Plastic Bag Bans

Hemp plastic please.

I wrote and passed the plastic bag ban in New Paltz, NY.   Statewide ban to take effect in 2020 is much more lenient and will override our law so that restaurants can use plastic take out bags again.

Sheeesh!

Salem got rid of them a couple months ago- I'm good with it.

We are working on banning plastic straws and people are freaking out!!

Doesn't go into effect till June 2020 and people are acting like they got a tit cut off

Come On

Saw a woman at Stop and Shop last week who had her groceries packed up in about 25 plastic bags. Ridic.

>>>Hemp plastic please.

Yes.  Unfortunately, too much old and crusty money in petroleum-based plastics.

My city in Massachusetts banned plastic grocery bags this January.  Those things are making a mess out in the world.

Do you have plastic bag bans in your jurisdictions and if so, do you find yourself buying plastic more plastic bags?<<<<

There's been a plastic bag ban in Telluride for 5+ years, but I try to do most of my grocery shopping in Montrose since it's far cheaper.  I normally use any plastic bags I get from the larger grocery stores there for liners for a small garbage can under the sink.   So no, I don't buy more plastic bags.

However, when the ban first went into place, I would often grab a few clear plastic bags from the produce section to avoid having to pay the $.10 fee on paper bags ... although stopped doing that shortly after realizing I was just "pouting".  So, now I either use a reusable bag or spring for the paper one and use it as kindling for fires.

stop styrofoam while you're at it.

many years ago my kids helped pass a ban on restaurants using styrofoam take out containers in one of the most conservative cities/counties in the country.

they lobbied and testified at the city council.

wish more cities would do the same.

The plastic issue is certainly disturbing and complex on all sorts of levels.  I feel like third world countries are contributing the majority of the plastics to the oceans and a state or two banning plastic bags would have a minimal impact at best.  Still good points to consider though- F plastic bags.  Just kinda being a realist.

Weren't plastic bags introduced as a way to help the environment?

sure, according to dow chemical.

We can't expect the third world countries to do without if we can't.  And given the amount of EVERYTHING we consume, I bet our contribution is nigher than you might imagine.  Broke ass people don't buy new plastic every damn day.

We don't have a full ban, grocery stores don't have them, but for .10 you can get one at a convenient store.  Paper bags are .10 at the grocery store.  Target still has plastic for a fee..  I will say that even with this limited measure it is easily recognizable that people are using way fewer bags in general, whether bringing their own or doing without.  I mean, it is pretty damn stupid to stick a gallon of milk that has a handle into a plastic bag if that's all you are buying.  I get a kick out of walking home from the store clutching a bare bottle of whiskey in my hand.

My only real use for them is to tie over my bike saddle during rainy season to I don't get wet ass.

While you’re at it, ban those stupid plastic clamshell containers they’re putting the fruit and vegetables in too

paper bags have so many more uses anyways

..

Oh man, serious pet-peeve topic of mine. I have so many doubts and questions about this, I just don't have the numbers to help me understand.

1) In Chile everybody used to use supermarket plastic bags to line their trashcans. No, plastic bags are banned, I assume people are buying more trashbags which are thicker and larger than a supermarket bag. What's the plastic balance there?

2) Now, everyone's producing and selling reusable plastic bags. Each of those bags uses a lot more plastic than a normal plastic bag. I'm guessing they're equal to 50 or more supermarket bags in terms of quantity of plastic. So, you have to use it 50 times before compensating for the change? Eventually, those bags will get thrown away and because they are thicker plastic, will take longer to decompose. 

3) The reusable plastic industry is booming these days. How many bags do they produce a year? 

I feel (but I lack evidence) that ultimately the reusable bags are a sham that end up polluting more. I may well be wrong, but I'm afraid that may be the case.

It's the same with all environmental issues:

Solar panels: How much pollution does Lithium mining create? What happens to the panels when they stop being used? How much energy is consumed in producing them, that you would have to cancel out before making them efficient? 

Electric cars: Where does the electricity come from? Coal powered plants? What happens to the batteries when they're dead? Lithium mining? Environmental footprint of the production?

And so on, so forth...

Wild bees are building their homes from plastic—and scientists aren’t sure why

When tasked with making their unique nests, Argentina’s solitary bees are now choosing plastic...

Sixty-three wooden nests were constructed, and three were found lined entirely with plastic. Similar in size and shape to a fingernail, the bits of plastic had been carefully cut by bees and arranged in an overlapping pattern in their nests. Based on the material, researchers think the plastic may have come from a plastic bag or film, which has a similar texture to the leaves bees typically use to line their nests.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/06/wild-bees-buildin...

Thanks, Ken, I'll look into it when I get a chance. I wonder if the reusable bags have been around long enough to conduct a study on litter and damage to marine environments aspect of the reusable bags. Sooner or later, they will end up in the trash, no?

Even without the true numbers, two things seem clear to me:

1) People are not going to stop using plastic;

2) All plastics made from petrochemicals ultimately have the same environmental footprint, now or later.

Ergo, hemp plastics really are the only way to go. Anybody in the states have an in with a hemp plastics company? No joke. I'm thinking about starting to import them into Chile, with an eye on eventually producing them here. If you know anyone, please let me know. :)

something for thought......you go to your local supermarket. grab a shopping cart.  you head down the aisle for garbage bags.  you buy 10 boxes of 30 gallon plastic lawn and leaf bags, head down the aisle, grab 15 boxes of 13 gallon plastic tall kitchen bags, head a bit further down the aisle, grab 10 boxes of plastic freezer bags, and 15 boxes of plastic sandwich bags.  now you head to the cashier, load all the boxes of plastic bags on the conveyor to be paid for, and then realize you cant put your plastic bags inside a plastic bag to take to your home...........if your going to ban plastic bags, ban them all or it really don't mean much.. .....just a thought.

