S/o of reusable bag thread: Would you sign a petition?

[Mergath]

I just did a search to try to get info on my city's proposal and came up with this interesting article:

https://docs.google....oaJlujazI-IlYiw

The upshot is that a small charge (5 cents) for a bag has a big effect on peoples' behavior, while a small rebate for bringing your own bag has almost no effect. So in this case the carrot doesn't work, only the stick.

 

I'd love to see a bigger stick. Most of the people I know wouldn't care if they had to pay an extra five cents for all their bags. I'd rather see people pay a buck a bag. Maybe then everyone will think about whether they really need to have every plastic-wrapped package of meat individually wrapped in a plastic bag and then nestled inside another plastic bag for easy carrying. I mean really, how many layers of plastic do people think it takes to keep them safe from the lethal pot roast germs? :rolleyes:

[happypamama]

I don't line bathroom trash cans, but I use the grocery bags for kitchen trash. We compost what we can and recycle what we can (which, in our area, doesn't include paper or cardboard, grrr), and we just don't end up with very much actual trash. What we do have is either big stuff that doesn't fit in a kitchen trash can (like large boxes) or meat scraps. So, rather than fill a 13-gallon can, which would take several days for us, a small plastic grocery sack is just right for a day for us; DS1 takes it out once a day, and it doesn't sit and stink.

[Lady Florida.]

The upshot is that a small charge (5 cents) for a bag has a big effect on peoples' behavior, while a small rebate for bringing your own bag has almost no effect. So in this case the carrot doesn't work, only the stick.

 

That's interesting.

 

ETA: I wonder how Target's 5 cents per reusable bag has worked out. I haven't found any information on whether or not they've seen an increase in customers bringing their own bags since they started the policy.

[Ellie]

No. No. No. This should not be a government issue.

 

I'd sign a petition to encourage Trader Joe's not to offer plastic bags, but I wouldn't sign one that would ask the government to prohibit them.

[dbmamaz]

i didnt say i'm against regulations on environmental issues, i'm not. but imo, the effort it would take to pass and enforce this kind of law is huge, compared to stores charging for bags. Stores charging for bags is (per pp) effective, and it makes it an economic issue, not an environmental (read, controversial - dont lie, it is) issue. The grocery stores have every right to pass on costs to the customer and set their own policy. Now, if we make a law that the stores have to charge? Idk, starts to get complicated.

 

i guess part of why i hesitated to encourage new laws is that the existing laws arent being enforced, and making laws is not always the most effective route to the desired outcome.

[kewb]

I'm not picking on you, kewb, several people said something like this. How is regulating something that affects us *all* wrong for government? You cannot pretend that plastic bags (via litter or no) have no impact on the environment.

 

We have "sin taxes" in most (if not all?) states for things like cigarettes and alcohol because they are unhealthy and place a burden on the health care system. So, the state places a tax on it to help recoup some of that money. Yes, it is encouraging better living, but it is also addressing a financial issue. I get charged a tax when I buy alcohol, even though I'm not burdening my liver with vast overconsumption of alcohol.

 

I don't think you are picking on me. So, no worries there.

 

The government regulating things that affect us all is a very nebulous statement. I personally think it leads to a slippery slope of regulation that starts dipping into all areas of my life under the guise of affecting us all. Who is choosing what is best for all? How is watching the watchers? What if I don't agree with the assessment? What about my individual rights?

 

You are right, plastic bags are a problem. A huge one. I do what I can to minimize my plastic bag use and ones that come my way, I reuse and/or recycle them.

 

You (general you-not you personally) want to put a sin tax on plastic bags-go right ahead. I have no issue being charged a tax for the plastic bags I use if I choose not to bring or forget my own. To ban them outright-well that now effects me in a different way. I don't think the world will stop if there are no plastic bags in the supermarket but I think that should be the choice of the supermarket not the government. I use paper when I don't have my own but sometimes I use paper in plastic because if something leaks now just that paper bags is ruined. Not my car, not the bag next to it, etc.

[Mergath]

 

I don't think you are picking on me. So, no worries there.

