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  • Plastic Bag Ban

    Hey guys, here's a story I posted over at my blog. Since it has something to do with Hawaii I thought I'd post it here. Here;s the link to the original post:

    http://www.cotygonzales.com/2008/08/...hey-be-banned/

    So there's been some talk in Hawaii about the possible ban of plastic bags in Maui, followed most likely by the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Do I think plastic bags should be banned? Yes, I definitely think that plastic bags should be banned. Plastic bags are carcinogens to Mother Earth. They clog waterways and pose a threat to marine life. Plastic bags are no good.

    Some retailers argue that a plastic bag ban would be impractical and would cause retailers to use paper bags, which costs more to produce, thereby leading the added cost to be passed on to the consumer. This, however, does not need to be the case. If the plastic bag ban did take place then retailers should suggest that consumers purchase reusable bags (these are already available at many markets for a buck or less), a practical solution that consumers can use for infinite trips to the supermarket. If, for some reason, a consumer chooses not to use a reusable bag then they should be given the option to purchase a paper bag. Forcing consumers to purchase paper bags will increase the likelihood that they will use a reusable bag in the future and in doing so they will be doing their part in helping out Mother Earth.

    This paper bag ban is really a non-issue. Make it happen, Hawaii. Be an example. Kokua.

    PS: For the doggie lovers wondering what they'll use for poop bags, many pet stores offer biodegradable alternatives. Or if you want to be 100% green, leave the poop. It might not be good for your shoe but it does make for a natural fertilizer. I'm kidding, we all need to be responsible pet owners so get those biodegradable poop bags or teach your dog to use the toilet.

  • #2
    Re: Plastic Bag Ban

    Originally posted by Coty View Post
    So there's been some talk in Hawaii about the possible ban of plastic bags in Maui, followed most likely by the rest of the Hawaiian Islands.
    That's a little misleading, Coty. It isn’t a possible ban, it is an actual ban. Mayor Charmaine Tavares had been supportive as the Maui County Council debated the bill. But according to the Star-Bulletin, Tavares removed any doubt by signing the approved legislation into law on Monday.

    Originally posted by Coty View Post
    Some retailers argue that a plastic bag ban would be impractical and would cause retailers to use paper bags, which costs more to produce, thereby leading the added cost to be passed on to the consumer. This, however, does not need to be the case. If the plastic bag ban did take place then retailers should suggest that consumers purchase reusable bags (these are already available at many markets for a buck or less), a practical solution that consumers can use for infinite trips to the supermarket.
    What you fail to realize, Coty, is that your “proposal” has already been in effect for some times. Like you said, retailers like Safeway, Foodland and Longs Drugs do suggest that consumers purchase reusable bags and offer them for purchase in their stores. They even re-imburse you five cents for each and every reusable bag you use for each shopping visit.

    Despite this, they will STILL will have to convert to paper bags if plastic bags are banned outright. This is because no matter how strongly retailers suggest re-usable bags, customers will continue to forget their bags at home or in the car, or simply decide that they are too lazy to consider them at all. These customers have to be accomodated somehow.

    We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

    — U.S. President Bill Clinton
    USA TODAY, page 2A
    11 March 1993

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Plastic Bag Ban

      Add Hawaii Island to the list of counties that have passed a ban. Yesterday the County Council passed a bill that has gone to the Mayor for signing into law.

      http://starbulletin.com/2008/08/28/b...s/story01.html

      "Much like Maui's ordinance, the Hawaii "plastic bag reduction" bill proposes prohibiting all businesses from providing plastic checkout bags - both compostable and non-biodegradable plastic bags - to customers at the point of sale."

      I will be unhappy when I have drippy chicken and beef packages to transport from the store to home. And, I use recycled plastic bags for may uses: packing shoes in luggage, sorting dirty clothes in luggage, wet clothes after the beach, those sort of things. I'll get by without plastic sacks for that, ....but the drippy groceries .....
      Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Plastic Bag Ban

        I don't use either paper or plastic bags at a grocery store, I bring a backpack and use that for hauling groceries. I do it for my own piece of mind, not because of some government imposed ban.

