Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

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storewanderer
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

Another lawsuit filed against the New York Plastic Bag Ban which was supposed to go into effect on October 19.
https://nypost.com/2020/10/11/retailers ... c-bag-ban/

We will see if 4885 of the NY DEC can get this one thrown out quickly or if it will cause yet another delay in enforcement.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

Found Safeway, Dollar General, and Wal Mart in NorCal all back to using thin plastic bags again this week. All of these stores had thick bags again last month. Wal Mart actually had a combination of the thick bags and the thin bags, no fee for either.

Safeway appears to be sending thick bags pretty well to stores with a "city" plastic bag ban but at stores that are covered only by the statewide bag ban it seems to be very hit and miss.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2021/ ... 473633001/

So- stores in CA are no longer required by law to provide plastic bag recycling bins? And the CA lawmakers are failing to re-institute this law that calls for the stores to provide plastic bag recycling bins? Yet these stores are continuing to distribute 6-10x thicker than normal with a 10 cent fee super thick plastic bags to customers? Hardly anyone is using reusable bags anymore in CA. Now more than ever the bag recycling option should be provided given the huge quantity of plastic that is going out the door in CA Stores with these 6-10x plastic thickness "reusable up to 125 times" bags being used like single use bags.

Even though the bag recycling rate is very low, whatever they can get, helps the situation.

And those 6-10x thicker plastic bags do have a legal requirement in CA to be made from at least 40% recycled content. If they are not collecting the plastic film from recycling, how can they meet that recycled content criteria?

This is interesting as many stores I shop in here in NV still have these bins to recycle plastic bags. WinCo has 2 bins, Wal Mart (always stuffed full; not sure they ever empty it...) has one or two, Raleys has a bin... I have not paid attention at Safeway but thought they still had a bin too.

These bins are really needed not only for bag recycling but also for recycling of the "plastic air cubes" that are in the various packages I get from online retailers. Those are plastic film and need to go to the same recycling stream as the bags... I am taking more of that stuff than the bags to recycling bins since I have literally no use for it (I use the bags as trash bags).

And if we can't have recycling bins to bags due to "contamination concerns" how in the heck can we trust folks to properly clean their reusable bags they bring back into the store?
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

Lots of taxpayer dollars being wasted at the state level on these stupid plastic bag bans.

In New York the group that was trying to sue the State to get the ban to go away lost its lawsuit but the judge ordered the State of New York pay its legal fees because the ban was so confusing. Also the ban is back before New York legislatures now to try to make changes to it again in the current session.
https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/j ... 4944e.html

Meanwhile in PA, last year the state passed a ruling to prohibit any local plastic bag bans until at least July 1, 2021 or six months after the end of COVID emergency (whichever is later). Well a few cities in PA seem to want to implement plastic bag bans at July 1, 2021 and now they are suing the State of PA trying to get it so they can implement their bans then. They can't even wait a few months- they'd rather waste taxpayer money to litigate the matter.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/03/p ... ustry.html

Meanwhile more American jobs lost as the US-made thin plastic bags are replaced by newly imported paper bags (due to the shortage of paper bags in the US), imported super thick plastic bags, and imported "reusable bags."

I am starting to see a few more people in CA using reusable bags again but it is very low, not even 10%, probably not even 5%. Meanwhile the super thick plastic bags are being used in large quantity and many stores have no paper bags. What a mess for the environment. Great for the plastic companies though.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by veteran+ »

I don't know what is trending in others "parts" but, here in West Hollywood and even Beverly Hills, most folks are using their reusable bags again.

:?:
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: March 4th, 2021, 7:02 am I don't know what is trending in others "parts" but, here in West Hollywood and even Beverly Hills, most folks are using their reusable bags again.

:?:
Around rural NorCal and Sacramento you have to wait a while to see anyone using reusable bags. Usage was never much above 50% in these places to begin with though. Perhaps you had better compliance in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills to begin with. It probably didn't help that a number of stores in NorCal still had thin bags at no fee into November.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by submariner »

There's not a lot of value left in this thread, and too many political opinions. Time to close this out.

Get vaccinated. Wear a mask. We can finish this.
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