 

The government regulating things that affect us all is a very nebulous statement. I personally think it leads to a slippery slope of regulation that starts dipping into all areas of my life under the guise of affecting us all. Who is choosing what is best for all? How is watching the watchers? What if I don't agree with the assessment? What about my individual rights?

 

You are right, plastic bags are a problem. A huge one. I do what I can to minimize my plastic bag use and ones that come my way, I reuse and/or recycle them.

 

You (general you-not you personally) want to put a sin tax on plastic bags-go right ahead. I have no issue being charged a tax for the plastic bags I use if I choose not to bring or forget my own. To ban them outright-well that now effects me in a different way. I don't think the world will stop if there are no plastic bags in the supermarket but I think that should be the choice of the supermarket not the government. I use paper when I don't have my own but sometimes I use paper in plastic because if something leaks now just that paper bags is ruined. Not my car, not the bag next to it, etc.

 

 

But you also have to consider, is it a person's right to harm the environment that we all have to live in? If it's not okay to ban plastic products, is it okay to ban the use of dangerous pesticides, like DDT? Is it okay to ban companies from dumping toxic waste into the ocean?

 

The government has to draw the line somewhere. We may disagree on where that line should be, but there does have to be a line, slippery slope or not.

[lailasmum]

I live near a town called Modbury that did away with all plastic bags in 2007. None of the shops supply non-biodegradable bags and from what I have read people have got so used to it that their usage of the Biodegradable variety or paper bags is pretty minimal. In my town most shops charge for bags and don't automatically have them out to take. Italy banned plastic bags recently.

 

I think a petition may not have much effect but I would sign it. I think getting a campaign going including local stores may be more effective. If you google Modbury plastic bag free you can see how they did it.

[Mrs Mungo]

 

I just did a search to try to get info on my city's proposal and came up with this interesting article:

https://docs.google....oaJlujazI-IlYiw

The upshot is that a small charge (5 cents) for a bag has a big effect on peoples' behavior, while a small rebate for bringing your own bag has almost no effect. So in this case the carrot doesn't work, only the stick.

 

 

Interesting. It actually reminds me of this TED talk:

 

 

The nudge was just enough to impact people's behavior without them even realizing it was affecting their behavior.

 

Well, most women use certain personal hygiene items in their bathroom. We could start another conversation about whether those paper products should be banned, too. ;) (I do use cloth *most* of the time!)

 

 

And some of us have teen girls to compound the issue.

[Lady Florida.]

I also would love it if stores would stop forcing bags on you. I've never actually attempted it, but I'd be fine without having a bag many times. Even if I have a lot of stuff. I'd just throw it in the trunk if I forgot my bags, and go home and bag it and carry it in. I just get the impression the store would freak out if I did that. I mean you can't even walk out with a case of soda without them having to slap stickers on it.

 

 

I've been looked at, usually by baggers, as though I have three heads when I've said I don't need a bag. Really, a half gallon of milk and a loaf of bread and they don't understand that I can carry these without a bag? :tongue_smilie:

 

You can laugh at it but there are tons of articles out there talking about how food borne illnesses have gone up because of this. I pack my dh's lunch in a cloth bag and do wash it, but there are lots of people who will never bother to wash their grocery bags. I am not saying it is what will happen, I am saying it is already happening.

 

 

I found tons of articles about ONE instance, the one where the bag had been in the bathroom. I didn't find tons of instances of people getting sick from using reusable bags. I also found this article about how the plastic bag industry wants you to think reusable bags are the problem. Again: Europe.

[Mrs Mungo]

I will add that we lived in Germany for five years. You were charged for plastic bags. You pack your own bag/basket/box/cart. There is a divider thing at the end of the register so that you have time to pack up your stuff while the next person is being checked out.

 

You also have to separate all trash into several types-different colors of glass, metal cans, recyclable plastics, paper, biodegradable (like food) and non-biodegradable (things like diapers). You're also only allowed to generate a certain amount of trash in your household. This meant people often completely unpackaged items before taking them home and threw away the trash at the counter while they bagged up their stuff.

 

It wasn't hard. It was easy.

