Ban plastic shopping bags!

I say we should put a ban on non 100% biodegradeable shopping bags.

Here are alternatives:

Paper bags
Biobags
And reusable totes that you keep out of the garbage.


Agree or Disagree? NOW TALK!

There's actually a lot of talk that Toronto will be doing this. I'm all for it personally, there are other ways to carry what you buy instead of using plastic bags which just pile up at a dump, unable to decompose.

The places I buy groceries are already trying to cut back on the use of plastic bags by making you pay for them. I think that's a good first step. :]

perhaps make people bring their own plastic bags instead of making more?

it helps the enviroment. sort of.

I read this article that said when Ireland put a tax on plastic bags, usage went down 90%
My dad just brings his own cloth bags to the supermarket, that works.
Also, people don't need bags for like a pack of gum.

Paper bags kill trees. plastic bags can be recycled and reused. However, cloth totes would be the best option because they are reusable and wouldn't produce nearly as much waste as the other two because we know not everyone recycles.

Styrofoam is another non-biodegradable substance that's used alot, especially in school lunch rooms. I don't think schools should be allowed to use those, it generates so much waste.

Kurtni:

Paper bags kill trees. plastic bags can be recycled and reused. However, cloth totes would be the best option because they are reusable and wouldn't produce nearly as much waste as the other two because we know not everyone recycles.

Styrofoam is another non-biodegradable substance that's used alot, especially in school lunch rooms. I don't think schools should be allowed to use those, it generates so much waste.

Agreed. I bring my own canvas bags when I go shopping.

Of course plastic is a big problem though, no doubt about it. I'm for the bioplastic stuff being made. But there are fantastic new programs at grocery stores in Canada when I lived there. In Loeb, there were discounts for those people who didn't use the bags at the store. Small discounts, but they worked. Many people brought their own bags when they went shopping. It's not a big hassle at all. I keep tons of bags in the trunk of my car, so when I go shopping, they're right there. I also just don't need a bag when I do small shopping.

In ASDA in the UK (Wal-Mart), you can get money from returning plastic bags to the store and they take money off your bill. Kinda like the whole 5c for every aluminium can deal they had on the Simpsons.

Most of the time, I only ever go into stores for smallish items so they end in my pocket or rucksack but when I have to buy a lot, I try and cram as much in my bag as possible, then use the bag.

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Paper bags...gah...okay for small items but for the bigger stuff, seems a bit silly because they could burst open or whatever and then, damn, that bag is done and you chuck it in the bin.

The canvas bags are a good idea, I'd say.

Hmm, does anyone know if you can make shopping bags out of bamboo? Bamboo grows like wildfire, seriously. Maybe could be less wasteful? When the bags broke we could throw them in the compost bin and use the compost for even more bamboo?

Fever 103:

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Theormosoftening plastics are things like coke bottles that soften when they get hot. They can be melted down.

Thermosetting plastics are plastics such as those used to make kettles or microwave doors that never lose their shape once they have been cast, and are most definitely not recyclable.

Bloodraine:

Fever 103:

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Theormosoftening plastics are things like coke bottles that soften when they get hot. They can be melted down.

Thermosetting plastics are plastics such as those used to make kettles or microwave doors that never lose their shape once they have been cast, and are most definitely not recyclable.

Goddamn polymers.

Fever 103:

In ASDA in the UK (Wal-Mart), you can get money from returning plastic bags to the store and they take money off your bill. Kinda like the whole 5c for every aluminium can deal they had on the Simpsons.

Most of the time, I only ever go into stores for smallish items so they end in my pocket or rucksack but when I have to buy a lot, I try and cram as much in my bag as possible, then use the bag.

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Paper bags...gah...okay for small items but for the bigger stuff, seems a bit silly because they could burst open or whatever and then, damn, that bag is done and you chuck it in the bin.

The canvas bags are a good idea, I'd say.

Hmm, does anyone know if you can make shopping bags out of bamboo? Bamboo grows like wildfire, seriously. Maybe could be less wasteful? When the bags broke we could throw them in the compost bin and use the compost for even more bamboo?

We eat bamboo. No bamboo for you.

Anji:

Fever 103:

In ASDA in the UK (Wal-Mart), you can get money from returning plastic bags to the store and they take money off your bill. Kinda like the whole 5c for every aluminium can deal they had on the Simpsons.

