Los Angeles has banned the use of plastic grocery bags, hoping to eleminate them in dumps While I support the switch to canvas bags and eleminating waste, I do belive these cities (San Franscisco has also passed a similar ban) are going about it in the wrong way. The stores should be encouraging customers to reduce waste, which, admittedly, many are. Walmart is charging 25 cents per plastic bags, and have canvas bags for sale near the registers, as does Kroger.
On the article, I read the user comments, as well as going to the site, www.savetheplasticbag.com, set up by a lawyer, fighting the losing battle of keeping plastic bags in stores. I have come to the conclusion that although plastic bags may be better than paper, they are nowhere near as good as canvas, which are all the things plastic bags are (except for maybe some of the uses such as trash can liner and clean up supplies for dog-walking) plus more. They can be reused more times, they are less likely to break, versions can be bought that will keep your food insulated, are biodegradable, and can be stored just as easily. Besides, who reuses their plastic bags when going shopping? You may drop them off for recycling, but that's about it.
America is steadily making the switch from plastic to canvas, and if companies are smart, they will make this change with the rest of us. My hope is that major manufactorers of plastic bags and other plastic products will switch to new, earth-friendly alternatives. My state of residence, West Virginia, will probably make the change slowest, but even here I see signs of change. I do not see the need to pass laws banning bags as consumers are doing it on their own and by passing these laws citizens will go into our natural habit of rebelling.
Welp that sucks, because those canvas bags are not very big...and i recycle the plastic ones for mini trash bags in my house and for poopy diapers...BOO. I am for reducing waste and everything, however. i do not like being forced to buy canvas bags at stores.. you know SAMS Club and Big Lots uses boxes. They do not even offer bags.
Check Out MY NEW and UPDATED Online Portfolio!!!!!
myspace.com/osnaphotography
~I want to know God's thoughts, the rest is just details.-Albert Einstein~
I also reuse plastic bags as mini trash bags in the bathroom, but I mainly use my cloth bags for getting groceries.
But... if anyone's looking for something creative to do with plastic bags, rather than just throw them out, you could make some super cute stuff!!
I think I'm actually going to try it out. :-)
"What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact."
Don Williams, Jr.
Read my Blog!
The Sex Change Blog
Those were some really good ideas, and I rencently got into crochet so I think I'm going to try some of those projects. However, I agreed with a lot of the commentors that the projects involving fusing and ironing are probably not great for the enviroment, so I think I'll stay away from those, at least until I find out that they last an outrageosly long time, which I kinda doubt. But I did like that raincoat, it almost looked like something that could be mistaken for a designer raincoat.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711
My mother has been using canvas bags for years, long before it was "cool" to go green, because grocery stores would take 5 cents off your total price for each bag you brought from home. I think that by switching from paper and plastic to canvas bags is a great idea and hope that more cities around the country do it.
In a new developement, Seattle, WA is requiring stores to implement a "bag tax" of twenty cents. Despite how green and enviromentally concerned the city is, there is a lot of opposition. 20,000 signatures were collected to end the tax. Most people already reuse the bags, and do not want to have to pay extra.
Like what you've read? Well, then here's more:
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711