[kewb]

There are laws about corporate polluting. They keep doing it anyway. Yes, pesticides like DDT should be banned. We should stop genetically modifying our food, and a whole host of other things because we are killing ourselves and the planet around us.

 

On a global scale-banning plastic bags seems like a drop in the bucket against the corporate polluters. If I was going to support a plastic ban I would rather see a ban on plastic packaging. Soda bottles, condiments, shrink wrap, etc.

 

There probably does need to be a line and we probably disagree on where it should be because of that slippery slope.

[Guest inoubliable]

I've been looked at, usually by baggers, as though I have three heads when I've said I don't need a bag. Really, a half gallon of milk and a loaf of bread and they don't understand that I can carry these without a bag? :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

I found tons of articles about ONE instance, the one where the bag had been in the bathroom. I didn't find tons of instances of people getting sick from using reusable bags. Again: Europe.

 

 

Same. The weird look when I checked out with a bag of kaiser rolls, a few cans of beans, a carton of soy milk, and a 5 lb bag of organic red potatoes and I said that I didn't need bags. There were five of us there... DH, myself, and three kids. All capable of carrying something. The girl just stared at me and said "you don't want ANY bags?". I said, "No, let's save a plastic tree." Bagger boy snorted and walked off, we all grabbed a little something and walked off. Honestly, though, I probably could have managed myself if I had to. People don't seem to give themselves enough credit sometimes.

 

Same here on that, too. One instance. Where are these reports on how reusable bags are causing rising incidents of illness??

[FaithManor]

I'd love to see a bigger stick. Most of the people I know wouldn't care if they had to pay an extra five cents for all their bags. I'd rather see people pay a buck a bag. Maybe then everyone will think about whether they really need to have every plastic-wrapped package of meat individually wrapped in a plastic bag and then nestled inside another plastic bag for easy carrying. I mean really, how many layers of plastic do people think it takes to keep them safe from the lethal pot roast germs? :rolleyes:

 

 

I agree.

 

On top of which, that floating continent of plastic in the Pacific Ocean is eventually going to be a greater health crisis then whether or not someone remembers to wash their reusable cloth bag or not! Google the pics, it's disgusting and plastics are created from petroleum (60% of the USA's annual consumption of oil is from the production of plastics) and all of that lovely mess is slowly leaching into the water - not mention the dioxin and several other components used to make plastic "clear".

 

Guess who washes her ziplock bags over and over and over again? Me...I don't like throwing them away and they aren't recycleable in our area. I haven't found an adequate replacement for all of the produce I freeze each harvest. So, reuse, reuse, reuse.

 

But, I wouldn't sign a petition. I would support stores that try to be more responsible with it and I'm all for the education of the consumer and private, concerned business men and women, "helping" people make a more informed choice by charging for the bags or allow them to take their business elsewhere. What we do not need in our current fiscal mess is a law which requires the government to form a department which requires the hiring of individuals to enforce the law, which means more freedom of choice lost, which means...... UGH...I'd rather go at it the old fashioned way and put a LOT of information out there so more and more people will become concerned about it and look for alternatives that make sense for their family.

 

Faith

[Remudamom]

I love plastic bags. I reuse them to pieces. I line bathroom trash cans with them (my boys can defile their bathroom trash can in an instant) use them for tying up icky stuff to put in the kitchen can (which is also lined) keep one in the car for trash, send stuff out to the guys in the field and even use them for horse training.

 

Leave more in the car so when I pick up the guys in the field they can put them over their boots and not get cow poop all over the floor. Wet clothes when you aren't at home.

[SarahW]

I think something to encourage the phase-out of plastic bags is good.

 

I've lived in Europe, and even there there seemed to be enough plastic grocery bags to go around to use for trash purposes. I think plastic grocery bags are proof of spontaneous generation. If you have two, somehow you suddenly have more.

 

Where I lived in Europe, if you forgot to bring a bag there was usually a bin someplace by checkout where you could grab one of the case boxes, you know, one of the things the boxes/can of food was shipped in. We would use the box to collect trash, or to collect old paper that we'd take to the paper bin. I like boxes more than bags. Boxes are very useful.

