Reusable bags made from sustainable materials are biodegradable, so they can be recycled or composted, but if they do end up in a landfill they will safely breakdown with no ill effects.
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Reusable BagsTo have a comparable environmental footprint (which encompasses climate change as well as other environmental effects) to plastic bags, a cotton bag potentially has to be used thousands of times. Materials other than cotton, however, perform much better in sustainability metrics.
Are Tote Bags Unsustainable? By definition, no, tote bags aren't unsustainable. However, cotton tote bags may be less sustainable than just reusing a plastic bag. According to the NY Times, only 15 percent of the 30 million tons of cotton produced every year actually ends up in textile depositories.
A major advantage of plastic bags is that, when compared to other types of shopping bags, producing them carries the lowest environmental toll. The thin, plastic grocery store bags are most commonly made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE).