastic products are NOT very recyclable.

Hybrid products like reusable woven shoppings bags aren’t recycled at all because the materials are dis similar and the bag would need to be broken down to the basic threads and separated to recycle. The process of recycling hybrid bags puts metals and meaty metals like cobalt and lead into the plastics too- potentially unsafe. Products like bamboo based straws and the like aren’t usually recycled at all. Even in non developed countries it isn’t worth the labor for the low cost yield of the materials regained. We also must factor in the industrial farming processes, fertilizers and pesticides used as well as the arable dark lands we dedicate to producing materials for these plastics instead of food. All of this places harm back into the ecosystem and offsets one type of “bad” for another.

So while there are many choices for plastic alternatives- combinations of cost and durability as well as suitability to purpose often preclude many, and there isn’t actually a solid case that plastic alternatives have a net positive impact overall on the environment- as the primary source of problems from pure petroleum based bags are mostly shared with alternative counterparts. Chiefly in that petroleum bags wouldn’t pose much environmental risk and would be mostly reusable if consumers actually recycled them instead of throwing them in the trash or littering.