Get HDPE Produce Bags if You’re Sick of Biodegradable Ones

Finding produce bags you like is not easy. The new trend in many stores is to provide biodegradable bags. Unfortunately biodegradable produce bags are flimsy and, even worse, they have a strange stink that actually reminds me of poo. Just placing vegetables in such bags one time is enough to impart the poo scent onto them.

Other bags often are made from plastics which have really strong, chemical odors. Given the concerns about the leaching of plasticizing agents from plastics, it’s safe to guess that the chemicals leaching out of such bags are not healthy. If you can strongly smell the chemical odor from such bags it is not a good sign.

Occasionally you will find produce bags that are neither the poo-stink biodegradable ones nor the plastic-smelling ones. But for me that option has run out as basically everyone has now switched to biodegradable bags.

So I did some investigating and have found the ultimate produce storage bags. If eating produce is important to you – and it should be for every human being – then having good storage bags for it should be important.

It turns out that non-biodegradable plastic produce bags are usually made from either of two types of plastic which might be familiar to you if you’re into recycling: HDPE and LDPE.

Of these, only HDPE is really suitable for use as produce bags because it is mildew-resistant [omicoplastics.com: Food Grade Plastic: What’s Safe & What’s Not].

Before I knew this about plastic produce bags I purchased some cheap ones on Ebay and after storing vegetables in them for a couple days the inside of the bags began to mildew and started to stink.

Then I found the ultimate produce bags: 12×20 inch HDPE produce bags.

I paid almost $30 for a roll of 650 HDPE produce bags and it was well-worth it. I will not have to worry about running out of produce bags any time soon. Before going to the store to buy produce I take a bunch of them with me.

I can confirm that these bags do not form mildew and they are also a decent thickness so they do not easily rip nor puncture.

HDPE is known for its resistance to mold, mildew and corrosion, which is why it is commonly used for a variety of construction and sanitation applications. Furthermore, it can be molded into virtually any shape while maintaining its light weight, making it an ideal option when compared to other types of plastic.

— acmeplastics.com: HDPE and PP Plastic: What’s the Difference?

12×20 HDPE produce bags. Love it!