h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hi sorry my turn for the soap box
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just seen a news item that a town will be banning plastic carrir bags. what you opinion.?
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on one hand, they are handy to use for shopping, and putting rubbish in after, and keep the shopping dry when it rains like it as this past few weeks,very handy for items that are sticky or yucky.and last but not least, the people making them, it they go altogether would be out of work.
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on the other hand, they polute the environment, can injure or kill land and sea animals,blow all over the place.
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the alternative is back to the cloth and hesian bags.wet shopping if it rains,and paying for the cloth and hesian ones, which means the sellers make a booming trade.
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jim

Maybe if they made them out of that material that they make those waterproofs that can be put in those really small bags. This way they can be reused and they are easy to store. No mention of cost though...

I think this question is one that has arguments for both of the points you raise Jim. They are certainly polluting the environment, but if we turn to other materials such as cotton, then apparently there would be lots more plastic packaging of goods, thus defeating the object and a big rise in paper bags which in turn, cause a rise in greenhouse gases.

Also what would we wrap all our rubbish in for the bins? Another point of view I have read about regarding this is that the plastic bag is in itself helping in our recycling.

Then of course there is the loss of jobs in the plastics industry?

I can see both sides of this difficult debate. What do you think Jim?

I use my plastic bags to put rubbish in when I finished using them for shopping and when charity shops ask for them I take to their shops.

Give people a choice whether to take them as sometimes shops put your shopping in the plastic bags. When I was a child people used shopping baskets with a plastic covering over could be an option. I am sure there was less package in goods and when you could put more in your basket. I remember in the 60's the co-op would deliver your goods to your home (before the internet and all you need to go to the shop and pick what you wanted and paid when they were delivered) and they never used plastic bags. Also vans would come around and you could buy your groceries from them as well as fish sellers on bikes. This meant that they came to you and therefore all you did was buy what you want and no need to use bags just a basket. If we returned back to these days then the need of plastic bags would go because the goods and services would go to you.

hi all
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its not really about plastic bags, its more that why should me give up another item because someone says,it not eco friendly
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we have to recycle rubbish, at one time we could choose now, it do it, or in time you get a penalty, £25 or as an mp said taxed for throwing away rubbish.
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the womon in the story tonight, was know as the "bag lady" guess what bags she sells.so now the whole town will be plastic bag free, what if in time they say plastic clothes are bad for the envirment.
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i dont smoke, but banning fron public places, as taken the smokes into the streets and under roughly made shelters outside pubs and premises.so now its in the atmophere, in a nutshell whats next to go, the air we breath, jim

We recycle quite a lot in this town, maybe in part because each bag of trash we put out costs a quid to be picked up. And there is an option to recycle the bags as well.

It seems to be quite popular here now as well for stores to offer (for a small fee) a nylon mesh tote bag ... Far stronger than the disposable plastic bits, nearly water-proof, and very re-useable.

hi
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rev, i think there way is to do away with giving bags at the checkout, and we go and buy the alternative, form such as the "bag lady", the point is, if someone doesnt like say a plastic bag, then dont use them, but to convince a whole town to stop using them,cant be right,
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of course the shop keeper will say, ok, he wont have to buy and give you them, so what happens if someone forgets their bag,do you go find a shop selling them, so you can get the shopping home.
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in america is paper bags, here they wouldnt last the journey home.
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tell you what, lets all buy a shopping trolley, then when the wheels fall off, we can throw it in the bin, or in the local canal or river.the plastic carrier, is clean, pliable, strong, and can fit it the top pocket if need to, can you do the same with cloth, and hesian. jim

As you know, I live in Canada. ANd I have been to the US a few times, as recently as 10 months ago. Both places use mostly plastic bags, some offering paper as an option. But many are looking at ways to eliminate the plastic, because they ARE adding a lot to the land-fills that will never degrade.

The world got on well before them, I'm sure there are ways to do so again.

hi
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there is an arguement for and against, but as i said thats not the point, plastic bags are just a way of putting forward the way that the things we had are now,not eco freindly,but how far are we going, and whats next to be,no longer wanted.
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how many of you are willing for example to pay for the rubbish to be colected each week, or pay to get rubbish, that as been left by the housings regenerations.as now certain items you can put it the bin or in the rubbish.are you going to buy a roll of plastic bags to put the waste you use i the kitchen in, all we do is replace the small plastic carrier, we used from the shopping, for one twice as big off a roll of black ones.
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or do the large plastic also bite the dust. then the humble bin bag.they are all plastic.why not do away with the plastic container for rubbish, sounds stupid, but whats to say it wont happen, jim

did you know, that most of the recycled plastic bottles in this country are sent to China and they are turned in to fibres which they make track suits etc out of

As I said above, I already pay for each bag of trash that is collected. Most towns and cities in Canada have been putting a "tag" of sorts on each bag, each tag purchased for between $1 and $3. It's just part of life.

We've been foulling the planet for far too long, and it's way past time to slow it down, and eventually stop it. Because once it's totally foulled, we ain't got another place to move to.

we pay in whats called council taxes.but it looks like they want to have us pay for putting to much or the wrong things out now.
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it up to each indevidual if they want to recycle or not, paper, tins and bottles, next garden waste,normal stuff.have to be seperate, i cant beleive what i saw the other night, but some even recycle leftover food.why.
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it should be the choice of the person,not the whole, jim

I pay community, provincial and federal taxes from every pay-cheque. I also pay local taxes along with my mortgage every two weeks. And I still pay for the reasonable recycling and disposal of my waste products. Just as I pay for the water our house consumes, and the treament of the sewage that leaves the house.

For far too long, everybody has been making more and more waste than will not return to nature. Simply, filling and polluting our own home and world. So, in brief, it's not an individual choice or responsibility, it is ALL of ours. To try to reduce the damage, and maybe even reverse some of it.

the meek shall inherit the earth, who's kidding who, us poor will always be "dumped" on..that's life, hard cheese and all that..grin/bear and carry on regardless

It could be that there not making enough money of plastic bag's .

lol that minds me of a time when i was in our local store were there free plastic bags but if you want a stronger one its a 10p charge lol you wanted to hear them moaning about 10p. lol also i get my kill at so called snobs in fancy houses shopping in cheap stores they bring there dear bags with them put the cheap brand in and carry it of so there neigbours don't see them oh dear .

hi all
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w are nearer the real truth now,
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its not because of the eco eviroment or ozone, its the money, markets and shop buy yhe bags, and then give them to us, ie asda, morrisons, now netto,here would charge ten pence
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but not the flimsy blue and white, these where plastic with a pattern.
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dont charities use bags in stores to sell,ive seen them in morrisons.
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i can see use going back to the wicker or straw ones like in the days of our parents, lol jim

yes it seems that way jim

there you go you might even get a fan club going .

There is not enough money there to keep the plastic bag look's like it .