Since its introduction in the 1800s, the paper bag has undergone numerous upgrades thanks to a few clever innovators. In 1852, Francis Wolle invented the first machine to mass-produce paper bags. While Wolle’s paper bag looked more like a large mailing envelope than the grocery store mainstay we know today (and thus could only be used to tote small objects and documents), his machine was the catalyst for the mainstream use of paper packaging.
The next important step forward in the design of the paper bag came from Margaret Knight, a prolific inventor then working for the Columbia Paper Bag Company. There, she realized that square-bottomed bags, rather than Wolle’s envelope design, would be more practical and efficient to use. She created her paper-bag making machine in an industrial shop, paving the way for the widespread commercial use of paper bags. Her machine proved so profitable that she would go on to found her own company, the Eastern Paper Bag Company. When you bring food home from the supermarket or purchase a new outfit from the department store, you’re enjoying the fruits of Knight’s labor.
In 1918, two St. Paul grocers by the names of Lydia and Walter Deubener came up with an idea for yet another improvement to the original design. By punching holes into the sides of paper bags and attaching a string that doubled as a handle and bottom reinforcement, the Deubeners found that customers could carry almost 20 pounds of food in each bag. At a time when cash-and-carry groceries were replacing home delivery, this proved a crucial innovation.
Paper bags are commonly used for carrying items. However, they have been used for other purposes. In 1911, the English chef Nicolas Soyer wrote a cookbook, Paper-Bag Cookery, about how to use clean, odorless paper bags for cooking, as an extension of the en papillote technique and an alternative to pots and pans.
Paper bags are highly biodegradable and recyclable, and hence does not pose the same environmental footprint as plastic bags do. The fibres are reused 3.6 times on average in Europe, while the world average is 2.4 times. Plastic or water-resistant coatings or layers make recycling more difficult.[16] Paper bag recycling is done through the re-pulping of the paper recycling and pressing into the required shapes.