 

Lots and lots of people who never use reusable shopping bags also buy the little trash bags for their bathroom wastebasket. I don't understand it either. But I don't think reducing free grocery bags is going to cause a major buy-out of the small sized Glad-bags.

[K&Rs Mom]

My city has a petition to ban single-use sacks, which I plan to sign. My dh thinks I've gone communist on him - that we shouldn't *force* people to bring their own bags. But I can't think of another way to get folks to be responsible for their bags unless they've paid for them. And maybe use the bag fee to help pay for litter patrol.

 

 

I would guess it's already against the law in your city to litter. I think enforcing current laws is far more effective than passing new ones that also won't be enforced. Plus, if this petition is for a "ban" there won't be any bag fee unless they also increase the cost of the reuseables as a tax and pass that $ on to the litter patrol. Here the only litter patrols are volunteer groups or court-ordered community service convicts, so $ wouldn't really do any good. What we need is for people to act responsibly in all of their choices, and a law of any sort isn't going to cause that.

[creekland]

I've never had a problem or "weird" look from a cashier when we've told them we didn't need bags (which we always do for just a few items).

 

I wonder if that's a rural vs city thing? I dunno - we do it on trips too and have never had a second glance. They often put "paid" stickers on things, but it hasn't been an issue.

 

Most garbage I've seen around here has come from fast food joints. It's disgusting.

[Lady Florida.]

I don't think you are picking on me. So, no worries there.

 

Who is choosing what is best for all? The representatves elected by the majority. How is watching the watchers? A valid question. What if I don't agree with the assessment? Get involved in community government. What about my individual rights? This has always been a problem and there are no easy solutions.

 

 

 

 

The government has to draw the line somewhere. We may disagree on where that line should be, but there does have to be a line, slippery slope or not.

 

 

:iagree:

 

Also, not everyone is convinced using the slippery slope argument. It is, after all, a fallacy.

[Joker]

The weird looks must be regional because here I'm actually asked if I even need a bag when I only have a few items. Its never been an issue.

[In The Great White North]

We have "sin taxes" in most (if not all?) states for things like cigarettes and alcohol because they are unhealthy and place a burden on the health care system. So, the state places a tax on it to help recoup some of that money

 

I've never heard that the "sin tax" actually makes it into the health care budget? What states do that?

[In The Great White North]

You're also only allowed to generate a certain amount of trash in your household. This meant people often completely unpackaged items before taking them home and threw away the trash at the counter while they bagged up their stuff.

 

Bet the stores loved that!

 

So families' garbage was limited but stores could have as much as they want? Sounds like a hassle, not a net reduction.

[Mrs Mungo]

I've never heard that the "sin tax" actually makes it into the health care budget? What states do that?

 

I'm not suggesting that sin taxes go directly into a health care coffer. But, when sin taxes are proposed? The reasoning is offered up as partially being due to health care issues.

[Mrs Mungo]

Bet the stores loved that!

 

So families' garbage was limited but stores could have as much as they want? Sounds like a hassle, not a net reduction.

 

Oh, they *definitely* have less packaging in Europe than in the US. I'm sure any of those here who have lived in Europe would agree. There's no doubt about it.

 

The shops are charged for trash collection by how much trash they generate.

[Tammi K]

My oldest son worked in a grocery store. A lady came through the check out with a large order. My son asked, "Is plastic okay?" She answered affirmatively so he bagged her groceries. After she finished, she said that she had wanted paper, not plastic. So, son asked if she wanted him to re-bag. "Oh, yes. Absolutely!" So, he pulled all of the groceries out of the plastic bags and put them all in paper bags. As she was leaving, she said, "I like to do all I can for the environment." He wondered if she had any idea that all the plastic bags he just emptied were not able to be re-used and were going to get thrown in the trash. He told us, "She doesn't realize that in addition to the petroleum she just wasted, she also just killed a tree."

[FaithManor]

I've never had a problem or "weird" look from a cashier when we've told them we didn't need bags (which we always do for just a few items).

