Plastic Bag Ban

[Amati]

Good: Better for the environment (which is of huge importance)

Bad: No more stash of free plastic liners for:
the bathroom rubbish can
wet swimsuits
shoes packed in luggage
handy carrying bag when headed to the beach
bag to use when cleaning rubbish off the car floor
containment of messy kitchen stuff like discarded chicken packaging

None of the "bad" is of more importance than the environment, so I figure a little inconvenience is worth it. To me, having a problem about the idea of limiting plastic bags is just another indication of our spoiled lifestyles.

[Walkoff Balk]

Good for picking up dog doo.

[scrivener]

I wasn't complaining about the inconvenience; I was merely noting how I never thought about how much more convenient plastic bags are until I no longer had them.

I am between cars now (I destroyed my last car in a stupid accident last Labor Day), and the walk from the nearest market to my house is about three quarters of a mile up a steep hill (Kam Shopping Center to upper Kapalama). Lugging armsful of paper bags up that hill means more trips with fewer items in each trip, and while I know that using reusable bags can mitigate that, it's also an inconvenience to pack those in the morning, and carry them around all day until it's time to make that trek up the hill at the end of the workday.

I'm not opposed to the new law. But I would like it to be evaluated in several years to see if its intended results come to fruition.

[mel]

I have accumulated a huge pile of plastic bags and will take 2 or 3 shopping with me and just get them refilled when I buy groceries. Like Scrivener above, plastic has and is convenient for those who walk to and from their nearby grocery store. When I have to go to other stores with my car I'll just keep my roll away cart in the trunk, load stuff in a shopping cart without any bag and dump them in the cart. I'll also carry a supply of plastic bags in the car too.

I have never ever thrown a plastic bag in the ocean or on the road. I've kept all of my plastic bags, especially over the past 3 years, mainly to use as garbage bags (why buy garbage bags when stores were giving away free ones?). Throw the trash down the chute in my building, big green truck takes the crap away, no longer my problem.

I absolutely hate when environmental wackos take away our modern conveniences and increase our costs. That is why I dislike the new law very much.

[Amati]

I absolutely hate when environmental wackos take away our modern conveniences and increase our costs. That is why I dislike the new law very much.

Respectfully I suggest, do your homework about plastic bags and the environment. Then weigh the value of the "modern convenience" of plastic grocery bags vs the environmental concerns, and revisit your priorities.

"Increase our costs"? How so?

[mel]

Respectfully I suggest, do your homework about plastic bags and the environment. Then weigh the value of the "modern convenience" of plastic grocery bags vs the environmental concerns, and revisit your priorities.

You don't tell me what to do. I have enough crap coming from government without someone else telling me what to do.

Quickly speaking environmental laws and regulations have increased our costs in the following areas:

Gasoline - mandate for ethanol (to be repealed but still for the last 10 years)
Prohibition on Open Burning - They wanted us to stop burning our trash at our homes. Now they have landfills and they still don't like that.
Closed Off Bike Tracks & Lanes That Takea Lane and Parking Away from Motorists - another conspiracy where environmentalists and government try to use to engineer us out of our cars.
Rail - 4.5% GE Tax for Honolulu, extended to 2027. Enviro wackos want us to get out of our cars and politicians are placating to them.
Bottle Tax - Prior to 2004 we never got hit with a mandated tax to recycle bottles. You lose a penny or more on every bottled drink you purchase!
Plastic Bag Ban - Stores are passing on costs to consumers. Stores have to submit report to city on bag. More costs for business.

But hell.. I'm ready. I've stocked up for the last 3 years. Environmentalists and politicians be damned.

The hallmarks of the shopping experience are as follows:

1. Product 2. Customer Service 3. Price 4. Convenience - the ban is taking away convenience!

Probably will be turning more to online purchases in the future where things are sent in the mail in cardboard boxes I can just throw away in my trash after I open the product.

[Amati]

You don't tell me what to do. I have enough crap coming from government without someone else telling me what to do.

My my a little testy? Despite ranting otherwise, it does not change the fact that we (consumers) can at least try to do something to help with the environment, especially if it is actually of low inconvenience to do so. Not using plastic grocery bags, easy enough for me, and the environment benefits. Of course, I also try to limit my buying water in plastic bottles for everyday use. I'm not too lazy to get some tap water in my glass instead.

[mel]

I drink mostly tap water too. I still hate that tax and all other taxes and things that make my life inconvenient and more expensive.

[Ron Whitfield]

Wow, Mel, you couldn't have condemmed yourself more if you tried, and I can only assume you don't care about that either. Sounding like the week's SCOTUS news headlines have you rather miffed..., lot's of miffing going around at the moment.

