130 replies to this topic

[kat74]

Why cant everyone take the responsibility of coming with their own shopping bag. This way there will be no plastic problem and the environment will be saved from this menace. I remember my mother and grandmother going to the market carrying baskets made of sisal which is dyed with different colors and it used to be very beautiful. I wish we can go back to that time.

[sammilynn]

fancyfingers, on 21 October 2011 - 07:52 PM, said:

I recycle my plastic bags around the house because our city refuses them in the recycling bin. I line my trash cans throughout the house with them. I also cut them into strips, loop the strips together and make a 'plastic yarn' with them and crochet myself my own reusable grocery/store bags. I crochet when I am watching TV with the family. Since I am not a fast crocheter, it takes me a bit of time to make a bag.

That's actually a really cool idea. :)

I can't do anything like that, but if I knew how, it would be something I would be willing to try. :) Good idea.

[Wallie0912]

I work at a Walmart, and Walmart's into recycling plastic in a very big way (so big that I got a talking-to for throwing away a chunk of shrink wrap when I first starting working there).  My store has a recycle bin by the front doors for customers to put their unwanted plastic bags into.

So for those who have a zillion clean plastic bags, even if you don't shop at Walmart (Asda in the UK), the next time you pass one, stick your head in the door and see if they have a recycle bin (and if they don't, ask at customer service if you can bring them in anyhow.  Just make sure they really are clean when you bring them in).

[omkar1991]

I don't do the shopping in my house, but my parents always make it a point that they take reusable cloth bags on a shopping trip. It is sad to see plastic bags washed out at the beach during low tide, and knowing the fact that among the thousands of bags, the ones which were used and thrown by us are actually contributing to pollution and making the place dirty.

[Pushhyarag2000]

Though campaigns such as this one do not get very convincing response from people generally, I have seen many places in my country which have completely banned people from using plastic bags. Once such place is a hill station in south India, Ooty, which is completely plastic free. You won't find any store either stocking or handing one to customers. If only some determined people make an initiative and stick with it, it is possible to adhere to it. There shall be action both by the sellers & consumers. The latter must make it a compulsory habit of carrying their own bags for shopping.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

SEATTLE (AP) -- "Seattle officials are expected to vote to ban plastic bags.
The vote by the city council is expected at a meeting Monday. The ordinance would banish single-use, carryout bags in groceries and other retail stores.
Paper bags would cost a nickel — to encourage the use of reusable bags.
The seattlepi.com reports seven of nine council members are sponsoring the bill.
The city's residents use 292 million plastic bags a year.
The ban is expected to reduce pollution, free up landfill space and improve the environment."
http://www.huffingto..._n_1157968.html

Yay!!!!!!!!!

[joeldgreat]

Our local government had passed a bill banning the use of plastic bags in our community. Person caught using plastic bags were penalized if caught. Therefore, all establishments were now using paper bags. And many were selling reusable eco-bags now. The eco-bags was made-up of cloth, therefore it is washable and can be re-use over and over again. Some big grocery stores had also switch to a more friendly plastic bags which can be decompose mush faster than the original one. The government had permitted this. At first, most of the "culprits" (those that had been caught using banned plastic bags) were not from our community. Most of them doesn't aware about the new ordinance. To re-enforce this, our local government had posted many campaigns and slogans regarding the ban.

Now, almost everyone in the community (including outsiders) were well-informed and each one had been cooperating. Other local governments were also beginning to implement this kind of ordinance. I had hope that this will go national so that our entire country will be plastic bag free in the near future.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

joeldgreat, on 21 December 2011 - 02:06 PM, said:

Our local government had passed a bill banning the use of plastic bags in our community. Person caught using plastic bags were penalized if caught. Now, almost everyone in the community (including outsiders) were well-informed and each one had been cooperating.

Where is that?
How can any government, local or not, penalize a person for using a plastic bag?
Links please.

[Green Thumb]

Paying for plastic bags sounds like a good idea if people can’t impose to themselves self-discipline. There are already bills passed or being proposed to different state to encourage the use of non-plastic or better alternatives other than plastic bags.

----

The Seattle City Council has proposed a sweeping ban on plastic bags that would target not just grocery stores, but drug stores, restaurants, department stores, convenience stores,  home-improvement stores, food trucks and farmers markets.
The ordinance, unveiled Monday, would go further than bag bans in many other cities, which mostly apply to groceries and sometimes drug stores. In Seattle, customers would have to bring their own bags or buy a paper bag for 5 cents a piece under the ordinance.

http://www.seattlepi...ags-2279201.php

Toronto 2008

Shoppers in Toronto are soon likely to be paying at least five cents for every plastic shopping bag they take home from the store.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...ry-plastic.html

Toronto 2011

Mayor Rob Ford laid out some of his key goals for 2012 on Thursday, including abolishing the 5-cent plastic bag tax.
"I want to get rid of it," Ford told CityNews reporter Andrew Krystal. "I'm going to bring it forward probably in the spring or summer.  I want to abolish the 5-cent bag tax."

