Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

This is the place for general and miscellaneous posts on topics which might extend past the boundaries of any specific region. No non-grocery posts.
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storewanderer
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

klkla wrote: May 30th, 2020, 9:27 pm
Compostable is not the same as biodegradable but it is better than nothing. At this point though it is not viable because the cost is significantly higher to produce than regular plastic bags.

The best solution is for more people to use reusable bags. Preferably ones that can be turned inside out and machine washed.
I am curious if a thin compostable bag really costs that much more to produce than the "super thick" plastic bags that CA retailers are "allowed to sell for 10 cents." Especially if more were produced and the production scale would get production costs down if the item became more mainstream. Trader Joe's has those compostable plastic like bags in produce... can't imagine cost is that high or they wouldn't do that.

Or is the issue that a larger compostable bag can't perform well enough with a heavy 15 pound bag of groceries but can support 4-5 pounds of produce (which it does, I've tried it)? Again seems to me the performance issue could be solved if that is the issue.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

Man after catching up on what is going on tonight and combined with the Coronavirus regulating and being concerned with bag types really needs to be something pretty low on the priority list right now. It probably shouldn't even be on the priority list.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by veteran+ »

klkla wrote: May 30th, 2020, 8:46 pm
storewanderer wrote: May 29th, 2020, 11:01 pmAnd that is the problem. What grocery bags a person uses, should not even be in the realm of being political. And there is no reason to make it political. Before long whether or not someone drinks Coke or Pepsi will somehow be made political. At some point there has to be an end.
It's not political in the Republican vs. Democratic way. It's political because the petroleum companies use their clout and money to influence politicians (of both parties) and media companies. They have a vested interest in maintaining the production of plastic bags.

The comparison with Coke vs. Pepsi isn't relevant in this case. In order for it to be relevant you would have to have a scenario where, as an example, Coke created environmental damage, and Pepsi didn't. But that's obviously not the case.

The problem here is that plastic bags are not biodegradable. That's what is really at the center of this controversy. Everybody needs to go back to that root cause of the problem and start over at finding effective solutions.

Well done!

It's called "root cause analysis".

Instead we rationalize, equivocate and proclaim "what about.........".
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by veteran+ »

storewanderer wrote: May 30th, 2020, 9:34 pm
klkla wrote: May 30th, 2020, 9:27 pm
Compostable is not the same as biodegradable but it is better than nothing. At this point though it is not viable because the cost is significantly higher to produce than regular plastic bags.

The best solution is for more people to use reusable bags. Preferably ones that can be turned inside out and machine washed.
I am curious if a thin compostable bag really costs that much more to produce than the "super thick" plastic bags that CA retailers are "allowed to sell for 10 cents." Especially if more were produced and the production scale would get production costs down if the item became more mainstream. Trader Joe's has those compostable plastic like bags in produce... can't imagine cost is that high or they wouldn't do that.

Or is the issue that a larger compostable bag can't perform well enough with a heavy 15 pound bag of groceries but can support 4-5 pounds of produce (which it does, I've tried it)? Again seems to me the performance issue could be solved if that is the issue.
Compostable bags have similar issues with the whole recycling industry. Both are not currently financially sustainable. It's way more complicated than any of us know.

So many issues from production of desired end product to collection of origin product to staffing to storing to market price and the list is substantial. For example, a disturbing amount of what we try to recycle ends up in landfills!!!!
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: May 31st, 2020, 6:58 am

Compostable bags have similar issues with the whole recycling industry. Both are not currently financially sustainable. It's way more complicated than any of us know.

So many issues from production of desired end product to collection of origin product to staffing to storing to market price and the list is substantial. For example, a disturbing amount of what we try to recycle ends up in landfills!!!!
Would be nice if we could do more domestically with the things that are being recycled.

There are things like this. https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/plas ... f3e85.html
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by veteran+ »

TOTALLY!!!!!!

:-)
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: May 31st, 2020, 5:11 pm TOTALLY!!!!!!

:-)
Granted you have to get people to recycle first... but I really think we do a good job at that with the curbside pick up and single stream programs that are in place. This is the other problem with the bags that they cannot go through single stream. and clog the machinery. But the stores accept them and I do at least here in NV see a number of people taking used bags back to the store. Or used plastic air packaging from Amazon or Wal Mart which is that same thin film also can go back to the bag recycling bins.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote: May 30th, 2020, 11:06 pm Man after catching up on what is going on tonight and combined with the Coronavirus regulating and being concerned with bag types really needs to be something pretty low on the priority list right now. It probably shouldn't even be on the priority list.
This has always seemed to be low on the priority list, but certain people on here *cough* bring it up again and again ad nauseum.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

mbz321 wrote: June 4th, 2020, 6:23 pm

This has always seemed to be low on the priority list, but certain people on here *cough* bring it up again and again ad nauseum.
Well, it is an ever changing subject in light of the current situation.

Sorry to those who want to use reusable bags and are now being told what to do and prohibited from bringing reusable bags into many stores/chains. Now they should know how the other 95% of customers felt who minded their own business and used the store provided thin bags, before being forced not to by a little group that wanted to control what type of bags people used. But that little controlling group somehow thought it was okay to replace the 3 gram thin bag with a 30 gram "reusable" super thick plastic bag and charge 10 cents for it. If it was about reducing plastic it would be keep thin 3 gram bag and charge a fee.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by Alpha8472 »

Safeway in Contra Costa County has started using thin Safeway branded plastic bags and they are free. It is the little things that remind me that things can return back to the good old times.
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