Seattle (finally) bans plastic shopping bags
After a groundbreaking measure to discourage consumers from using disposable plastic shopping bags was squashed by voters in 2009, Seattle is back in the bag-banning game in a big way.
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Comments
I love how people that are opposed to something use the argument that something else is far worse, so why bother. This is why nothing gets accomplished. Like, why solve assault crimes when we can't solve homicides... that's way worse so what's the point of dealing with this other problem? Ridiculous.
It's a nuisance, but I just have to invest in reusable bags, thus it's a good thing for Seattle.
it about time the cities are waking up. walmart use's about 2 billion plastic bags a year alone. their destroying the earth. the rest of the country should ban all plastic shopping bags. good job settle
I save and reuse my shopping bags. What will the store do if I show up with my own plastic bags?
The plastic water and drink bottles are much worse on the environment.
"Moving consumers away from plastic bags only pushes people to less environmentally friendly options such as .....reusable bags, which are not recyclable"
This is the most hilarious comment I have read in a long time. No duh reusable bags aren't recycled, THEY'RE BEING REUSED. I feel for the plastic manufacturers that their product is being banned, but it's not like THEY are putting any money in to offset the environmental harms their product does... it's the citizens that suffer the harms,.... More
I disagree with banning anything, whether it be plastic bags or anything else. Governments need to learn how to get people to conform to certain activities through incentives and disincentives, not forcing people to make decisions through ban and laws. I agree that there is a problem with plastic bags. But don't ban them, create a disincentive to using them. Charge a large fee per bag, some of which could go to fund recycling efforts, some of which could go to local government trash services,.... More
Rather than creating a negative disincentive, it is normally much more effective to create a positive incentive to use the alternative. Giving a small discount for providing your own bag, for example.
The point of which is what, genius? The point is, plastic bags need to go away. Good riddance to them.
I wish more people would use reusable bags... it takes government action to force change these days. Go Seattle!
"fee will be waived for low income residents"... so now shoppers will have to prove they are 'low income'??? What does income have to do with using reuseable bags? I've used reueable bags for years, and can assure you that even when theyfinally wear out, my 7 reuseable bags will be way less enviromentally harmful than the 1000 plastic bags I would have used. It's good to see Seattle making this move - dozens of other countries have had this practice in place for years.
My guess is the big black leaf and trash bags that the plastic bags are put into and hauled to the dump are going away too? Really? Or is it that you can't do anything about the pollution from the ship exhaust, which is not scrubbed - those ships put out more pollution per year than all the cars combined. And you worry about a few bags blowing around...
Here in Iowa they will be banning plastic bags in 2012 and I LOVE IT! There are plastic bags hanging from trees, in the gutters, a long side of the highways, in the river. Hate them. Go back to paper, or use the "green" bags that you can buy at the stores. Now we need to get rid of plastic bottles!
And there's dog poop on the sidewalks, and at the parks, in my yard... perhaps we should ban dogs too since their owners can't pick up after them.
Um.......biodegradable bags for dog poop! (cat poop too) BioBags
They sale those at stores. It even says it on the box so you don't get confused.
If that's not the problem then ban the pet owner. LOL
Why would someone put something biodegradable in something that isn't and throw it away.
Carry home a Cold soda or anything else frozen in a Paper bag and have it fall apart on you. Reusable Bags are only good for ONE use then too Germ ridden to use without washing, but the don't last thur a Washing. Plus will you be carrying around Bulky Reusable bags with you Everywhere. Oh maybe you Drive Everywhere You go - Now that is Really NOT Green. Fool.
I never liked plastic bags. Being one who had worked as a bagger in high school, you can get 5x more groceries in a paper bag than a plastic. For every plastic bag, a bagger may put 2? 3 items in it and replace it with a new one. This is not efficient. Also, plastic does not break down and it is a contaminate. Paper bags come from trees which is a natural product and trees can be re-planted. this morning I went shopping and purchased a gallon of milk, quart of OJ, small package of eggs, one.... More
I wouldn't brag about your bagging prowess. I work at a large grocery company as a bagger right now. A paper bag costs 8 cents, large plastic 2 1/2 cents, small plastic 2 cents. There's nothing wrong with plastic. It's the people behind them that abuse them by not recycling. We don't bag the milk unless the customer asks for it. I would have put your 5 cans in one small bag and the butter, cheese and eggs in another. Total cost for bags 4 cents to the store as opposed to 8 cents for the.... More
Thank god, now the planet is saved. Now we can all waste tons of fule/electricy on huge cars, huge homes, iphones, ipads, facebook, and a million other unecessary, wasteful luxuries
Next thing you know they will be banning plactic glasses. forks knives and spoons, Saran wrap, and nazel spray bottles. My goodness, there is many other serious problems to solve, so leave the plastic bags alone !!!! Get real ???? Lets ban toilet paper as it ruins the septic system. Better yet, just stop eating and you would not need toilet paper anymore !!! Or, you could make plastic bags legal and folks would not use them anymore, kinda like making booze legal as it solved the drinking problem.... More
If there are so many problems to solve, why don't you GTFO the Internet and start solving them, instead of complaining about people who are?
They should have made it so that all retailers have to provide biodegradable plastic bags if they want to provide bags at all.
You my Friend have hit the Nail right on the Head - BioDegradable!!!!!
I recently lived in the Chesapeake Bay area where bans like this are being enacted. While I agree that something has to be done, I echo a couple of sentiments expressed in other comments. Number one, if everyone would simply be more responsible for themselves rather than expecting others to do it for them, this would be a non issue. Number two, the British commentor has a point- why can these bags simply not be made from biodegradable products? I have been stopped and seached by a store.... More
I do wonder if this will spread to getting rid of all plastic bags, ie garbage bags, etc. Then what do you put all the animal poop in? I don't know why they aren't just making shopping bags out of compostable plastic instead. Here in the UK our supermarkets have plastic bag recycling centers and you get points on your store card (not credit card) for every bag you use from home which you can then use to buy things in the store.
Yes Reuse Bags - I use Shredded Newspaper for My Cat Litterbox and Change it Every Morning and Put it into a Grocery or Drugstore Plastic Bag Tie it Closed ! No Odor and it easily transports to the dumpster. I tried wrapping in paper _ Yuck Phew Stink and Fell apart.
Oh please...will you "Save the Planet" folks go to Youtube and watch George Carlin's sketch on this. This all boils down to individual responsibility - a long forgotten integrity gene that has some how slipped away from ourselves. People, grow up and be responsible. That's all you have to do. Don't be careless. This is why we have created garbage cans, etc.
Ótima Noticia !!
I am thrilled about the plastic bag ban here in Sea-town. It has been a long time coming, and hopefully will get people to start being more conscious to the way they shop. I am proud to live in a city that is making such efforts to be eco-friendly.