Most of the time, I only ever go into stores for smallish items so they end in my pocket or rucksack but when I have to buy a lot, I try and cram as much in my bag as possible, then use the bag.

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Paper bags...gah...okay for small items but for the bigger stuff, seems a bit silly because they could burst open or whatever and then, damn, that bag is done and you chuck it in the bin.

The canvas bags are a good idea, I'd say.

Hmm, does anyone know if you can make shopping bags out of bamboo? Bamboo grows like wildfire, seriously. Maybe could be less wasteful? When the bags broke we could throw them in the compost bin and use the compost for even more bamboo?

We eat bamboo. No bamboo for you.

In case that wasn't obvious enough, bamboo is too high on the food market that we can't afford to cut down more just for making bags.

Besides which, I don't know how that'd work.

I think a lot of supermarkets are trying to do something about it.

I shop mostly at tescos and they've made their bags bigger so you can put more in, but they also have smaller bags if you're not buying much, so you only use as much as you need. Also, they've made their bags biodegradable, and offer you club card points if you bring bags with you.

Virgin use paper bags, and if you've only got a couple of things, they'll ask you if you want a bag, instead of giving you one automatically, because a dvd or a cd can easily fit in a bag, or you can just carry it.

Bloodraine:

Fever 103:

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Theormosoftening plastics are things like coke bottles that soften when they get hot. They can be melted down.

Thermosetting plastics are plastics such as those used to make kettles or microwave doors that never lose their shape once they have been cast, and are most definitely not recyclable.

It's thermoplastics as I've been taught in Craft and Design and Chemistry...

And I knew that thermosetting plastics never lose their sahpe, I just throught that maybe dousing it with certain hydrocarbons, then combusting, it might work.


Mind you, that's defy the whole point...I guess.

Fever 103:

Bloodraine:

Fever 103:

Also, definatly all of the thermoplatics can be recycled and used again and again but I'm not so sure on the thermosetting.

Theormosoftening plastics are things like coke bottles that soften when they get hot. They can be melted down.

Thermosetting plastics are plastics such as those used to make kettles or microwave doors that never lose their shape once they have been cast, and are most definitely not recyclable.

It's thermoplastics as I've been taught in Craft and Design and Chemistry...

And I knew that thermosetting plastics never lose their sahpe, I just throught that maybe dousing it with certain hydrocarbons, then combusting, it might work.


Mind you, that's defy the whole point...I guess.

My textbook says thermosoftening plastics. It also says;

"However, not all plastics soften in this way when they are heated. Some plastics form covalent bonds between the adjacent chains when they are first heated. These strong cross linkages are permanent, and they prevent the plastic from softening in the future. Known as thermosetting plastics, these polymers cannot be remoulded"

So I'm really not convinced that you can re-mould them

My syllabus for IGCSE Trip Award Science said, 'Know that after heated, thermosoftening plastics are mouldable, but once cooled, cannot be remoulded.'

Something that might amuse you (and is relevant to the thread also, so not spam, k?)

san fransisco did that

In aldi, you either have to buy the bags, or you dont use bags, a lot of people take empty boxes off the shelves and use them, and a lot of people buy the green bags and use them over and over again.

Coles sell the reusable bags too. Alt of places do. you see people carrying them around all the time, theyre really handy.

But i dont think we should use paper bags, cause, even though they break down, and all, trees get cut down to make them so its not really helping..

In Croatia you have to pay for plastic bags. But they are so cheap its not a problem and every store has them. There are also free paper bags, but no one uses those. I don't really know why, but since forever we have been using plastic bags and I remember when watching those American films and when they carry around paper bags people ware like wow. Paper bags or any other type of bags isn't common here. The paper bags I mentioned before aren't even that big, thats why people put ice-cream there and more fragile things. My family stashes plastic bags and then we use them again when we go shopping and my mom has like a lot of cloth bags we use too. And even a wooden basket. But my family cares about the environment, thats why we recycle and care about these things. I believe that more people would do the same if they were shown how cloth bags or paper bags are better than plastic bags. They are as reliable, but don't harm the environment that much.

brown paper bags! the only down fall with those are if they get wet during the trip back home the shopping falls out of them, we ahd a trial here in our local shops and they found that people complained about them.