News Re-Usable Bag Price Increases

[sndral]

doesn't make it right because people adapt of course they do its what humanity has been good at. telling somebody how to live is wrong period end of discussion full stop.

News flash, here on the left coast nobody has changed the ‘way they live’ due to the measures taken to reduce waste caused by one time use plastic.
Many of us live near the ocean here and know first hand the issues created by irresponsible human plastic waste. Indeed that’s probably why California voters enacted the ‘single-use carryout bag ban’ via Prop 67 in the general election of Nov. 2016.
There may be issues where one could argue that voters shouldn’t be able to dictate how others live - eradication of plastic waste, however, isn’t the hill I’d choose to die on.
Likewise, to me it’s no big deal if a company like WDW bans single use bags on its private property - and based on how quickly people adjusted here I predict people going to WDW will adjust to the bag ban without any major lifestyle changes.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

News flash, here on the left coast nobody has changed the ‘way they live’ due to the measures taken to reduce waste caused by one time use plastic.
Many of us live near the ocean here and know first hand the issues created by irresponsible human plastic waste. Indeed that’s probably why California voters enacted the ‘single-use carryout bag ban’ via Prop 67 in the general election of Nov. 2016.
There may be issues where one could argue that voters shouldn’t be able to dictate how others live - eradication of plastic waste, however, isn’t the hill I’d choose to die on.
Likewise, to me it’s no big deal if a company like WDW bans single use bags on its private property - and based on how quickly people adjusted here I predict people going to WDW will adjust to the bag ban without any major lifestyle changes.

Well, here on the east coast we've got town banning single-use plastic bags, but stores are still making the paper bags, which actually wastes more energy than they're saving.

 

[Texas84]

So, who makes a good backpack?

 

[Dave B]

Jansport

 

[TOCPE82]

The idea of these is to sell them at or just above cost to encourage people to actually buy and reuse them.

Otherwise they're just another merch item out there. Are higher prices on these better for Environmentality?

 

[Jon81uk]

Well, here on the east coast we've got town banning single-use plastic bags, but stores are still making the paper bags, which actually wastes more energy than they're saving.

Yes but the paper doesn't cause as much of a problem when they blow away into the ocean.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Yes but the paper doesn't cause as much of a problem when they blow away into the ocean.

Sorry for the novel...

I'd guess the heavier-than-single-use plastic bags they're selling for $0.10 each if you want bags with handles (at the same store) will cause the same, if not worse issues when they end up in the ocean. The store I'm talking about had the right idea...they were still giving away the single-use bags, but at each entrance to their store also placed a huge bin specifically for recycling them...which people actually DID use. Then the town stepped in and banned the single-use bags, so now that store is giving away paper bags that are too small to use for much of anything (including your groceries - unless you want 10 of them), and selling the thicker, re-usable plastic bags. Granted, they're only charging the ten cents for them, but at what other cost?

If we did some heavy research into those single-use bags, I think we'd find that 1) people aren't re-using them as much as they could (my family always re-used them 3-4 times before they'd tear), 2) that they aren't being disposed of properly (not just tossing them in the trash - actually recycling them), and 3) that there are still a significant number of people who litter instead of actually disposing of trash properly. I'd also venture a guess that those bags aren't as recyclable as they could be at this point.

I'm of the opinion that the single-use plastic bags are just the easiest, most visible target in the trash/recycling mess that exists in the US - especially since China is no longer accepting our trash and recyclables. We won't see real change until we force the businesses that create the things we buy to absorb some of the costs associated with disposal or their products. Planned obsolescence and non-biodegradable packaging are big parts of the problem, but we won't see those kinds of changes until those with the money - the big business CEOs, the politicians in Washington, and the bankers on Wall Street - are able to smell the stench of the trash that is likely the remains of things that made them so wealthy to begin with.

I realize the trash problem isn't just in the US - it's global and at near-emergency status in some parts of the world. The whole situation makes me wonder if the PIXAR film "Wall-e" was a bit more insightful than people think.

 

[HoustonHorn]

I'm of the opinion that the single-use plastic bags are just the easiest, most visible target in the trash/recycling mess that exists in the US - especially since China is no longer accepting our trash and recyclables.

What about the straws?

*runs and hides

 

[Lensman]

Sorry for the novel...