 

I wonder if that's a rural vs city thing? I dunno - we do it on trips too and have never had a second glance. They often put "paid" stickers on things, but it hasn't been an issue.

 

Most garbage I've seen around here has come from fast food joints. It's disgusting.

 

Yeah, don't ask me how I feel about the styrofoam containers, paper wrappers, and the like that constantly blow around the back of the local McDonalds. They are the biggest corporate litter bugs in our area and it's not the consumers tossing their garabage around. Their dumpsters need to be dumped more often, but they don't want to pay for it. The stuff overflows and with the lack of state inspectors to enforce the law, they get a way with it. Less packaging please!

 

In our area, it's fairly easy to not take a bag, but we have low shoplifting crime and so the stores aren't as afraid of unbagged/unmarked items leaving the shop. Dh and I also take boxes. With all of our 4-H stuff and the regular ordering of supplies, we end up with a lot of boxes. Some find their way to recycling, but others go with us to the store because they hold A LOT items when we are doing a big shopping and it's less awkward to carry than a heavily packed cloth bag.

 

Also, you can use smaller ones, including shoe boxes for storage. I no longer buy storage containers. I just use the boxes and mark the ends with what is within or cut a small hole and place part of a transperancy over the hole so I can see inside. It doesn't look as nice on open shelves. But, a curtain made of pretty quilt fabric, hides them well.

 

Faith

[Tammi K]

Oh, they *definitely* have less packaging in Europe than in the US. I'm sure any of those here who have lived in Europe would agree. There's no doubt about it.

 

The shops are charged for trash collection by how much trash they generate.

 

When we lived in Germany it wasn't a big deal. Shops had plastic bags.. You were always welcome to one. It was 5p (about 2 cents at the time). If you brought your own, you simply didn't need to purchase one. No fuss either way.

[laundrycrisis]

I am opposed to government over-reaching its intended purpose and getting into people's private business. This is a perfect example.

 

I personally USE the plastic grocery bags at home to line my small garbage cans, and to pick up and store dog poop until garbage day, and for wet swimsuits on our gym day. I appreciate that they come with my groceries for free. If they all went away, I would have to go OUT of my way to get groceries in another town. This would thoroughly pi55 me off. The only kind of plastic-bag legislation I could ever support would be perhaps requiring stores that use them to also accept them back for recycling, and actually recycle them (not stuff them into their own garbage dumpsters). This would only make sense if the city actually has a program for recycling them.

 

Back to add - I would not mind paying for them, or having them work on a trade system - ie, if I bring in five for recycling, I can have five new ones for free. But I do not want the option of getting them at all to go away.

[Mrs Mungo]

When we lived in Germany it wasn't a big deal. Shops had plastic bags.. You were always welcome to one. It was 5p (about 2 cents at the time). If you brought your own, you simply didn't need to purchase one. No fuss either way.

 

I agree that it's no fuss either way. That's why I'm suggesting a bag fee instead of a ban. I would say most people took their own bags/boxes/baskets though, wouldn't you?

[vonfirmath]

A lot people tell me they reuse plastic bags to line bathroom trashcans. Why? I'm honestly asking. I don't line any of the bathroom bins with a bag. I simply dump the bins out when they are full into the main kitchen garbage bag. The bathroom bins don't get dirty, and it's easy enough to give them a quick rinse and/or spray with vinegar (or whatever you chose) to clean it when needed. I don't see the need for plastic bags in bathroom bins.

 

The things I put in my bathroom trashcans are generally wet/icky with various bodily discharges. I'd much prefer it go in a bag than straight into the trash can. You must use your bathroom trashcan only for clean trash.

[vonfirmath]

Not Communism. Not in the slightest.

 

I think people should pay for disposable bags - to encourage reusable bag use. That's not forcing people to use reusable bags. You're free to...bring your own bag. Use your hands. Use your pockets. Bring a friend to help you carry.

 

People getting sick from reusable bags?? Seriously? Wash your damn hands. Great googly moogly. :svengo:

 

Yes. a whole girl scout troop, for one, got sick after eating a snack that had been stored in a reusable bag that was placed in a bathroom while an adult was helping was helping someone who was sick.

