130 replies to this topic

[brihooter]

I wonder how long it will take for them to bam them here in AZ.  I bet they ban in all the cities closer to water first.  Do you think?

[Shortpoet-GTD]

We can talk about banning plastic grocery bags til we're blue in the face. The bigger issue remains;
plastic bags in general.
Buy bread? Toilet paper? Cheese? Deli products?  Frozen veggies/fruits? The list goes on and on and on.
Plastic bags are everywhere.
So the challenge is to buy the least offensive packaging and go from there.

[greenking]

Single-use bags, both paper and plastic, represent a huge threat to the environment. This threat is not only related to the sheer volume of them ending up in landfill, but also to the resources needed to produce, transport and (occasionally) recycle them, and the emissions resulting from these processes. Single-use plastic bags are also well known for their interference in ecosystems and the part they play in flood events, where they clog pipes and drains.
Envirosax presents a fashionable and practical solution to the problem of disposable plastic bags (each Envirosax potentially replaces the use of 6,000 bags during its lifetime), so please make a move in the right direction and help to reduce the impact of plastic bag waste worldwide by having a reusable bag today =)

[tri-n-b-helpful]

Shortpoet-GTD, on 02 February 2012 - 04:11 PM, said:

We can talk about banning plastic grocery bags til we're blue in the face. The bigger issue remains;
plastic bags in general.
Buy bread? Toilet paper? Cheese? Deli products?  Frozen veggies/fruits? The list goes on and on and on.
Plastic bags are everywhere.
So the challenge is to buy the least offensive packaging and go from there.

True, but we need to start somewhere and take it one step at a time. Our plastic bag ban has been in place for a long time now and people are used to the idea. Studies along the Coorong showed that it was these specific plastic bags and not those for bread, toilet paper and other household goods' packaging that were causing the problems on our beaches and in our wildlife sanctuaries, etc. Even so, our supermarkets are beginning to stock more and more items wrapped in packaging other than non-biodegradable plastic because there is more and more demand here for those types of products as people are becoming more aware of their impact on the environment.

[Sandra Piddock]

I use my own bags for shopping, as opposed to plastic bags from the supermarket. However, when I am given plastic bags, I always use them at least once, if not more, before disposing of them. If you stop and think about it, there are a number of ways to re-use and recycle plastic bags.

[Govind Joshi]

Well, I couldn't agree more. I live in Dehradun, India and I just started this discussion at one of the local green forums. I think it is very difficult to completely take out the plastic out of us. But we can always make a difference by using as less as possible. Taking our own bags whenever possible would be a great thing. Don't worry about who can't afford it or wouldn't do it. We must do it so as to at least reduce the use.
All this would add up and I am sure it will make a difference.

[Hayden]

@Govind welcome to the forums!

[brihooter]

Welcome Joshi!!

[boylopez]

Everywhere in the world, plastic is being used. In swam areas, lakes, rivers we can saw plastics floating. It may cause floods, and the plastic we trow will be back in our homes. The government must do an alternative to recycle it. The government also make solution to educate people.

[Green Thumb]

Nowadays, biodegradable plastics are available. Slowly but surely, strict rules should be pass on companies who’s plastic is their business to turn their products to be earth-friendly. They should think of the product transition from harmful to helpful especially if a lot of workers are depending on them otherwise their putting a bunch of people responsible for poisoning the earth eating inedible materials.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

boylopez, on 13 February 2012 - 06:17 PM, said:

Everywhere in the world, plastic is being used. In swam areas, lakes, rivers we can saw plastics floating. It may cause floods, and the plastic we trow will be back in our homes. The government must do an alternative to recycle it. The government also make solution to educate people.

It's not up to the government, nor is it their responsibility, imo.
It's up to sites like this one to educate people on the destruction that using plastics can cause, to the
environment and the living things on it.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"What would it be like to swim down through the estimated 100 million tons of trash swirling around
in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
Mandy Barker's photographs bring viewers probably as close as they'd ever want to come to finding out.

