European Paper Bag Day Date in the current year: October 18, 2024

Single-use plastic bags are among the top plastic pollutants. Most plastic bags are thrown away after about half an hour of use; after that, they take at least a century to disintegrate. While disintegrating, plastic bags break down into microplastics, which pollute water and get into the food chain, causing health problems in living organisms.

Paper bags are a sustainable alternative to plastic bags. Invented in the mid-19th century, paper shopping bags were almost completely replaced by cheap plastic bags in the 1970s. However, more and more people have started to prefer paper bags to plastic bags over the past decade or so due to being concerned with the environmental impact of plastic.

Paper bags are not without their drawbacks, but their benefits outweigh their disadvantages. Paper bags are made from a renewable raw material; they are reusable and recyclable; they are strong and suitable for carrying and transporting a wide variety of consumer products such as groceries, personal care products, clothes and shoes, electronics, books, and more.

European Paper Bag Day was launched in 2018 by The Paper Bag, a platform that unites leading European manufacturers of paper and paper bags, represents European paper bag industry, and promotes the benefits of paper packaging. Its leading organizations are EUROSAC (European Federation of Multiwall Paper Sacks Manufacturers) and CEPI Eurokraft (European Producers of Sack Kraft Paper and Kraft Paper).

To celebrate European Paper Bag Day, EUROSAC, CEPI Eurokraft and other stakeholders organize industry events, public awareness campaigns, recycling projects, outdoor events that promote a more environmentally-friendly lifestyles, paper mill tours, and other events and activities that help to raise awareness about the environmental benefits of paper bags as efficient and sustainable packaging, as well as encourage consumers to use, reuse and recycle paper bags in order to reduce plastic waste.

Over the past years, European Paper Bag Day events have taken place in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Remember that you can participate in the celebration even if there are no in-person events near you and even if you don’t live in Europe! Make a promise to yourself to use paper bags instead of plastic bags and spread the word on social media with the hashtag #EuropeanPaperBagDay.

European Paper Bag Day isn’t the only awareness day that promotes the use of paper bags and raises awareness of the environmental impact of single-use plastic bags. In the United States, Paper Bag Day is celebrated on July 12; there’s also Plastic Bag Free Day, celebrated globally every July 3.