 

They figured it out by finding the germs still on the bag that the snacks had been in.

[Seasider]

Since these lowly plastic bags do exist, I'd like to share with you how some folks I know are repurposing them.

 

Do a google search for "plarn sleeping mats."

 

It takes a few hundred bags to make each mat. Of course you wouldn't reuse bags that have contained raw meat or leaky dairy products or squooshed fruit. But who knows, if enough people are proactive in collecting bags from friends, more people might become aware of how thoughtlessly they discard these things into the environment.

 

OP, sorry I never actually answered your question, but you've probably guessed that I wouldn't sign any petition. I believe real change involves a grass roots kind of effort.

[vonfirmath]

 

Oops..you're right, I said that. Now I don't remember the exact language; I'll have to check it out next time I see one.

 

I've shopped in communities before where they charged 5-10 cents for a bag - but I don't think I've ever shopped in a community where single-use bags are banned.

 

 

They are banned in Austin now. Starting March 1st.

[vonfirmath]

I'd love to see a bigger stick. Most of the people I know wouldn't care if they had to pay an extra five cents for all their bags. I'd rather see people pay a buck a bag. Maybe then everyone will think about whether they really need to have every plastic-wrapped package of meat individually wrapped in a plastic bag and then nestled inside another plastic bag for easy carrying. I mean really, how many layers of plastic do people think it takes to keep them safe from the lethal pot roast germs? :rolleyes:

 

Its not the pot roast GERMS. its the icky juice I'm avoiding with meat.

[PrincessMommy]

No. I wouldn't sign a petition. I think forcing people to use a certain kind of grocery sack is not only an infringement on personal freedom, but a waste of my tax dollars.

 

I agree.

 

Don't think it's communism either, more like totalitarianism . We switched over the the bag tax last year. Hate it. I used to re-use almost all my plastic bags - still do when I forget to bring my reusables. They were great to have on hand. I've also been reading about the problem with shoplifting and germs in the reusable bags.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Admittedly, I have not read most of the thread so my response is not directed at anyone in particular. Forgive me if it is repititious.

 

A lot people tell me they reuse plastic bags to line bathroom trashcans. Why? I'm honestly asking. I don't line any of the bathroom bins with a bag. I simply dump the bins out when they are full into the main kitchen garbage bag. The bathroom bins don't get dirty, and it's easy enough to give them a quick rinse and/or spray with vinegar (or whatever you chose) to clean it when needed. I don't see the need for plastic bags in bathroom bins.

 

 

We line our cans. Kids are nasty. Our bins get plenty messy lined. I can not imagine unlined!

 

 

Also we DO pay for them. They are included in the grocery store price. This one of the reasons bag your own places are cheaper.

[Guest inoubliable]

Yes. a whole girl scout troop, for one, got sick after eating a snack that had been stored in a reusable bag that was placed in a bathroom while an adult was helping was helping someone who was sick.

 

They figured it out by finding the germs still on the bag that the snacks had been in.

 

 

Yes. That's been quoted. Anything else?

 

My point was that, hand washing would be a fantastic way to ensure the sickies and ickies don't get transferred from a bag (or any surface) to your insides. KWIM?

[Mom-ninja.]

 

I just did a search to try to get info on my city's proposal and came up with this interesting article:

https://docs.google....oaJlujazI-IlYiw

The upshot is that a small charge (5 cents) for a bag has a big effect on peoples' behavior, while a small rebate for bringing your own bag has almost no effect. So in this case the carrot doesn't work, only the stick.

 

 

I think neurologists have shown that one already. A person is much more reluctant to lose something he already has in hand as opposed to "gaining" something he didn't have in the first place. That's why if you give a person (even children) a sum of money and then tell them for every X action Y amount of money will be deducted from their money it works better than to say for every X action I will give you Y amount of money.

 

 

You can laugh at it but there are tons of articles out there talking about how food borne illnesses have gone up because of this. I pack my dh's lunch in a cloth bag and do wash it, but there are lots of people who will never bother to wash their grocery bags. I am not saying it is what will happen, I am saying it is already happening.

