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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: ban plastic bags?
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
Kenya has banned plastic bags. The story in the link discusses pollution problems and effects on animals and environment. Very high fines. Jail possible for 4 years.
Plastic single use water bottles maybe should banned be next. If you've been tracking, there are news stories about how much plastic is in the oceans, on beaches, everywhere.
[ 30. September 2017, 00:05: Message edited by: no prophet's flag is set so... ]
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
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Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Ohher
Shipmate
# 18607
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Posted
Yes. Ban them, ban plastic bottles, ban plastic tableware, and rafts of other plastic goods.
There are probably goods made of plastic that really can't be crafted of some other substance. Plastic turns up in various medical devices, I gather;it may be difficult to replace plastic in various industrial applications; my hearing aids are mostly plastic. But I think we should ban as much plastic as possible, and as soon as we practically can. I've been replacing plastic in my household with glass, metal, wood, pottery, cloth, and cork. It's not always easy or convenient. My local food co-op encourages us bring our own containers for bulk goods.
If we could cut our plastic waste by 50%, we'd still be generating vast quantities of this crap. We have to stop.
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From the Land of the Native American Brave and the Home of the Buy-One-Get-One-Free
Posts: 374 | From: New Hampshire, USA | Registered: Jun 2016
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
Plastic bags have been banned here in LA for a couple years now. I carry an assortment of cloth shopping bags in the trunk of my car
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
I carry my Trader Joe's reusable bags wherever I go (even to trader Joe's!). I would love to see the plastic ones banned... but it won't happen in Arizona. Some individual cities have tried, but State law prohibits the ban. ![[Mad]](angryfire.gif)
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
In the UK it's compulsory to charge for plastic bags.
News report
The charge means all retailers with more than 250 full-time employees are required to charge a minimum of 5p to customers for single-use, plastic carrier bags, but paper bags are exempt.
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Pangolin Guerre
Shipmate
# 18686
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Posted
A few years ago, Toronto accidentally (yes, you read that correctly - accidentally) tried to put a $0.05 municipal tax on plastic bags, then the council panicked when they realised what they had done, and rapidly reversed this progressive, but hardly radical, step. Because, well, it was progressive. The result? The grocery chains are still collecting $0.05/bag for which they previously charged nothing, the city gets nothing, and everyone is still using plastic bags. All varieties of reason for the reversal were given for the reversal (shouldn't have been done, too difficult to track and collect, no forward planning, bark bark woof woof).
Boneheaded in the extreme.
Posts: 758 | From: 30 arpents de neige | Registered: Nov 2016
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
In Germany they have reverse vending machines in supermarkets that give people money for their plastic bottles.
We could have plastic and glass bottles and aluminium can reverse vending machines to provide high-grade recyclable materials for industry, and save councils’ doorstep recycling and rubbish bin costs. If placed on shop floors, they also encourage footfall - it’s not hard to imagine kids collecting bottles and quickly spending their earnings in the shops.
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Ohher
Shipmate
# 18607
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Posted
As a child, I routinely supplemented my allowance by collecting glass bottles and returning them to stores for the required-by-law 5-cent deposits made by the original purchaser. Made out like a bandit.
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From the Land of the Native American Brave and the Home of the Buy-One-Get-One-Free
Posts: 374 | From: New Hampshire, USA | Registered: Jun 2016
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Soror Magna
Shipmate
# 9881
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Posted
Here in Caprica City, we do all the usual recycling, plus we get pickups of organic waste (compostables and garden trimmings). As time has passed, the contents of my garbage can have dwindled down to two major components: kitty litter and plastic film.
One way or another, we've got to get cracking on this problem. If you didn't care about whales eating plastic bags, well, now we're consuming plastic as well.
Plastic bags are a no-brainer - easy to replace. Plastic film on individual products and multipacks also has to go - however, when you need airtight, water-proof, light, see-through and/or sterile packaging, there are no comparable alternatives. Metal is expensive, wood is heavy, glass is breakable.
I'm a huge fan of the principle that whoever earned a profit making a mess should pay for the cleanup. If manufacturers, distributors and retailers were forced to take responsibility for their packaging from cradle to grave, I'm sure they'd come up with solutions PDQ.
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"You come with me to room 1013 over at the hospital, I'll show you America. Terminal, crazy and mean." -- Tony Kushner, "Angels in America"
Posts: 5430 | From: Caprica City | Registered: Jul 2005
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
Plastic is a problem. Plastic bags very largely are not. The focus on a tiny part of the waste-stream is really unhelpful.
If we could instead focus on other plastics or - please heavens - nappies/diapers, we'd actually have a chance to make a dent in the huge pile of nasty trash we're polluting this planet with.
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arse
Posts: 10697 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Rossweisse
High Church Valkyrie
# 2349
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Posted
I always ask for paper bags instead of plastic at the supermarket; they're biodegradable, and I use them for recycling. Plastic bags can be recycled, but I'd rather not bother with them.
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I'm not dead yet.
Posts: 15117 | From: Valhalla | Registered: Feb 2002
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Rossweisse:
I always ask for paper bags instead of plastic at the supermarket; they're biodegradable, and I use them for recycling.
And much easier to pack, and they hold more. And are less likely to tip over in the trunk of the car. And easier to carry into the house when you get home.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Clint Boggis
Shipmate
# 633
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Posted
A few days ago I saw a short factual film by Laurel and Hardy about plastic! This consisted of the narrator pointing out all the things they had in their luggage or about their persons which were made of plastic, mostly lids of containers, handles etc. It was a surprisingly long list for the era which I think was 1930s or 40s. Though we were told plastic was made from powered wood plus resin, so what we'd call Bakelite.
Here in UK we have heavy duty re-usable plastic bags in supermarkets. They're called something like "Bag For Life", only 10p each and made from recycled plastic. They can be used dozens of times and get replaced free when too worn for use. A good solution, I think.
[ 30. September 2017, 22:20: Message edited by: Clint Boggis ]
Posts: 1505 | From: south coast | Registered: Jun 2001
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
quote:
Originally posted by Rossweisse:
I always ask for paper bags instead of plastic at the supermarket; they're biodegradable, and I use them for recycling.
And much easier to pack, and they hold more. And are less likely to tip over in the trunk of the car. And easier to carry into the house when you get home.
Surely, how much a bag holds is a function of size and strength of the material. My experience of paper bags (which are unusual in the UK, I should add) is that they're not as sturdy as plastic bags - and, next to useless to carry stuff home in the rain (which is the default weather) or with chilled/frozen groceries. Plus, basically the same size as plastic bags - so no gain there either.
I have a collection of sturdy plastic bags, and some fabric, plus other bags I just reuse until they're dead. Usually a couple in work for picking up a smallish shop on the walk home, the larger ones in the back of the car for the bigger shops.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
Though, where paper bags could be useful is instead of the silly bags for loose fruit and veg, which are practically useless and almost un-reusable (certainly for getting more groceries, half the time they split on first use).
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
Agree re the rain thing, but over here plastic bags tend to be smaller than their paper counterpart, and very flimsy. Almost impossible to keep the groceries from falling out unless one ties the handles together. Paper bags, on the other hand, are stiff and hold their shape, and remarkably sturdy especially if you double-bag (put one inside another).
And no one who walks home from the supermarket with groceries would dream of being without one of these. Cover with a bit of plastic and you've solved the rain problem. I keep one in my car -- they make child's play out of getting bags of groceries from the car and into the house.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
One Word: Plastics
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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