No More Plastic Grocery Bags

[mikecolorado]

Wouldn't it just be smarter to change the industry from 'plastic' plastic bags to soy based bio-degradable plastic bags? I've never understood the mentality of how grocery bags are evil and everyone is so ready to change the extreme convenience of grocery supplied bags to customer supplied bags when it's the plastic that is evil.

 

[DandyDon]

Wouldn't it just be smarter to change the industry from 'plastic' plastic bags to soy based bio-degradable plastic bags? I've never understood the mentality of how grocery bags are evil and everyone is so ready to change the extreme convenience of grocery supplied bags to customer supplied bags when it's the plastic that is evil.

It looks like those are expensive, so the stores would rather force people to supply their own than absorb that cost. I usually take my own in to stores altho I often don't really know how many to take. I may order some bio-degradable trash bags for home use.

 

[ggunn]

When they instituted the bag ban here I was upset by it, but now bringing my own bags is second nature. No big deal. The trunk of my car is full of them.

 

[rmssetc]

No problem, but washing is part of their business. And I reserve the right to walk into any kitchen and look if I wish.

Hmmm... so you're OK with restaurants that let random people without food-handling certification wander through the kitchen?

 

[Windlaker]

Not worried so much about shopping, as we usually use reusable bags anyway.
Our concern is the bathroom trash can liners. We are considering bring bags from home just for that purpose.
We won't get nabbed by the "Plastic Bag Police", will we?

 

[DandyDon]

Not worried so much about shopping, as we usually use reusable bags anyway.
Our concern is the bathroom trash can liners. We are considering bring bags from home just for that purpose.
We won't get nabbed by the "Plastic Bag Police", will we?

If you're staying in a hotel, they will provide such. If you're in another property, you might want to bring your own. They'll still go to the dump with all of the other plastic discarded.

Hmmm... so you're OK with restaurants that let random people without food-handling certification wander through the kitchen?

They get deliveries, service technicians, etc. all of the time.

I'm not touching anything, just looking. Everyone there is generally too busy to notice.

 

[JamesBon92007]

When they instituted the bag ban here I was upset by it, but now bringing my own bags is second nature. No big deal. The trunk of my car is full of them.

My trunk is full of them too but unfortunately it may take me a few more years before it becomes "second nature." I am, however, forgetting to bring in my bags less often as time goes by.

 

[DandyDon]

I carry mine in the backseat floorboard, but it's usually just me in the car. I do wash them every few weeks.

 

[mikecolorado]

It looks like those are expensive, so the stores would rather force people to supply their own than absorb that cost. I usually take my own in to stores altho I often don't really know how many to take. I may order some bio-degradable trash bags for home use.

They are only a little bit more money right now, but that's in comparison to normal plastic bags, and that's because the industry produces hundreds of billions of petroleum based plastic bags today, the costs for bio-degradable bags comes down to normal plastic bags if they are adopted industry wide.

The super markets also benefit from consumers footing the bill for bags as we all get brainwashed into cloth bags. The super markets lose the cost of supplying traditional plastic bags and they gain millions of profits industry wide by selling us cloth bags.

We as consumers are basically idiots for enabling them by rallying against plastic bags and embracing cloth bags as the alternative so we all feel good about ourselves saving the planet. Plastic bags are only 1% of the plastic problem, better to change the entire plastic industry to bio degradable and solve the entire problem then put bandaids on it one minute part at a time. Also developing countries populations will never adopt the 1st worlds ecological solutions based on guilt and eco pride, they don't care and can't afford to care, but cheap bio bags can become a world wide solution even to 3rd world countries when they become the alternative that has no financial difference.

I was just in Mexico this week and watched 3 locals standing next to the shore drink their beer out of cans and throw them into the ocean. People are out of their minds if they believe people like that are going to go buy cloth bags at the super markets and car them there.

 

[Dan G]

Wouldn't it just be smarter to change the industry from 'plastic' plastic bags to soy based bio-degradable plastic bags? I've never understood the mentality of how grocery bags are evil and everyone is so ready to change the extreme convenience of grocery supplied bags to customer supplied bags when it's the plastic that is evil.

I am not a composting expert, but the bags you describe likely require commercial composting. People can't just put them in their own composting bin with the food scraps. This means readily available drop-off or curbside pick up for composting to make those work. Also, it's the nature of single use plastic items that are the bigger problem.