Home › Forums › Open Discussion › plastic bag ban controversy
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August 5, 2012 at 12:21 am #604259
ontheupandupMemberHow come pro-reuseable bag advocates constantly yap about how they “just throw them in the wash”…when the typical washing instructions printed (in small print, to be sure) on such bag labels say to, for example, “use cold water…hand wash only…plus, hang to dry?” Not so simple after all!
August 5, 2012 at 1:13 am #765820
Betty TMemberMost don’t look so good after washed, hand or machine, but undoubtably smell better.
August 5, 2012 at 3:44 am #765821
JoBParticipanti replaced the reusable bags i bought to carry in my purse with heavy cotton reusable bags that i keep in my car.
warm/hot water wash with bleach and toss them into the dryer.
August 5, 2012 at 3:50 am #765822
metrognomeParticipantAs there are many types of reusable bags made out of different types of materials, your best bet is to read the laundry instructions before you decide which bag works best for you. Canvas/cloth bags are the easiest to toss in the laundry while the bags made with recycled plastic are probably better washed by hand with a sponge and disinfectant spray. If nothing else, turn bags inside out and toss them in the dryer for 10 minutes (unless the instructions say otherwise.)
Keep in mind that the germs that may be lurking in reusable bags come from the products you buy, not from the bags themselves. To reduce the potential for contamination, be sure to use plastic bags for meat and fish as well as produce, cut flowers, etc.
August 5, 2012 at 4:17 am #765823
SmittyParticipantAugust 5, 2012 at 4:27 am #765824
metrognomeParticipantwater is what we call a renewable resource; if you wash the bags in with other laundry, the extra water used is minimal. If you wash them by hand while doing dishes, the extra water used is minimal.
Plastic is made from petroleum, which is a poison.
August 5, 2012 at 4:36 am #765825
JoBParticipantAugust 5, 2012 at 4:40 am #765826
JoBParticipantSmitty..
i confess…
i use cloth placemats and napkins and dishtowels and dishrags and cleaning rags and steamer mop heads and …
and i wash them all together in hot water with bleach at least once a week.
i will gladly take 500 lashes of spaghetti..
but only if it is al dente and served with the sauce of my choice :)
been doing it for years…
maybe i need the spaghetti treatment twice ;->
August 5, 2012 at 5:03 am #765827
SmittyParticipantAugust 5, 2012 at 5:51 am #765828
metrognomeParticipantIf you are concerned about the fishies, use non-chlorine bleach, which usually uses hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as its bleaching agent. H2O2 breaks down into H2O and O2. Hyprogen peroxide is a weak acid which is naturally produced by nearly all living things which also possess enzymes that will harmlessly break it down.
If you are truly worried about fishies and other aquatic life as well as creatures who dine on said aquatic life, you would not use single-use grocery bags or many other petroleum-based products that are choking our ecosystem, through both poisonous byproducts from their manufacture as well as not being biodegradable, posing a danger to wildlife for years.
JoB: for you … just substitute ‘metrognome’ in the appropriate places …
August 5, 2012 at 9:27 am #765829
KevinParticipantSouth of Roxbury, as in the Roxbury Safeway – NO WORRIES, plastic bags – o – plenty.
As for myself, I keep several cloth bags available when the situation requires it! :)
August 5, 2012 at 9:32 am #765830
KevinParticipantSouth of Roxbury, as in the Roxbury Safeway – NO WORRIES, plastic bags – o – plenty.
As for myself, I keep several cloth bags available when the situation requires it! :)
August 6, 2012 at 2:13 am #765831
metrognomeParticipantto put this whole ‘controversy’ into context …
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2018827782_travelhealth05.html
August 6, 2012 at 2:17 am #765832
kootchmanMemberYea… and H2O2 is avialable where in gallon jugs? See that plastic… it’s a by product of refining…. now they can just dump the residuum in land fills…ok then… look… even the Green Council has admitted plastic uses less energy and resources than paper. wonder H202 is subject ot the 10% Obamacare tax? As it will be as an over the counter medicine? If ya pick it up in the house product aisle and not the health aids aisle?
August 6, 2012 at 2:23 am #765833
JoBParticipantAugust 6, 2012 at 2:25 am #765834
JoBParticipantAugust 6, 2012 at 3:00 am #765835
metrognomeParticipantKootch — its available at the grocery store in jugs labeled ‘Non-chlorine bleach.’ You can buy smaller containers of dilute H2O2 at any drugstore very cheaply. You might check to see if Willardcare taxes it.
And yes, pretty much everything that used to be in glass is in plastic these days as the containers don’t break as easily. However, well-rinsed bleach jugs (either kind) are great for storing water for emergencies. In fact, a small amount of bleach is recommended to keep the water potable.
For those of you using cloth (i.e. canvas) bags, soaking them in white vinegar and water will help any logos, etc. keep their color. It also makes a great raspberry vinaigrette. The good news is that Heinz still uses glass for the quart size.
JoB — another serenade …
August 6, 2012 at 4:47 am #765836
datamuseParticipantI don’t understand. Is reading washing labels on reusable bags somehow more difficult than reading them on other things?
August 6, 2012 at 5:04 am #765837
kootchmanMemberGoofy law and inconvenient… another chore. It was a ruse to get a bag tax.
August 6, 2012 at 5:22 am #765838
The Velvet BulldogParticipantIn our backyard there is a ginormous deciduous tree with a shredded plastic bag caught in the branches. It’s way too high up for us to get it. Unless I can convince a cat to climb up there and get rescued by the fire department, that shredded bag will likely be there for as long as we’ll be here.
I had the great privilege to visit an area of the Ganges River in India a few years ago. It was magnificent–and completely, literally, trashed. A dead tree stood by the river, its branches completely adorned with shredded plastic bags and other shredded materials that blew in the wind. It was a bittersweet moment, to be sure.
Now, I’m no purist, though I am a greenie (inasmuch as possible) and I’m grateful for plastic bags to put my muddy shoes or something leaky into. However, I’m more than happy to use my own bags if it means seeing fewer plastic bag shreds on our trees, in our water, or found in our wildlife’s throats and stomachs.
Go forth and conquer–and bring your own bag.
August 6, 2012 at 5:47 am #765839
JanSParticipantdatamuse…my first thought…so, wash it by hand and hang it to dry…we are adults…we can handle it…really.But, if washing by hand in cold water is too difficult, wash it in the machine in cold water…then hang it up. We do make life so difficult for ourselves sometimes…
August 6, 2012 at 6:52 am #765840
datamuseParticipantI do most of my washing in cold water anyway. With modern detergents, there’s no reason not to.
I’ve also been using reusable bags almost exclusively for the past few years, and have yet to contract any scarily-named viral infections.
Velvet Bulldog: I had a similar experience visiting Tonle Sap in Cambodia. The entire shoreline is littered with trash, much of it plastic bags.
August 6, 2012 at 10:32 am #765841
whuutMemberIs anybody aware that you pay tax on the bag tax?
August 6, 2012 at 4:59 pm #765842
JoBParticipantmetrognome…
isn’t it wonderful when like minds find one another ;->
i confess.. on a blue day i crank up the rock and roll, roll down the windows and crank up either the heat or AC if needed and cruise….
it doesn’t beat dancing.. but it comes oh so close
August 6, 2012 at 5:03 pm #765843
JoBParticipantwhut..
duh… you pay a sales tax on most things you purchase in the state of Washington…
datamuse…
I love it when you use something so long that the logo gets that well worn look
do you think shopping bags will become so cool that kids will wash them over and over trying to achieve that acid washed i’ve had this forever and i use it look?
that would be so cool ;->
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