        The real question that nobody really ask is what is the ultimate goal for banning plastic bags is.

        If it's reduce the use of fossil fuels then if fails. Most of the reuseable totes sold at grocery stores are also plastic, made in China/Vietnam and eventually also end up in the waste stream.

        If it's to encourage more recycling it fails. Most people reuse plastic bags already for trash or storage(or fido's poop). If they swap to totes for storage, it just goes back to the first problem (1 plastic tote bag has the same amount of plastic as 10 plastic grocery bags).

        If it's to reduce the amount of plastic bags in the waste stream it fails. People will simply swap the "free" bags from the grocery store to the ones they have to buy. It won't stop a "plastic bag" from entering the waste stream.

        Even if it's to switch to "Eco-Friendly" plastics it fails. Those bags are made from grain based materials which take more rice, corn, wheat and potatoes out of the food chain and increase the pressure to treat these grains as comodities.

        It's just more "touchy-feely" based envriomentalism that really isn't solving anything.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Plastic Bag Ban

          Originally posted by Coty View Post
          Hey guys, here's a story I posted over at my blog. Since it has something to do with Hawaii I thought I'd post it here. Here;s the link to the original post:

          http://www.cotygonzales.com/2008/08/...hey-be-banned/

          So there's been some talk in Hawaii about the possible ban of plastic bags in Maui, followed most likely by the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Do I think plastic bags should be banned? Yes, I definitely think that plastic bags should be banned. Plastic bags are carcinogens to Mother Earth. They clog waterways and pose a threat to marine life. Plastic bags are no good.

          Some retailers argue that a plastic bag ban would be impractical and would cause retailers to use paper bags, which costs more to produce, thereby leading the added cost to be passed on to the consumer. This, however, does not need to be the case. If the plastic bag ban did take place then retailers should suggest that consumers purchase reusable bags (these are already available at many markets for a buck or less), a practical solution that consumers can use for infinite trips to the supermarket. If, for some reason, a consumer chooses not to use a reusable bag then they should be given the option to purchase a paper bag. Forcing consumers to purchase paper bags will increase the likelihood that they will use a reusable bag in the future and in doing so they will be doing their part in helping out Mother Earth.

          This paper bag ban is really a non-issue. Make it happen, Hawaii. Be an example. Kokua.

          PS: For the doggie lovers wondering what they'll use for poop bags, many pet stores offer biodegradable alternatives. Or if you want to be 100% green, leave the poop. It might not be good for your shoe but it does make for a natural fertilizer. I'm kidding, we all need to be responsible pet owners so get those biodegradable poop bags or teach your dog to use the toilet.
          Technically, what about trash bag?

          AFAIK, it's more like plastic bag reduction rather than a total ban.

          I cannot believe we have to ban plastic bag before we ban styrofoam.
          Beijing 8-08-08 to 8-24-08

          Tiananmen Square 4-15-89 to 6-04-89

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Plastic Bag Ban

            I'm not a fan of the ban. I prefer incentives for bringing your own bag, like Foodland does. Whenever you outright ban things, people are going to be disgruntled. Myself, I use plastic grocery bags as garbage bags. I'm going to be annoyed if I have to start buying trash bags. And sorry, I'll only buy biodegradable if it's the same price as non biodegradable. One of the biggest barriers to enviromentally friendly products is the price. Even if it's a few cents more, those few cents add up. I've learned to survive by making every penny count.
            Four Thousand Miles (blog) | MacRatLove (comic)
            Better Holes and Garbage (rats) | Perfectly Inadequate (music)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Plastic Bag Ban