 

 

Really? Cause I've read nada except for the girl who had the reusable bag in the bathroom when she had a stomach virus and then used that bag again. Don't consume food in other people's reusable bag. I'm not laughing. I'm simply stating that the argument that reusable bags are getting people sick is weak and an excuse.

 

If you want to use plastic bags then own it. Don't make excuses. There is always another option. If you choose plastic then simply state you like the convenience and luxury of plastic. That's what I love about Remudamom. She owns her choices and makes no excuses. I respect that.

 

Well, most women use certain personal hygiene items in their bathroom. We could start another conversation about whether those paper products should be banned, too. ;) (I do use cloth *most* of the time!)

 

 

As do I and yet I still don't see how that would make the trash bin dirty. Those items are wrapped in toilet paper. No mess.

[FriedClams]

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Store-owners-say-plastic-bag-ban-causes-more-4314744.php

 

Not sure if anyone shared this - but in Seattle they're having a huge problem with shoplifting after a ban on single use bags.

 

It's assumed that the single use bags aren't recycled.... I both recycle them through our curbside recycling, or use them to pick up after my dog.

 

I agree with you DH. I am happy to recycle - because I feel it's the right thing to do - but it's not the purpose of the government to make me do it.

[Julie in CA]

 

 

Really? What a joke.

 

Abrasive much? :rolleyes:

[bettyandbob]

OK, I haven't read everything and I gotta go. I believe Washington DC implemented a fee on bags a couple years ago and already the they have seen a significant decrease in the pollution of the Anacostia River.

 

I see no problem with people being asked to bring or pay for a bag. And it appears to be having the appropriate affect in the nation's capital.

 

If you bring reusable bags, throw them in the washer once in a while and you won't get sick.

 

ETA: since when did a free bag become an inalienable right?

[Mom-ninja.]

The things I put in my bathroom trashcans are generally wet/icky with various bodily discharges. I'd much prefer it go in a bag than straight into the trash can. You must use your bathroom trashcan only for clean trash.

 

 

You mean like used tissues? Q-tips? Used pads? Used bandaids?

 

All those go into my bathroom trash. Yet, my bin is not nasty dirty. If I do notice smears or something I simply clean the bin.

 

 

 

Yes. a whole girl scout troop, for one, got sick after eating a snack that had been stored in a reusable bag that was placed in a bathroom while an adult was helping was helping someone who was sick.

 

They figured it out by finding the germs still on the bag that the snacks had been in.

 

 

And? That's the only story out there and yet people are acting as if it's almost a pandemic illness going around because of reusable bags. Besides it was not illness spread because of the reusable bag, it was human error. Or in other words.....dumbness.

 

 

Admittedly, I have not read most of the thread so my response is not directed at anyone in particular. Forgive me if it is repititious.

 

 

 

We line our cans. Kids are nasty. Our bins get plenty messy lined. I can not imagine unlined!

 

 

 

 

 

I have 3 messy boys. I'm still scratching my head as to the claims of nasty bathroom bins.

 

Trust me. It *is* entirely possible to do without plastic bags in the bathroom bin. You may not want to. You may not have thought about it. You may think it's not possible, but really it is. It is not hard to clean a small trash bin. It literally takes less than a minute.

 

Again, if you want to use plastic bags as liners, fine. Just realize it's a choice you make because you want to for convenience. It is not a necessity.

[Mom-ninja.]

I love plastic bags. I reuse them to pieces. I line bathroom trash cans with them (my boys can defile their bathroom trash can in an instant) use them for tying up icky stuff to put in the kitchen can (which is also lined) keep one in the car for trash, send stuff out to the guys in the field and even use them for horse training.

 

Leave more in the car so when I pick up the guys in the field they can put them over their boots and not get cow poop all over the floor. Wet clothes when you aren't at home.

 

 

Remudamom, I love your posts. I do.

 

You *own* it. You are not afraid and you don't try to make excuses. Love that.