>>>>plastic bags are banned, I assume people are buying more trashbags which are thicker and larger than a supermarket bag. What's the plastic balance there?

Your point with respect to how much net plastic exists in the world is valid.  However, one of the problems with the cheap convenient store bag is the litter.  Other than actual illegal dumping of trash, I don't see trashbags randomly strewn about in fields, riversides or beaches, and I see the single use bags EVERYWHERE.  Same with single use water bottles.  I assume there is more plastic in my nalgene bottle than a single use water bottle, but I don't see a lot of nalgene bottles washed up on beaches.  As far as climate change goes, we need to get rid of it all.  But as far as other environmental impacts, single use items encourage people to think of items as disposable and that means straight into the ocean and river.  I support all this as training for us to get away with the idea of using so much disposable shit that is not disposable.

Alias, I understand your point and agree, but ultimately, I think maybe you're arguing from a human aesthetic needs point. Whether or not a trashbag ends up on the side of the road, a beach or a landfill, it's footprint is still the same. Same thing for the reusable bag. Sooner or later, it will be trash, so in terms of net plastic consumption, will we ultimately have more plastic pollution from disposable or reusable bags?

I do agree though, that the disposable bags foment a bad attitude, one where people just see everything as disposable, and in that sense the reusable bag encourages a different attitude, which is good. 

And gotjorma, yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. Which is more reason why I feel like the reusable bags thing is a bit of a scam which ultimately still benefits the plastic producers while hiding behind a faux-environmental platform, which, in turn, raises sales...

im old enough to remember switching to plastic bags, because it cost too much money for paper bags, and cutting down trees was bad for the environment.  now they want to go back to paper bags instead of plastic....  while i understand to a point banning single use plastic bags, many people do not just use these bags once.  i use it for  lunch, and just using them as a carry bag for small trips.  i had read back in 2007 Sweden did a study on the carbon face of plastic bags, and the clothe bags you see in many stores.  according to the report, the clothe bags left a higher carbon print than the plastic.  and the clothe bags would have to be used over 20,000 times to reap any benefits of recycling. as im am old i do not remember where i found the article, but its just something rattling around in my head with other interesting facts lol 

I hear ya', Rich, this is the kind of stuff that rattles around in my head, too. 

On a personal level, my big concern is about how much of my food is already pre-packaged in plastic.

I'm eating a ton of fruits and veggies and my cheapest option appears to be Costco:

10 lb bag of organic carrots @ $0.49/lb

bagged organic apples @ $1.40/lb

bagged broccoli, green beans, celery, squash, almonds, etc, etc, etc...

boxed strawberries, grapes, mixed greens, spinach...

Tubs of yogurt.  Jugs of milk...

Supposedly, the tubs, jugs, and clamshell boxes go into our recycling bins, but they have to be cleaned.

Fewer and fewer plastic bags are being accepted for recycling in my area.  Only a few Safeway grocery stores leave a bin outside the front door for bag recycling, but I have no idea if they are actually going to be recycled.

I imagine that the best option is to purchase all my produce from the local Farmers' Markets, but I'm not sure that I have enough cash in hand to do so...

Go back to paper bags and make them from hemp. 

That and/or hemp plastics. Especially for construction, PVC's, etc.

thanks portland ken.  i knew i saw it.  at least not losing my mind lol

Petroleum industry still have us in a stranglehold. 

Ban em here, they pop up over there.

This I'm just recently noticing. Went to buy some socks the other day.

Ingredients include latex + rubber. 

WTF ?  My feet need 100% cotton 

I agree, Ras, the petroleum industry is the real problem. Petrochemicals are found in clothes, plastics, fertilizers, insecticides, construction materials, and of course, gas. Even if we eliminate plastics we would still have all the contamination and pollution from that industry to deal with.

Hemp, baby.

It's a weird feeling for me. When I was 17 - 19 (93-95) I found out hemp and its history and uses and I just couldn't believe that such a miraculous plant could exist. I wanted to believe, and yet part of me always thought: it can't be true, I must be exaggerating. All these years later, I'm still not exaggerating. Hemp can save our planet. 

Big corn would like to keep hemp out of the conversation as well. Already monopoly on ethanol and bio diesel for e.g. also making 'corn starch' plastic alternative for cups and cutlery to replace plastic in restaurants when they are banned nationwide across Canada in 2021.

Yup, another industry which has intimate ties to the petrochemical industry. I guess corn is better than the petrol options, but hemp is still better. Plus, there's tons of evidence showing that corn agriculture is massively damaging to the environment whereas hemp is not (because of the returned green material to the ground which fertilizes instead of eroding soil). Oh well...

commercial corn goes with big chem

1990 Jack Herer discussing benefits of hemp

https://youtu.be/zH-AQUFf14E

Why not just execute people who litter, compost their bodies, and grow the hemps in the compost? It's worth a try

Started in my area Mid July 

Do these bans include the plastic bags used for produce?

We could go back to hemp. Make and use hemp paper bags

They will work great when I wrap it over my head when I can't take this fucked up world anymore.............