Looking at the images in the U.K.-based artist's "SOUP" series creates the vertiginous feeling
of sinking into the ocean, watching colorful -- but deadly -- bits of plastic in all shapes, sizes, and hues
rise through the blackness of the deep sea."
http://www.treehugge...ndy-barker.html
http://mandy-barker.com/current/soup/




http://www.treehugge...ndy-barker.html

[dj3000]

Paper bags are a much better choice than plastic. You can use them for other things when they are empty, such as storing paper to be recycled. Paper is much more eco- friendly.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Info graphic-
http://www.arteideas...ing-our-planet/

[fancyfingers]

Shortpoet-GTD, on 27 January 2012 - 03:25 PM, said:

Even if they banned free plastic bags from stores across the globe; big box stores, grocers, $ stores
will still sell plastic bags.

Until we change the product, so it breaks down rapidly when exposed to sunlight/water-
the sold bags will continue to do just as much damage as the free ones to birds, wildlife, turtles and fish.

Plant based bags have to become the norm instead of oil/gas based ones.

Yes, I agree. Until my city doesn't require us to bag all of our garbage, I will use the bags I get from my local grocery stores instead of buying the big, black, heavy duty garbage bags that are hard to puncture, let alone biodegrade. If we didn't have to bag our garbage, it would turn to compost a bit quicker.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

fancyfingers, on 15 June 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

Yes, I agree. Until my city doesn't require us to bag all of our garbage, I will use the bags I get from my local grocery stores instead of buying the big, black, heavy duty garbage bags that are hard to puncture, let alone biodegrade. If we didn't have to bag our garbage, it would turn to compost a bit quicker.

Interesting article on food waste in landfills-
Here

[Pat]

There is a charge for bags in the Washington, DC area to incourage the use of recyclable bags.  A reusable bag can be made out of something a simple as a old t-shirt with very minible sewing skills needed. There are carts on wheels to can be used when shopping to carry your bags home, we have one and it has been a life saver. The cart has been used for more than grocery shopping, the return on the dollar has been 1,000 percent.

Plastic bags in our household are recycled or used as trash bags.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Slightly off topic side note-be sure to toss those reusable bags in the washer every once in awhile. They
can get "leaked" stuff on them and grow bacteria.

[Jayde]

I always reuse my plastic bags. I use them as dog clean-up bags, mostly. Sometimes even when I need to paint or do something crafty, I can cut them up and use them as a tarp to catch any splattering paint. However, I try to limit the number of plastic bags I need by using the canvas bags that are given to me for free by random companies. It's important to reduce as much as we reuse!

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Banned in cities/states/countries.
L.A and San Francisco, Mexico City, Seattle, Hawaii, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oyster Bay, Australia,
Italy (the first country in Europe to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags), Germany, Japan, China,
(China enacted a plastic bag ban in 2008, and since then the country has saved more than 1.6 million barrels of oil
and reduced plastic bag usage by 66 percent.)
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6167
India, Ghana, Somalia, Botswana, Uganda, Kenya, Bulgaria, Syria, Tanzania, Eritrea, Turkey, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Norway
have placed an outright banned on plastic bags or are charging a tax on them.

Plastic Bag Fees

Belgium – Effective July 1, 2007
Denmark – Adopted in 1994
Germany - Adopted in 2003
Hong Kong – Adopted April 2009; Effective July 2009
Irish Republic – Effective March 2002, 15-cents per bag
Israel – Adopted June 2008
Italy – Adopted in 1988; Ban to be introduced in 2010
Netherlands – Effective January 2008
Seattle, Washington – Adopted by city council on July 28, 2008 – Defeated by ballot initiative on August 18th
Toronto, Ontario —Effective June 1, 2009
Washington, D.C. – Adopted June 16, 2009

