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quote:
Originally posted by james weatherford
[quote][i]
Eliminating plastic bags does not mean using paper bags, so comparisons in that regard are disingenuous at best.
If a store isn't allowed to use plastic bags, and if you think they might not use paper bags, what, then, would they use? Do you mean they just wouldn't provide bags? Can't figure out why assuming they'd go to paper would be "disingenuous," a word my dictionary tells me means, "not candid or sincere,
typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does."
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What is used around the world and is gaining traction here are reusable bags. You see them for sale for about 99 cents in most all stores.
Very popular in Europe are fabric mesh grocery bags. They scrunch up real small and last a long time and they have good strength and carry capacity.
Here's an example of the European method....
http://www.amazon.com/European-Cotton-Sh...B000XKPJRG
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Rob's point is accurate.
In other parts of the world -- Australia and New Zealand being what I am more familiar with -- the move away from plastic carry out bags has not been about switching to paper bags instead. Other options are prevalent, including many different kinds of re-usable fabric bags and, importantly, simply the cardboard boxes that grocery store merchandise arrives at the store in.
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The shopping cart was invented by the owner of the Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain in the late 1930's. Prior to this invention people only purchased what would fit into a basket. The shopping cart "revolutionized" shopping because people went from grabbing 5-10 items per shopping trip to filling up the trunk of their car. Large paper bags and courtesy carry-out service sealed the deal.
Stores aren't going to stop providing an easy way for you to spend the most amount of money you can. Stores pretend to like the cheap reuseable bags because "green" is good for their image but they have already noticed that people who use them are only purchasing as many items that will fit inside of them. These are the people who aren't grabbing the huge shopping carts. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule but most people bringing their own bags in are grabbing the little baskets and not pushing big shopping carts around. This is not the direction retail stores want to go. They want to give you as large of a cart as possible and encourage you to fill it up. That much stuff isn't going to fit in 3 or 4 reuseable bags.
I'm not being disingenous, I have personally owned a large retail store, have been to trade shows, and read the trade magazines. Stores are going to fight any type of bag ban tooth and nail, and they will not stop providing a conveyance to get their products to your car unless they have to. Consumers don't like using the used cardboard boxes at the store because 3 or 4 of them fills up a garbage can. We tried that at our store and people hated them. In a perfect world they would have recycled them but not everybody does that. Most people don't even want to crush them down to a smaller size. And, the boxes come in such a huge assortment of sizes it is impossible to stack or arrange them, and carrying them is clumsy.
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reusable bags are wonderful, but i work were i have to put your groceries in them and, seriously, people need to wash them occasionally.
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I've heard all the argument about plastic bags and the harm to the environment. Regardless of my personal belief about plastic bags, I do accept the arguments for a ban. But there are some things that confuse me in the writing of this Plastic Bag Ban, and I was wondering if anyone can explain the following:
1. What specifically does Hawaii County have in the way of magic dust that makes plastic bags used by non-profits any less harmful to the environment or less polluting than those used by commercial stores?
2. Are plastic bags distributed from non retail sources such as community events and such made from different plastics and do not pollute or harm the environment thus making them exempt from the ban?
3. Is it true that on Hawaii all the other thin plastic films you see dangling from trees or bushes and littering the roadside actually disappear overnight through some special process that makes them items to be exempted from a Plastic Bag Ban?
I guess I'm just confused because wouldn’t the arguments for a ban apply to ALL plastic bags, not just those used in commercial businesses?
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@terracore:
Thank you for your comment.
Context is important.
Certainly I think I understand what you are saying and mean.
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Bob, The "plastic bag ban" ordinance does not intend to solve all problems at once. What it does intend, I believe, is to reduce the volume of throwaway plastic bags from the tens of millions to simple millions.
It is merely a start from which results, or lack of results, can be studied and measured over time.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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CostUless has never provided carry out bags of any type, yet seems to do a pretty good business- just sayin'.
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@leilaniguy:
I have a large multiple compartment cloth grocery carrier.
I like Cost-U-Less for a number of reasons.
But I don't need to use the boxes.
Just put the groceries in my big bag and go.