I'd guess the heavier-than-single-use plastic bags they're selling for $0.10 each if you want bags with handles (at the same store) will cause the same, if not worse issues when they end up in the ocean. The store I'm talking about had the right idea...they were still giving away the single-use bags, but at each entrance to their store also placed a huge bin specifically for recycling them...which people actually DID use. Then the town stepped in and banned the single-use bags, so now that store is giving away paper bags that are too small to use for much of anything (including your groceries - unless you want 10 of them), and selling the thicker, re-usable plastic bags. Granted, they're only charging the ten cents for them, but at what other cost?

If we did some heavy research into those single-use bags, I think we'd find that 1) people aren't re-using them as much as they could (my family always re-used them 3-4 times before they'd tear), 2) that they aren't being disposed of properly (not just tossing them in the trash - actually recycling them), and 3) that there are still a significant number of people who litter instead of actually disposing of trash properly. I'd also venture a guess that those bags aren't as recyclable as they could be at this point.

I'm of the opinion that the single-use plastic bags are just the easiest, most visible target in the trash/recycling mess that exists in the US - especially since China is no longer accepting our trash and recyclables. We won't see real change until we force the businesses that create the things we buy to absorb some of the costs associated with disposal or their products. Planned obsolescence and non-biodegradable packaging are big parts of the problem, but we won't see those kinds of changes until those with the money - the big business CEOs, the politicians in Washington, and the bankers on Wall Street - are able to smell the stench of the trash that is likely the remains of things that made them so wealthy to begin with.

I realize the trash problem isn't just in the US - it's global and at near-emergency status in some parts of the world. The whole situation makes me wonder if the PIXAR film "Wall-e" was a bit more insightful than people think.

I love your bringing Wall-e into it at the end! Makes me think it was a movie before its time by a few years. Either that, or maybe it did move the needle and help create a generation that actually wants to do something? (Even though that something may not be the scientifically most significant contributor to solving the problem)

I think it would go a long way if Disney committed to donating all profits from the re-usable bags to various ocean and shore cleanup charities - or really any charity. Then this would seem as less of a money-grab and people might not feel so negatively about buying them. You heard it here. I'm calling out for Disney to do this!

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I love your bringing Wall-e into it at the end! Makes me think it was a movie before its time by a few years. Either that, or maybe it did move the needle and help create a generation that actually wants to do something? (Even though that something may not be the scientifically most significant contributor to solving the problem)

I think it would go a long way if Disney committed to donating all profits from the re-usable bags to various ocean and shore cleanup charities - or really any charity. Then this would seem as less of a money-grab and people might not feel so negatively about buying them. You heard it here. I'm calling out for Disney to do this!

Yeah, the Wall-e thing didn't dawn on me until last year when our town dropped (and then sued) our curb-side trash/recycling company due to breach of contract caused by them trying to tack on all kinds of additional fees related to China refusing our trash/recycling. People were losing their minds when they found out all our recyclables are just being incinerated and already had been for months. It's really a huge problem...bigger than most people realize, I think.

I'd like to further challenge Disney to be the world leader in developing and implementing longer-life products and bio-degradable packaging for all the merchandise they produce, and to encourage people to use refillable water bottles or cups in the parks rather than continue to sell thousands of plastic bottles of water and soda per day. My guess is that Disney World is in the same boat as the rest of the US and that their recyclables are just piling up somewhere, too.

 

[Lensman]

Yeah, the Wall-e thing didn't dawn on me until last year when our town dropped (and then sued) our curb-side trash/recycling company due to breach of contract caused by them trying to tack on all kinds of additional fees related to China refusing our trash/recycling. People were losing their minds when they found out all our recyclables are just being incinerated and already had been for months. It's really a huge problem...bigger than most people realize, I think.

Depending on what kind of incinerator the stuff ends up at, it may not be as bad as people think. Modern waste-to-energy plants are far better than the "city incinerators" of the olden days.

It's still better to recycle, but Europe has embraced waste-to-energy much more than the U.S. has. It's interesting. I know about it only because Hawaii's waste-to-energy plant is always the subject of a lot of conversation when I visit my friends and relatives there.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Depending on what kind of incinerator the stuff ends up at, it may not be as bad as people think. Modern waste-to-energy plants are far better than the "city incinerators" of the olden days.

