another try at banning plastic bags coming

[oddreality]

In the winter they make excellent emergency shoe liners in the snow and freezing weather…keeps those feet toasty when the bus can’t go any further and you have to walk a mile or more home.You can carry them in a briefcase or pocket so always handy.

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[KBear]

It’s time to put an end to plastic bag entitlements. Let people pay for their own plastic bags.

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[JoB]

kootchman…

yes, there are viable alternative products…

merchants are not choosing to use them because of increased cost

yes, there are recycling solutions..

merchants are not choosing to implement aggressive recycling programs at their stores because of cost

due to increased utilization of the program, many merchants no longer give out bring your own bag credits either

and it’s evident that the voluntary recycling program is not working well enough either

it’s broke kootch

we need to fix it the only way we can

with legislation

because those that could easily do so…

don’t choose to

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[JoB]

oddreality…

if you hang onto your current supply of plastic bags you probably won’t have to actually purchase plastic bags for some time…

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[kootchman]

KBear… packaging is hardly a subsidy… it is part of the purchasing transaction. When you can show me a government agency that pays a retail sales point to use plastic bags… then that is a subsidy. That makes as much sense as saying your coffee cup is a subsidy when you go the HW or Starbucks… Funny…. look IN the plastic bag at the contents… there is is the plastic.. milk cartons, cereal packages, … all the packaging.

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[datamuse]

Funny you should mention that, kootch. A lot of manufacturers are reducing or even eliminating the amount of plastic they use. Maybe they know something.

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[oddreality]

Job, I do have quite the hoard of bags..heh..honestly, when my mom is gone I will not need so many bags.I would love to see biodegradable bags used instead of banning plastic bags. The biodegradables get better all the time.I see jobs lost if we ban completely and jobs gained if we move to biodegradable.Win win to me.I get my much used bags and others get to keep jobs.:)Cloth bags if not washed frequently are full of bacteria and much less sanitary. I do not like the cloth bags very much.They should be lined in plastic!! LOL

I love that there is now getting to be less packaging on some items.We have had too many things over packaged for too long.I wish we would go back to glass bottles for most beverages with a redeemable deposit.That is how we made spending money as kids and it would be nice to have incentive to pick them up if they are dumped by the side of the road..pipe dream I am sure.

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[singularname]

Knee-jerk is a good word for a ban. As someone alludes to above, it’s about consumption, not plastic bags. Years ago I stopped my donations to Greenpeace because of the catalog they sent a couple of times a year with keychains, t-shirts, and mugs. NO ONE has to buy any of these things NEW. Just checked their site: They’re selling keychains, t-shirts, and mugs … oh, and bags.

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[kootchman]

Yes… what they KNOW is consumers would prefer not to have oodles of packaging… that’s what choice does. So I wondered… while standing in front of the bulk food dispensers…. which consumes less… those very lightweight, rolls of plastic or the packaging in the non=bulk bins? Hands down… the rolls of plastic bags were the better choice. Yea the six pack can holders…I see more of them when I am out on the boat…far more than plastic bags. (which I scoop up) while burning hundreds of gallons of marine fuel…. oh well, the conflicted state of being green some times… and not other times.

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[JoB]

kootch..

i wish i could say that i no longer buy anything that is packaged in those six pack holders.. but it isn’t true..

i do cut them into long strips without holes and recycle them.. it’s the best i can do right now:(

I have been practicing green since the 60s and still find myself collecting those durn plastic bags and way way too much packaging.

if voluntary efforts were enough to solve the problem.. it would have been solved long ago.

that is why we need more.

oddreality

i would love to see recylable bags…

but it is going to take a real push to make grocers step up…

it’s more expensive and the bags aren’t as strong :(

my cloth bags go into the wash regularly…

but it takes longer to get them back to my purse than to wash them:(

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[nighthawk]

The thing about banning plastic grocery bags, is that I reuse those bags as my trash bags. I’ll just end up going to the store and buying garbage bags so it really won’t save a whole bunch.

I use reusable bags too, and then when my stash of plastic at home gets to low I go with those for a while.

