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Honored Contributor
Posts: 39,560
Registered: ‎08-23-2010

@Shawnie wrote:

Are you just talking about plastic grocery bags?  Or ziplock and hefty food bags (1 quart, i gallon, fridge or freezer)?


@Shawnie @bonnielu 

 

Yeah, I'm not sure what a "one use" bag is.   I use all bags more than once, so I'm also a tad confused.

Super Contributor
Posts: 487
Registered: ‎07-26-2017

What no one ever talks about is that plastic bags are still used, only often they are now purchased separately and not attained from a store.

 

Baby diapers, adult diapers, pet waste, all end up in plastic bags.  There was a study (and I can't find it right now online) that followed San Francisco's ban on plastic grocery bags.  The study found that after the ban was implemented, sales of plastic bags went up by 20% (the kind you'd use for smaller trash cans) because while people used reusable bags, they still needed bags for these other uses.

 

Until bio hazard items like baby or adult diapers are banned I just don't see how we can avoid using plastic bags. I still am able to get them and reuse all of them for my trash cans and pet waste.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,925
Registered: ‎06-13-2010

For years now I have only used insulated grocery totes from LocknLock, a few insulated grocery chain totes, and discovered some fashionable ones on HSN by West Loop last summer.. They are well made, easy to clean, and really come in handy during the summer months, because I don't have to run home while out shopping. I shop for groceries online also, and am glad they are delivered in paper bags. When I was growing up, "hippies" recycled. It's a wonderful thing that our generation now recognizes the urgency in conservation and preservation efforts to help ensure a better planet for the generations to come. I think of my grandchildren, and it inspires me even more. Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!

 

 

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,097
Registered: ‎09-05-2014

Re: One use plastic bags

[ Edited ]

In advance of the statewide law in New York ( the Bag Waste Reduction Act) I having been amassing plastics bags for awhile which I store in large LocknLock containers.  I am one of those who "re-uses" the bags for trash rather than purchase trashcan bags separately.  I don't generate a lot of waste/trash and these bags suited my needs.

 

Yes they are non-biodegradable and generally not recyclable, but lawmakers should not call them "single use" since, in many cases they are not single use.

 

That being said (and I have a supply to last for a time) there are many exceptions to the ban under NYS law:  bags for uncooked meat, fish, poultry, sliced deli meats, takeout restaurants and delis and bulk items like fruit, vegetables, candy and grains may still be placed in plastic bags.  Bags can be used for dry cleaining and newspaper deliveries.

 

All types of trash can bags, liners, sandwich and food storage bags may still be sold in bulk.

 

Paper is allowed on a county by county basis:  The county can approve paper with a 5 cent fee, the fee split between the state and the county.

 

So eventually the bags I currently use will be replaced with plastic sandwich bags or trash can liners I will buy in the store, and those will end up in the landfill.

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,577
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

while we are at this

 

people who put a banana in a plastic bag at the grocery store, why? or a garlic bulb, that is wasteful

 

or a bag of grapes into a bag

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,577
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

@bonnielu wrote:

Just curious, does anyone know why the small plastic ONE USE PLASTIC BAGS are being eliminated.  In my case the so called one use is not one use.

 

1.  Line my trash cans

2.  wrap  wet clothing

3.  secure items that could melt or drip

4.  wrap  items to travel  with in my luggage

AMONG OTHER USES

 

One wonderful afternoon my Milk was not wrapped in one coming from the grocery store. The milk fell over in the trunk after a quick stop and you guessed it.  That was a fun way to spend part of the afternoon.  Had it been wrapped... problem solved. 

 

I don't improperly discard them.  I don't toss them out my car window to the wind.  No idea why they are such a menace.  What is next?   


we use grocery bags for our kitchen garbage,  so once those go away I will have to actually buy a box of plastic bags, something I have never done.

 

also I don't buy paper towels,

 

but it's a start,  

 

 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,288
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

I think a scientist should be able to make a plastic bag that disintegrates in the landfill.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,516
Registered: ‎06-17-2015

Re: One use plastic bags

[ Edited ]

They are called "one use bags" not because you cannot use them for other things but because they are used one time from market to home.

 

In other words, you use the bag once for groceries to take home and when you shop the next time you get a new bag.  You don't use the prior bag from your last shopping again.

 

So everytime you shop, a new plastic bag makes it way into your home.

 

That is the "one use" concept, not that you might use it for other things.

 

And in the end they still end up an envirnomental mess.

"" Compassion is a verb."-Thich Nhat Hanh
Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,077
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: One use plastic bags

[ Edited ]

I find those bags thin,and tear easily, i don't know why the fuss over not keeping them  is.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,936
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

What we as a civilization have to do is find a way to recycle and use all this plastic.  It can be done, I know it.  Some of these very wealthy people can put up multi-million dollar prizes for viable ieas.  People will start working on them.  It's worked before.