It's still better to recycle, but Europe has embraced waste-to-energy much more than the U.S. has. It's interesting. I know about it only because Hawaii's waste-to-energy plant is always the subject of a lot of conversation when I visit my friends and relatives there.

Oh, without a doubt they're better, but they still produce more pollution than a coal plant. I was reading earlier that the biggest problem with single-stream recycling in the US is contamination - one greasy pizza box can ruin an entire batch of recycling, and people are having a hard time knowing what can and cannot go into single-stream bins. (Single-use plastic bags are a BIG no-no! They jam up the gears of the machinery!) China could pay cheap labor to hand-sort, not so much for us in the US. And the thing that gets me is that it's really not difficult to tell what can't go in - basically anything that can't get cleaned in a dishwasher, anything with a wax coating, no take-out boxes, no thin plastic, no foam, and no tissues. Clearer instructions are definitely needed though, because you know there will always be some schmuck trying to put cans of paint or something ridiculous in there. I figured out a way to make it easier for our family - I put two hooks on inside of the cellar door and hung a fabric laundry bag on them (so it sort of hangs open at the top) for us to put our recycling in until we're ready to put it out in the 95 gallon bin. Anything that will make the bag gross either gets rinsed first or goes in the trash.

We definitely need to educate the public better and start forcing companies to be more eco-friendly in what they produce.

 

[Missing20K]

anything with a wax coating

That's one I didn't know about. Thanks!

 

[ImperfectPixie]

That's one I didn't know about. Thanks!

You're very welcome!

 

[Lensman]

That's one I didn't know about. Thanks!

Also please note that milk cartons and juice cartons are polyethylene coated paper, so you should check your municipal recycling website to see if they accept those.

My town is switching from single-stream recycling to dual-stream recycling (paper + other) this year. With that change they are also reducing the number of plastics that they accept to 1, 2, and 5. Lots of changes as the recycling market evolves.

 

[Missing20K]

Also please note that milk cartons and juice cartons are polyethylene coated paper, so you should check your municipal recycling website to see if they accept those.

My town is switching from single-stream recycling to dual-stream recycling (paper + other) this year. With that change they are also reducing the number of plastics that they accept to 1, 2, and 5. Lots of changes as the recycling market evolves.

We are down to 1, 2, and 5. No more glass either. My wife and I are so weirded out tossing glass into the garbage after being indoctrinated as children throughout the 80's and 90's to recycle glass.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

We are down to 1, 2, and 5. No more glass either. My wife and I are so weirded out tossing glass into the garbage after being indoctrinated as children throughout the 80's and 90's to recycle glass.

I read that it's due to transport issues.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Also please note that milk cartons and juice cartons are polyethylene coated paper, so you should check your municipal recycling website to see if they accept those.

My town is switching from single-stream recycling to dual-stream recycling (paper + other) this year. With that change they are also reducing the number of plastics that they accept to 1, 2, and 5. Lots of changes as the recycling market evolves.

Thank you for adding that! We don't buy those in cartons, so I wouldn't even think of that.

 

[Lensman]

Thank you for adding that! We don't buy those in cartons, so I wouldn't even think of that.

What will be hard to remember in my town is that cartons will go with plastics/glass/metal, not with cardboard/paper.

We'll get used to it again eventually, but I'll have to buy another inside recycling bin and another outside recycling bin. It was nice only having one for so many years. The hardest part will be remembering 1, 2, and 5... 1-2-5, 125.

 

[matt9112]

News flash, here on the left coast nobody has changed the ‘way they live’ due to the measures taken to reduce waste caused by one time use plastic.
Many of us live near the ocean here and know first hand the issues created by irresponsible human plastic waste. Indeed that’s probably why California voters enacted the ‘single-use carryout bag ban’ via Prop 67 in the general election of Nov. 2016.
There may be issues where one could argue that voters shouldn’t be able to dictate how others live - eradication of plastic waste, however, isn’t the hill I’d choose to die on.
Likewise, to me it’s no big deal if a company like WDW bans single use bags on its private property - and based on how quickly people adjusted here I predict people going to WDW will adjust to the bag ban without any major lifestyle changes.

i still get regular bags....im not paying for bags i will bring my own ocean destroying bags if need be. im not rven against the idea it makes sense. im agaisnt forcing things upon people period. but thats a long rabbit hole.