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[JoB]

nighthawk

if everyone was a responsible plastic bag user like yourself there would be no need to ban bags

i agree.. that’s how it should be

but it obviously isn’t how it is

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[singularname]

JoB … I’m sure by “the wash” you mean a rock next to the Sound … ;->

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[JoB]

singularname..

ROFLOL… you got me.. and to think i nearly missed this:)

No, i mean a high efficiency front loading washing machine with fragrance free ecologically kind detergent…

and.. i use a dryer too.

My rental agreement forbids me to hang washing outside and i get tired of dodging hanging laundry to take a bath:(

We have been exploring the possibility of retiring in Ecuador and the upgrade to a rock there is a laundry room with a washtub.

i think a corrugated washing surface is extra :(

I am thinking that my modern conveniences are very convenient just now.

if someone would invent something that would automatically restock my purse with clean shopping bags

I am sure that would cinch the deal for me ;->

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[JoB]

singularname..

one of the places we “looked” at on-line also had a communal oven…

now wouldn’t that be a hoot.. escaping from the drudgery of the communal hippy days of my youth to end my days cooking in a communal kitchen :)

someone.. somewhere.. has a great sense of humor.

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[kootchman]

Funny thing… in my family we have a history of communal cooking…. generally it involved corn, sugar, charcoal, copper kettles and lots of charcoal… we all thought it was a “hoot” up in the “holler”… glasss jars for the excess/surplus to take home or… “sell” ..and my great grandfather recycled those Mason Jars…. over, and over and over again.

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[velo_nut]

Why… do… all of you… use… so… many of… these… I… hope… you dont… talk… like this…

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[JoB]

velo-nut…

but… I do

it’s the pause where i gasp for breath

or simply wait for my brain to find the next word

It could be a sign of age

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[JoB]

kootch…

i have a box of mason jars sitting on the porch

someone was going to pick them up for canning and didn’t get here

want to feel nostalgic?

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[kootchman]

I was kinda bummed… I was hoping the state would keep the liquor stores… since GW Bush signed the Alternate Fuels Act… you can make good old 198 proof .legally, with a federal license.. and get a tax credit to boot! At those high liquor prices… there was a business model in there somewhere… moonshine stills are all over the internet now… a column distiller can crank out 198 proof for about $4.50 per gallon… sadly though…. since it now appears the people of WA are about to get a break and the state monopoly on liquor is going to be broken… the prices are going to fall. Le’s see what the state liquor board does.. if they still “sin tax” it at the mandatory 20% mark-up… we may yet have an underground liquor economy… and those jars might come in handy. Since most cocktails are mixed… a few flavorings and voila’ … I mean really … Stoly and cranberry juice? I even had the label designs and names… “Snakebit 120”.. Underpass 90, Jobless Juice, Gregoire Grog, ..

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[JoB]

kootch..

they aren’t doing much for my porch..

but they are just right for moonshine hootch…

I see DIY christmas presents

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[kootchman]

Hmmmm I could call them Octane Enhancers… which they would do… put a little zip in the old 87 grade…

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[JoB]

kootch…

you are welcome to them

they are one step from commercial recycling

however..

i won’t be throwing in a lifetime supply of plastic bags

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[singularname]

All … If you really care about plastic bags, one way or another, this is a must-watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDBtCb61Sd4.

JoB …

Now THAT is a coincidence. The sole time my clothes were laundered on a rock by the river was in fact in Ecuador. Cuzco. They came back oddly stiff as a board with a little more wear and tear but they were extremely clean. The woman who laundered for me was very proud of her work and I loved tipping her for her well-deserved pride.

Re. retirement there, for inspiration check out http://www.alishungu.com/. Quite a remarkable couple, Frank and Margaret, with whom I stayed 20 years ago. I’m sure a lot has changed since then.

Velonut … Just for you … :->

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[JoB]

singularname..

that oddly stiff as a board thing usually comes from line drying…

in my miss-spent youth i cleaned clothes at the side of a river more than once.. but with the modern convenience of a scrub-board.

it’s a good thing laundry is cheap there:)

thanks for the link…

we hope to make trip there this next year.

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[Author]

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