Discussion»Questions»Environment» Presidential candidate Joe Biden has spoken in favor of eliminating plastic shopping bags. Do you favor eliminating plastic shopping bags?
I am of two minds on this. I do know we are using too much plastic and it's winding up in places it should never be. On the other hand, it is so much more convenient to get your items bagged in the store and then use the plastic bags for trash can liners, which is what I do. I suppose that if all plastic bags were recyclable, that could be the answer. I have all sorts of reusable tote bags, but I never think to put them in the car when I go shopping.
Oregon made it effective Jan 1st, 2020 ... no more "disposable" plastic shopping bags. Bring your own bag = free Heavy duty "reusable" plastic bag = $0.10/bag Paper bag = $0.05/bag
Those are prices, based on where I've gone shopping in the last week.
I hate those stupid thin-as-air plastic bags from the store. Especially Walmarts (Target's bags are better) they always break and rip or have holes. They keep making them thinner and thinner and I know it ain't for the purpose of saving the environment. They do it because it cost less to make an even flimsier bag. Soooo, I always make use of the reusable ones. Besides they come in all sorts of pretty colors and designs. Makes me feel even more fabulous than I am and I get the added benefit of knowing I am being a good steward of the planet. I am soooo going to Heaven. I wonder what the shopping will be like there.
South Australia banned single use plastic bags years ago (it's a state issue here). It's no biggie, just remember to bring reusable ones to the store. There's even a hook on the cart to hang them from. If you forget, you can buy them. Heavy reusable plastic bags are 15c, cloth bags anywhere from 50c to $1 (depending on the store and the size of the bag). Insulated chiller bags are $2.
The reason I posted this question is because I think it is a wonderful illustration of how complicated the modern world is and how much knowledge it takes to answer even the most basic question.
After doing a moderate bit (but by no means exhaustive) of research, the "rational" answer to whether plastic bags should be eliminated is....it's complicated.
In order for any individual to answer this question knowledgeably, that person would likely need at least bachelor degrees in petroleum engineering, forestry, climatology, oceanography, and probably several other fields.
Which bag is best is also strongly dependent upon exactly how their used. The grocery stores where I live seem to have an unofficial three-item limit per plastic bag, which is horribly wasteful. I can often put 3-4 plastic bags worth of groceries (as bagged by store workers) into one doubled-up paper shopping bag.
On the other hand, several 'Muggers note they use plastic shopping bags as trash can liners. So, in determining which bags are best to use, we should likely subtract the cost and environmental impact of all the can liners not produced and purchased because people use shopping bags instead. What is that net effect?
One study I looked at noted that reusable shopping bags actually up significantly MORE resources and energy to produce that "disposable" bags. It isn't until you've used the bags approximately 150 times that the net resource consumption over disposables flips in favor of the reusable bags. Assuming you shop about once per week (as I do), are you really going to hang on to those bags for 3+ years? Will you manage to tear them before that time? Will you misplace and lose them? Will you simply get bored of them and replace them? If so, then maybe the disposable bags are less wasteful.
I think the takeaway lesson here is we need to be cautious about what we think we know, because what we actually know is probably a small fraction of what we really need to know.
SpunkySenior 