              Originally posted by sophielynette View Post
              I'm not a fan of the ban. I prefer incentives for bringing your own bag, like Foodland does. Whenever you outright ban things, people are going to be disgruntled. Myself, I use plastic grocery bags as garbage bags. I'm going to be annoyed if I have to start buying trash bags. And sorry, I'll only buy biodegradable if it's the same price as non biodegradable. One of the biggest barriers to enviromentally friendly products is the price. Even if it's a few cents more, those few cents add up. I've learned to survive by making every penny count.
              It's easier to sell consumers biodegradable trash bags (even as small as 13-gallon kitchen bags) than to sell businesses like Foodland biodegradable shopping bags.
              Beijing 8-08-08 to 8-24-08

              Tiananmen Square 4-15-89 to 6-04-89

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                http://www.kitv.com/politics/22417115/detail.html

                20 cents a bag is a bit much.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                  Originally posted by Walkoff Balk View Post
                  [...]
                  20 cents a bag is a bit much.
                  It would probably take only a couple of trips to the grocery store at 20¢ per bag for my memory to engage and direct my body to the trunk of my car where I have at least 7 reusable bags. I constantly forget about them.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                    Originally posted by Amati View Post
                    Add Hawaii Island to the list of counties that have passed a ban. Yesterday the County Council passed a bill that has gone to the Mayor for signing into law.
                    Update, the acting mayor Dixie Kaetsu (at the time) vetoed the ban for Hawaii County.
                    Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                      Originally posted by Ninja View Post

                      If it's reduce the use of fossil fuels then if fails. Most of the reuseable totes sold at grocery stores are also plastic, made in China/Vietnam and eventually also end up in the waste stream.
                      This just goes to show you that it's important to think through where the things we use come from and where they go. You can also get totes that are made from recycled PET (soda bottles). That makes sense. But if you don't use the bags or just use them a few times and then throw them away, the environmental impact is indeed worse.

                      Originally posted by Ninja View Post

                      If it's to encourage more recycling it fails. Most people reuse plastic bags already for trash or storage(or fido's poop). If they swap to totes for storage, it just goes back to the first problem (1 plastic tote bag has the same amount of plastic as 10 plastic grocery bags).
                      I use them for all those things too, but I have found that with regular grocery shopping, I still end up with a surplus of bags. It really doesn't take many to fulfill those functions.

                      Originally posted by Ninja View Post

                      Even if it's to switch to "Eco-Friendly" plastics it fails. Those bags are made from grain based materials which take more rice, corn, wheat and potatoes out of the food chain and increase the pressure to treat these grains as comodities.
                      Yeah but corn is heavily subsidized to make it so cheap. That's why soda pop and doritos are so cheap - they're mostly corn and/or HFCS. Can't say cheap corn is a good thing.

                      Sorry if I'm a bit scattered - trying to keep an eye on a sick little girl and her rambunctious big brother as I type.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                        How about edible bags like fruit rolls or the stuff that wraps Tome Ame?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                          I use the recyclable woven bags as much as I can. Sometimes I forget. The leftover plastic bags get used for puppy poop, for small trashcan liners, etc. I always knew I wasn't perfect, but I'm going in the same direction....
                          Last edited by Kaonohi; February 5, 2010, 10:03 PM. Reason: 2 fingers type less better than 10.
                          Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!
                          ~ ~
                          Kaʻonohiʻulaʻokahōkūmiomioʻehiku
                          Spreading the virus of ALOHA.
                          Oh Chu. If only you could have seen what I've seen, with your eyes.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                            Originally posted by Walkoff Balk View Post
                            How about edible bags like fruit rolls or the stuff that wraps Tome Ame?
                            Pure freaking genius. Let's invent that and get rich. Who's in?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Plastic Bag Ban

                              Originally posted by Walkoff Balk View Post
                              How about edible bags like fruit rolls or the stuff that wraps Tome Ame?
                              Originally posted by spookrepitus View Post
                              Pure freaking genius. Let's invent that and get rich. Who's in?
                              I imagine the health dept. would have a say in this...unless, of course, the edible bags are protected from germs and less than sanitary hands with...a plastic, protective bag!

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