[TravelingChris]

Actually, I tend to get more paper bags with my groceries, since unless I am getting very little, I usually ask for them. Then I out my paper recycling in the paper bags and put them all out for recycling. I also put my cans and plastics in the paper bags for recycling. Same with glass but I have to drive them to the actual recycling area. Now the plastic bags I either reuse or turn in to recycling. Also, I do that with foam containers- whether egg cartons or iced tea drinks we got at fast food. They all get recycled. Vegetables and fruit waste goes into compost. All paper and cardboard is recycled.

 

However, I don't want people forcing me to bring my own bags. I don't like bagging for myself and don't want to do it. In Europe, I only occasionally used the reusable bags. Often I just paid for the plastic bags. As I said, I don't like the extra step for me with remembering to bring bags, wash bags, etc. It is too much of a hassle. And I need plastic bags for liners, for swim and dive practices, for cat litter, and for dog poop pick up. Any I don't use, I recycle. I don't see how banning them would save anything. If anything, the bags I buy use more plastic than the grocery or pharmacy bags.

[Excelsior! Academy]

 

 

I have 3 messy boys. I'm still scratching my head as to the claims of nasty bathroom bins.

 

Trust me. It *is* entirely possible to do without plastic bags in the bathroom bin. You may not want to. You may not have thought about it. You may think it's not possible, but really it is. It is not hard to clean a small trash bin. It literally takes less than a minute.

 

Again, if you want to use plastic bags as liners, fine. Just realize it's a choice you make because you want to for convenience. It is not a necessity.

 

Totally agree that it is a choice. I like having that choice. :)

[SailorMom]

1) Let consumers drive the market. When consumers decide to completely stop using plastic sacks, they won't be made anymore. 2) Any bags we don't use, I recycle. 3) I use paper sacks until I start running out of the plastic ones - but paper sacks are basically bad for the environment just in a different way. 4) Plastic bags are not the problem - even with regards to sea turtles; people who litter, don't recycle, don't secure their trash, and are not educated are the problem. 5) Every darn thing we do seems to be "bad" for the environment these days, and all these little things take our attention away from the big problems that actually will really ruin the planet. Yes - be offended if you (general you - no one here specifically) must be - but plastic sacks are a really minor problem and having any government agency work on legislation about them is a waste of precious resources. If we all really care - we should be talking about the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, overuse of pesticides, "3rd world countries" that either cannot or will not get any kind of environmental regulation system up and functioning, etc., etc. Saving the world one plastic sack at a time just makes us all feel good about ourselves (like walking in a circle for breast cancer awareness, or using electric cars while charging them with power from a coal powered plant). The real impact is negligible. Oh - and as a side note..... not lining the bathroom garbage can.... I just don't see how all of those strings of used dental floss, cue-tips, feminine products, etc., wouldn't get a bin nasty.

[Ellie]

Not all plastic bags are biodegradeable. Paper will biodegrade on its own, but not plastic, so even if you recycle those plastic bags, they're still going to end up causing problems.

[Mom-ninja.]

Totally agree that it is a choice. I like having that choice. :)

 

 

And it shouldn't be a free choice. I make the choice to purchase biodegradable plastic garbage bags. I don't see why I should have to pay for my choice of bag and others don't. Especially when the "free" bag is harmful to everyone. I have to pay more for my choice of trying reducing my footprint. Why is that?

 

So I'm not anti-choice. I'm anti free plastic bags.

 

If one wants convenience one should pay for it. I love the convenience of paper towels to clean things like dog vomit and the rats' cage. However, I pay for paper towels. Stores don't hand them out for free.

[Mrs Mungo]

Abrasive much? :rolleyes:

 

 

You don't think labeling it as communism is abrasive? Because I find it *really* abrasive and foolish.

[SailorMom]

And it shouldn't be a free choice.

 

Well - ok - I get you're saying charge for the store plastic sacks - but where exactly is that money going? Is it a tax to pay for cleaning up the streets, or is it just a fee the store keeps to pay for the bags?As for "it shouldn't be a free choice",,,, where does that end? Should we all HAVE to buy free range beef or chicken, cage free eggs, pesticide free veggies, shoes made from recycled soda bottles? Where does the government step in and out of these sorts of issues and who decides?