Pressure Builds to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/24/2741/

Pressure Builds to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores
by Ian Urbina

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Paper or plastic? It is a question that has long dogged grocery shoppers. But the debate may soon be settled for this maritime city, where a bill aimed at protecting marine life would ban plastic bags from all retail stores.
San Francisco enacted a ban in April, but it applies just to larger groceries and drugstores. Similar measures are being considered in Boston; Baltimore; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Santa Monica, Calif.; and Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques Cousteau and director of EarthEcho, an environmental education group in Washington, said, “Banning plastic makes sense for the simple reason that it takes more than 1,000 years to biodegrade, which means that every single piece of plastic we’ve ever manufactured is still around, and much of it ends up in the oceans killing animals.”

Ms. Cousteau attended a public meeting here on Monday to support the measure. More than 70 people attended the meeting.

The bill aims to help protect Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, whose fish and birds often die after ingesting discarded plastic bags. Stores would be required to offer paper bags made from recycled material under the bill, which goes to a final City Council vote in October.

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[Lone_Star_Dem]

1. I wish they'd outlaw them coast to coast

They're a fossil fuel waste, a danger to wildlife and an eyesore.

[SharonRB]

2. I agree

I started using reusable bags a few months ago and I wish more people would do the same.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Same here

I bought some of the ones that that you can decorate from the craft store. They were cheap and they're perfect for the job.

[zonmoy]

9. why not simply reuse the plastic bags.

I use them for garbage bags, storage bags, library bags, pretty much any use that I need a bag for I can use an old plastic shopping bag.

[SharonRB]

18. The point is to get rid of the plastic altogether

I do try to reuse the ones I have for garbage, etc., but have accumulated so many plastic and paper bags, I could never use all of them if I kept accumulating them. I try to use paper whenever possible for these uses, such as putting out my recyclable paper. When I run out, now that I'm not getting them anymore, I'll get paper at the grocery store once in a while.

[sabbat hunter]

4. how much

in costs, trees, or recycling costs does it take to make paper bags. they still require energy to make.

best bet is canvas reusable bags.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. I should have said that canvas is what we should all use

I just wasn't thinking.

[chknltl]

8. Well said!

I have long wondered how much oil could be saved if we stopped with the plastic bags and all that plastic which covers the products we purchase.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. Almost all grocery stores are carrying

the canvas bags for sale these days. Our local discount market is carrying them for 94 cents each. I absolutely LOVE them! They're washable, they hold a LOT more than plastic bags and I don't have to worry about disposal. I carry them around in my vehicle.

[SharonRB]

17. Check these out

I ordered them online and we ordered them in bulk at our office to pass out at "green" events, such as a showing of "Kilowatt Ours."

www.1bagatatime.com

They're washable and have a stiff piece in the bottom to give them more support.

[taterguy]

7. I kind of like plastic bags

I own two large dogs. Grocery store bags are perfect for disposing of their waste and keeping it out of the groundwater.

Of course people truly concerned about the environment use back packs and duffel bags to make it easier to haul their groceries on a bicycle right?

[cynatnite]

10. I wouldn't mind them being banned...

I prefer sacks. Hubby does use those bags out on the road for his trash, dirty laundry and so on.

[BrightKnight]

11. How long does it take a clearcut forrest to grow back?

Plastic bags can and should be recycled.

The landfill is not going to become fertile soil again in 1000 years. A landfill will always be a landfill.

I would support a fee for not using canvas bags.

[Bjornsdotter]

12. Two favorites

....both must. A French Market bag and a string bag. I love both and can carry the string bag in my purse and the market bag in my car.

Cheers

[DarkTirade]

13. I'm always amazed when a grocery bagger person

puts something like a jug of milk in a plastic bag. It's already covered in plastic. And it has a handle. Just seems a bit wasteful.

[gollygee]

15. That drives me crazy

One time I went to the grocery store to quick pick up a few things. I bought 8 items and got 8 plastic bags. I was shocked by how wasteful that is, and it's what inspired me to start bringing my own bags to the store. Canvas bags are easier to carry, hold more items, and don't fall apart while you're carrying stuff.

[hlthe2b]

14. Only one problem--millions of dog lovers need to pooper scoop

and have come to depend on them for that purpose... Of course this is recycling and helps decrease the risk to off shore birds, but taking them off the market will require some kind of sound alternative...

[Red State Rebel]

16. I Remember When They Came out it was To Save The Trees!!

I'm so confused......

[adamuu]

19. is this worse than the alternative?

i assume the environmentalists involved have taken into account how much wood, petroleum, cleaning chemicals, and water go into the creation of a paper bag?

i bring reusable canvas bags to the store. When i forget them, i request plastic.

[jasmeel]

20. reusable bags is the only way to go!n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

21. Simple solution

Tougher laws on littering.......the premise of the complaint about plastic bags is based on something that any responsible person should avoid doing.

Also, there are "recycling bins" at most supermarkets I go to for old plastic grocery bags.

[donsu]

22. I've started using a canvas bag, some clerks load it correctly as

if a plastic or paper bag. but others have a hair up you know where and just throw things in willy nilly, which I have then to rearrange.

change upsets a lot of people

[The2ndWheel]

23. I'm all for "going green", but...

if we have to be told to do it, or have this or that banned to force us to do it, we're not really solving the problem.

It's going to have to be voluntary, or else we're going to end up with Big Brother/Nanny State/whatever. That's just creating an even bigger problem that won't end up solving anything.

We're going to end up being our own worst nightmare because of our desire to have everything.

[Crandor]

24. In other words, you want lip service only.

You know, I don't like murder, but I don't think we should ban it. That's just a horrible intrusion of big government into what should be a private matter :sarcasm:

When it comes to the environment, legislation is the only effective way to get things done. The vast majority of people simply will not pay a single extra cent to be more green if they don't have to - and from their point of view, why should they? The costs of the non-environmental decision may far exceed the benefits, but with the costs spread out among millions of people they are seemingly insignificant to the individual buyer. The result is, your supposedly infallible "free market" fails.

The only way to tackle environmental problems is to have a more optimal outcome be enforced by government. To anyone who knows a bit about economics, this is obvious. Unfortunately there are a lot of kids who read some Ayn Rand books and think they'd be rolling in dough if it wasn't for that big evil government holding them back.

[The2ndWheel]

26. My free market?

Plenty of assumed statements in your post. I'm a Randian...hahhaha...hahaha...haha...ha...ahhhhhh.

I agree with you. The only way we're going to solve any of the environmental problems we've caused is by force. The only way we can cause the environmental problems we've caused is by force.

[RestoreGore]

25. They should be banned everywhere

I never shop without my reusable canvas bags. Recommended.