[Mauibuzz]

Sorry, But I agree with Mel. It is a form of Enviromental Communism brought on by the tree hugging wackos that are ruining this country!

[Ron Whitfield]

Sorry, But I agree with Mel. It is a form of Enviromental Communism brought on by the tree hugging wackos that are ruining this country!

It's attitudes like this that forced the creation of environmental commie whackos, too bad the haters have won the war and tipped the scale against humanity. It's all over, I hope they enjoy their victory dance. I wish we could be guilty of potentially ruining this country, but assuring this country's death was done long ago without our help.

[Walkoff Balk]

I drink mostly tap water too. I still hate that tax and all other taxes and things that make my life inconvenient and more expensive.

I thought that there's no new taxes. It's called "user fees".

[mel]

Liberals are ruining this country.

[Kaonohi]

Liberals are ruining this country.

Too late. They already have.

Ron Paul in 2016.

[Ron Whitfield]

Such a fat load of shit, cons killed it so long before the insane hate for Libs came into vogue amonst the haters during Reagan. Your world has been made so much better thanx to Libs it's rediculous to have to say it. Feel free to hit the exit door before you take your next dump on this country.

[scrivener]

First, an update from the front:

Many of the stores I frequent made the switch long before the 1st of July. In the days since, I've received paper bags with handles (yay Safeway), biodegradable plastic bags (yay Walmart), and old-school paper bags that I had to gather in my arms in order to make the trip to the front door (boo!).

I ordered takeout meals in several places and received plastic bags in every establishment. Some of these bags were huge (yay IHOP). You can still get the plastic bags for produce you always did so that takes care of the doggy-poo situation, something I'm sensitive to because I'm dog-sitting this week.

Second, a little complaint:

There's got to be a way for us to disagree on this stuff without (a) resorting to name-calling and (b) excessive offense-taking. I don't understand the point of even having the discussion if the entire composition is (c) This is how I feel and everyone else's opinion is BS and (d) well this is how I feel and YOU're full of BS.

Mel, your feelings about liberals wrecking the country are well-known, but will you at least acknowledge that in this case, the liberals at least have good intentions? Nobody sat down and said, "How can we make America worse today? I know! Let's ban plastic bags!" Environmental issues are real, and in many cases the liberal agenda on keeping the environment pleasant have worked out in everyone's favor, despite increases in taxes and prices as a result (let's take automobile emissions as an example). Your cited examples are all valid, 'though I might disagree with one or two of them (remember, I'm no liberal), but we live in a ridiculously liberal state, and the voters keep voting in the liberals, meaning that if you and I feel things have gotten out of hand, we have to convince people to vote differently--and I don't think name-calling and anger are the way to do it, 'though I understand if you disagree.

Those who are completely in favor of the ban: you won, so gloating is certainly within your rights, but to simply dismiss the arguments against the ban doesn't do anyone any good. The argument for keeping the bags isn't about destroying the planet; it's about a long-established practice (forever espoused by environmentalists, by the way) of reusing things before they get tossed. Reuse is part of the three-pronged philosophy the enviro-friendly discussion groups regularly tout. By getting a second use out of something, you double its utility while holding steady on the use of resources. Our own HPOWER system is a successful fruit of this approach: the majority of our trash is reused and recycled into electricity that powers the island. I'm saying this as a way of encouraging us not to dismiss the argument against the ban as simply the insensitive rants of Earth-haters. People who were against the ban were arguing on the side of reuse, something that should be encouraged and not disparaged.

Beyond the specifics of this particular issue, I have to say I'm dismayed at how quickly this devolved into completely unfriendly dialogue. We're better than this.

At least, we used to be.

[Walkoff Balk]

https://www.kitv.com/story/41510421/...option-on-oahu

How about those tourists who shop at Don Quijote?

[Walkoff Balk]

Pure freaking genius. Let's invent that and get rich. Who's in?

https://www.khon2.com/local-news/dow...f-plastic-ban/

Who got on the ground floor?

[Ron Whitfield]

lol wonder what Mel and Kaonohi have to say today? most likely the BS and hate are equal to their absurd love for the current traitors

[Karen]

Gotta research a tiny bit online to recall what cities/states found that when denied disposable bags, peeps proved they were not taking the time to correctly clean/disinfect those attractive reusable ones!
I am all for another type of disposable, one-use bags being discovered and mass-used. Am not in-love with plastic per se.
But, I refuse to give up my plastic bags and use the burlap, etc. for just the reason in the opening sentence above.

[Walkoff Balk]

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/...in-honolulu-2/

Had time to be prepared to have enough plastic utensils.