http://www.citytv.co...bag-fee-in-2012

Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, a member of the budget committee, wants to urge businesses bagging cash from the city’s 5-cent plastic bag fee to pony up to help save a rash of programs on the chopping block in the 2012 budget.

http://joshmatlow.ca...ys-its-way.html

----

New legislative measures are being put forward in the Philippines, with the aim of changing the country’s usage of disposable plastics. Specifically, representative Al Francis Bichara’s House Bill 4134, if enacted, would slap a P2.50 tariff on disposable grocery bags, hopefully putting them out of commission altogether.

http://recycle.reuse...lastic-bag-use/

[Shortpoet-GTD]

On the one hand, it's a good thing-less plastic trash.
On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the government making rules "for our own good."
Slippery slope-and where does it end?

[MercyL]

Orrymain, on 24 July 2010 - 12:44 AM, said:

People on limited incomes can't afford reuseable bags.  They are not cheap, and what if you don't know anyone who sews? When I go shopping, I buy for multiple weeks at a time.  I'd need about ten reusable bags.  I can't afford to buy them, nor do I know a soul who would be willing to make them for me.  If I did, I'd do it.

I was thinking about the income issue and purchasing reusable shopping bags. Obstacles become excuses, then stagnation, unless we think outside of the existing boxes

My first solution was a program to help limited or low income shoppers switch to reusable bags. A special program, though, may stigmatize its users.

I wonder if grocery stores could set up programs slowly converting all shoppers to reusable bags?

Grocers could reward loyal shoppers with a "free" reusable bag for every $100.00 spent. Most big chain grocers, like Kroger, have discount cards. The dollars spent and number of bags rewarded could be tracked on that card along with the items the shopper purchases each visit. This way, each shopper converts to reusable bags without the initial shock of buying them.

Any other ideas?

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Orrymain, on 24 July 2010 - 12:44 AM, said:

People on limited incomes can't afford reuseable bags.  They are not cheap, and what if you don't know anyone who sews?

No offense, but that's incorrect.
Big box stores have them for .50 cents each.
Don't want to carry their logo bags? Second hand stores have lots of bags for a few bucks too.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

http://www.greenbiz....g-bans?page=0,0

[fancyfingers]

One option stores can do is follow Costco's lead and put customers' groceries in boxes the product was shipped in, in addition to using bags. Costco doesn't use any bags. I know many will say Costco sells jumbo size of everything, while this is true, the jumbo size of everything comes boxed in a jumbo box that would be perfect to pack a lot of stuff in it. So, couple that with reusable bags, and stores can eventually eliminate their use on plastic bags.

[Ecodisaster]

Some stores are actually giving reusable bags for free now. I prefer that to using paper bags.
An old t-shirt as well, like Usty explains is a great idea. It is not a big deal, really. Once you get used to it, you can say bye bye to those horrible plastic bags.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

fancyfingers, on 31 December 2011 - 06:40 PM, said:

One option stores can do is follow Costco's lead and put customers' groceries in boxes the product was shipped in, in addition to using bags. Costco doesn't use any bags. I know many will say Costco sells jumbo size of everything, while this is true, the jumbo size of everything comes boxed in a jumbo box that would be perfect to pack a lot of stuff in it. So, couple that with reusable bags, and stores can eventually eliminate their use on plastic bags.

In large box stores, that might work but in "normal" size grocery stores, not so much.
Also, you have the threat of cockroaches being brought home with you. Cardboard boxes often have roach
eggs in them just waiting to hatch out in your cupboards.

[gangandealer]

I have stopped using plastic bags for about 3 years now. I have only been using those reusable ones, as they are effective and I have been using them for such a long while now.

[msterees]

I always ask the baggers not to put stuff in plastic bags that doesn't need to be in one like bags of potatoes or gallons of milk. I still end up with far too many plastic grocery bags, but I do try to recycle them so they are not such an impact on the environment.

[Green Thumb]

kat74, on 05 December 2011 - 05:53 AM, said:

Why cant everyone take the responsibility of coming with their own shopping bag. This way there will be no plastic problem and the environment will be saved from this menace. I remember my mother and grandmother going to the market carrying baskets made of sisal which is dyed with different colors and it used to be very beautiful. I wish we can go back to that time.

Some simply forgot to bring one though if you are practicing it or you take the practice of reusing shopping or plastic bags, that’s one thing you will think of to have with you before going out to shop. Or it could be that one would go out but have no plan of buying things but as he headed home he saw something to buy and well, he have no earth-friendly bag to store it to so he’ll just have to buy a new one or settle for the market’s carrier. That’s why I made sure that my travel bag always has a neatly folded shopping bag and plastic bag in its pocket (I got this from my grandpa who when he would shop he would put neatly folded plastic bags in his pocket) for when the need arises.