Plastic Bag Bans

United States
--Alaska – As of 1998, 30 villages and towns have bans
--District of Columbia - Effective January 2010
--Edmonds, WA – Adopted August 2009; Effective August 2010
--Fairfax, Calif. – Passed by voter initiative on November 4, 2008
--Kauai County, Hawaii- Effective 2011
--Malibu, Calif. – Adopted May 2008
--Manhattan Beach, Calif. – Adopted July 1, 2008 – In lawsuit
--Marshall County, Iowa – Effective April 9, 2009
--Maui County, Hawaii - Effective 2011
--North Carolina (Outer Banks) – Adopted June 24, 2009; Effective September 1, 2009
--Oakland, Calif. – Adopted June 29, 2007 – Voluntary ban
--Paia, Maui, Hawaii – Effective 2008
--Palo Alto, Calif. - Adopted March 2009; Effective September 2009
--San Francisco, Calif. – Adopted April 2007
--Suffolk County, New York – Adopted in 1988
--Westport, Connecticut – Adopted September 2, 2008; Effective March 19, 2009
Bangladesh - Effective March 1, 2002
--Dahka - Banned plastic bags in January of 2002
--Bhutan - Adopted June 2006
Botswana - Effective February 1, 2007
Brazil – Effective October 2007
Buenos Aires, Argentina – Effective September 2008
China - Effective June 1, 2008
Coles Bay, Tasmania - Effective April 2003
Egypt (Red Sea Province) – Effective January 1, 2009
Eritrea – Adopted in 2005
France – Phase out completely by 2010
--Corsica – Full ban effective 1999
--Paris – Full ban adopted January 2007
India - In 2002, the Indian government mandated a thickness rule on plastic bags. All bags must be greater than 20 microns in thickness
--Delhi, India – Full ban effective January 2009
--Chandigarh, India – Full ban effective October 2, 2008
--Himachal Pradesh, India - Full ban effective 2003
--Maharashtra, India - Full ban effective August 2005
Italy – Effective 2010. Previously, the country had a plastic bag tax
Karachi, Pakistan - Effective December 2008 Kenya – Adopted in June 2007
Loddon Shire, Victoria (Australia) - Effective December 2005
Macedonia – Effective January 1, 2009
Manitoba, Canada
--Coldwell – Adopted August 12, 2008; Effective October 2008
--Eriksdale – December 9, 2008
--Leaf Rapids - Effective April 2007
Mexico City, Mexico – Adopted March 2009; Effective August 2009
New South Wales (Australia)
--Huskisson – Adopted November 2003
--Kangaroo Valley – Adopted November 2003
--Mogo – Adopted September 2003
Nova Scotia, Canada – Effective fall 2008 (applies to liquor stores only)
Papua New Guinea - Effective December 2004
Quebec, Canada – Effective 2009 (provincial ban applies to liquor stores only)
--Huntingdon – Full ban effective January 2008
--Amqui – Full ban effective Spring 2008
Rwanda - Adopted in 2005
Somalia - Adopted in 2005
Somaliland – Effective March 2005
South Africa - Adopted May 9, 2003
South Australia – Adopted November 2008; Effective May 2009
Spain – Mandatory phase out of 50-percent by end of 2009
Taiwan – Adopted in 2007
Tanzania – Effective October 2006
--Zanzibar – Ban in 2007
Uganda - Effective July 1, 2007
Ulanbaatar, Mongolia – Adopted June 2008
United Kingdom
--Aylsham, England – Effective May 3, 2008
--Banchory, Scotland – Effective January 2008
--Girton, England – Effective January 2008
--Hay-On-Wye, Wales – Effective December 2007
--Hebden Bridge, England – Effective December 2007
--Henfield, England – Effective May 2008
--Kew, England – Effective July 2008
--Llandysilio, Wales – Effective 2007
--Modbury, England – Effective May 1, 2007
--Overton, England – Effective October 2007
--Selkirk, Scotland – Effective April 4, 2008
--Tisbury, England – Effective January 2008
http://blog.couponsh...x-plastic-bags/