apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This discussion has taken place many times on AT. Lots of us use reusable grocery bags.

Funny. Whenever I hear about a "ban on plastic bags" I think that the store is no longer offering bags and that folks will have to bring (or buy) their own reusable bag. it never occurred to me (don't know why) that stores that do not offer plastic bags are reverting to offering paper ones. I know it's convenient to get a bag when I forget to bring my own, but if bags were never available, you bet we'd all remember to always have one on us!

Anyone know about the Whole Foods ban? I read that they were not offering plastic anymore, but I they are in full effect here in NC.

we have a grocery store in our hometown that uses plastic bags made from recycled plastic bags. I know it;s not an answer but it seems like it would help. Plus on the outside they have the whole thing about how paper bags aren't great for the earth either. how a certain number of plastic bags fits in 1 truck, but the same amount of paper bags would fill 4 trucks, etc. They also take 3 cents off for every bag you bring back and reuse or if you bring your own bags.

Thanks for the link to the article though, i was looking for that the other day.

I was just thinking this morning that recycling plastic bags is really not such a great solution. Half the time I end up throwing bags out because they are not clean enough to store and bring to recycling. Plus, I'm pretty ecominded and even I think bringing the bags back to the store is really a pain in the neck. If I wasn't as racked with liberal guilt as I am I would definitely be throwing them out in the garbage instead. If it's bad for the environment, and bad for us, why not just ban it? Yes, many will use paper bags, but many others will learn to bring their own reusable bags. The truth is, those cheap plastic bags should never have been invented in the first place.

I would agree with SFGail. A huge number of plastic bags are not recycled for a myriad of reasons. At least paper bags can be used for multiple purposes and in our house they are often used and then recycled (100% of the time). And, besides the energy use argument, paper is a renewable resource and petroleum is not. We can grow trees in every state of the union, but we can't grow oil. The plastics industry is clearly on the defensive!

Banning plastic bags is the first step. Banning paper bags is the next step. I like to think that, at the very least, we're on the right path now....

AndreaU - I think WF is aiming to eliminate plastic bags before/on Earth Day (April 22).

If Paris has passed a ban on plastic bags, why did I get one at the grocery store here just yesterday?

Perhaps it hasn't gone into effect yet?

Also, Whole Foods phased out plastic bags in Boston a month or so ago. I bet they have different dates for different cities.

The date for the Whole Foods bag ban here (Atlanta) is Earth Day.

I live in Edmonton Canada and the grocery store I shop at offers you "bonus points" that can later be turned into free groceries for using reusable bags. Also, on the first Tuesday of the month (which is 15% off day too) they automatically bag your groceries in reusable bags at no charge. We don't have a ban here, but we have a lot of encouragement not to use them.

Like The Green Cat, it didn't occur to me that stores would simply switch to offering paper bags. I thought the plastic bag ban meant people would have to bring their own.

I suppose I'm glad that paper biodegrades quickly or can be recycled, and isn't made from oil, but how hard is it to bring reusable bags or boxes when one goes shopping?

Costco and Sam's Club don't offer bags but allow you to use some of their left over boxes. This seems to be a good idea. If you are to ban plastic bags, then get rid of bags altogether.

Only one word for this. SaMart!

The motto is REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE... these are perfect doggy clean up bags, garbage can liners, etc. Banning them is not the answer, encouraging people to reduce (bring your own bag), reuse (as noted above), or recycle is a better answer.

"these are perfect doggy clean up bags, garbage can liners, etc."

Actually, they're not - they don't biodegrade in landfill. I'd say skip the plastic bags, and buy cornstarch bags for bin liners and doggy clean up. Or use the packaging from other products for these uses - we often use the big paper bag our kitty litter comes in as a garbage bag.

"Banning them is not the answer, encouraging people to reduce (bring your own bag), reuse (as noted above), or recycle is a better answer."

Voluntary reduction doesn't work nearly well enough, unfortunately. Banning them is a much better answer - it reduces consumption far more, and this can be done in conjunction with encouraging people to bring re-usable bags.

Rebekkap, I just stumbled back across this post. I respectfully disagree with you on the utility of cornstarch bags. I have two dogs and have tried at least three different brands of cornstarch bags. None worked. If they get wet, they fall apart. If you can recommend a brand, please do so. As for your second comment, my point was simply bring your own reusable bag but, if you forget your bag, then at least reuse or recycle the bag - don't just toss it in the garbage. We have to change the way people think - to take individual responsibility - rather than just passing another prohibition.

I'm in Australia, so I wouldn't have thought the bags I can get here are the same as the bags you can get there.

I agree people need to take responsibility, but not everyone will. Governments need to act as well.