This YouTube video I did awhile back, on cleaning a Ziploc bag for reuse, actually has multiple purposes:
1) show a way to reuse Ziploc and other sturdy plastic bags, a thing that can be hard to reuse because they are hard to clean if they’ve contained greasy foods;
2) show an economical and eco-friendly method to clean ANY dish or eating utensil in a way that needs minimal water and little or no soap. The second purpose might be most important as water-supply issues are on the rise.
Regarding food containers and dishware, here is a hierarchy of materials, from “harder to clean” to “easier to clean”:
Plastic bags are by far the hardest. Then come plastic plates & silverware, Tupperware containers etc. (The plastics tend to retain grease, for which the conventional cleaning approach uses a lot of hot water and a lot of soap).
Easiest in terms of cleaning are stainless steel and china; it’s easier to get them grease-free. My cleaning method shown in this video makes it easier and less resource-intensive to clean any food container or eating vessel, including a plastic bag.
Note: I do not buy plastic bags. But they often come with the territory of a food purchase even at the farmer’s market. For my own sanity I needed to find a way to reuse them without using tons of dish liquid and needing hot water. The “desert scrub” approach using dried grass, caliche soil (back when I lived in central Texas), or sand (with caution as it will leave scratches which can then harbor grease and dirt), broken-down oak leaves or pine needles, can save a lot of water and soap.