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Long overdue. I stopped using plastic bags years ago. Everybody needs to get with the program. They are toxic and bad for the environment. Unless you don’t give a damn about the future generation, the “here we go again” comment should not be made. Some people need to see where their waste goes and it doesn’t just magically disappear.
So you don't use plastic bags to take out your trash?
It's not waste when you use the bags. Now instead I will have to go out and buy my own bags, which will be larger and wasting more plastic because I take out my trash daily and won't even come close to filling up the store bought bags.
Paper bags with handles (like the trader Joe's ones) work well. You can even get a few uses out of them if you keep them dry.
No they don't. I just came home from trader Joes now. Two paper bags which were doubled and ripped by the time I got home. Maybe they work well for people who live down the block but for someone like me who has to get on a train and go up and down stairs with them, I never make it home with them intact.
So you don't use plastic bags to take out your trash?
It's not waste when you use the bags. Now instead I will have to go out and buy my own bags, which will be larger and wasting more plastic because I take out my trash daily and won't even come close to filling up the store bought bags.
I only buy plastic bags for the recycling now. For my garbage, I re-use the Whole Foods paper bags and put them into the trash room. The super handles putting them into the industrial plastic bags. I buy plastic bags maybe a few times a year now tops, so I save that way as well. I recycle and sort my glass bottles, plastic, paper and aluminium tins, etc. and try to fill up each bag before putting them out. I have an area in one of my walk-in closets where I keep everything sorted. Getting off of plastic takes adjustments, but it can be done.
I had three double bagged paper bags from Whole Foods the other day, and one of them ripped because I had too much in them, but I have become used to not getting so much at once. My rule of thumb is two double paper bags when I go shopping, and sometimes I will make a second trip for just things like bottled water. It wasn't that difficult for me because prior to returning to the States, I had lived in Europe where years ago they were already charging customers 0,05€ per plastic bag (let's say the equivalent of $0.05 US to give you an idea which adds up fast), so the idea of either using reusable bags or reusing bags I bought had already been something that I was doing. (Sometimes I'll bring a cotton reusable bag with me if I'm the mood or plan on buying something heavy. The cotton bags I have are very sturdy and durable and can be washed with no problem.)
You have to do that there (in Europe) because if you don't, you pay handsomely for it. You also pay for water there too whether you rent or own, and that too is expensive. That's how they train people to have more respect for the environment and to reuse things more instead of getting two plastic bags for one little thing and running excessive amounts of water for the hell of it as people do here in the States. We've become accustomed to getting bags for everything here in the States. Plastic bags are already being banned in a number of cities here in the U.S. because they are literally destroying our oceans. Now lots of the seafood we eat is consuming that very plastic that is being thrown away. When you see up close how our environment is being destroyed TODAY (not 20 years from now), that's when it hits home. We are being impacted by what we do NOW, and if we don't curb it, the situation will only worsen, as our oceans are becoming saturated with nothing but plastic bags and other plastic.
I went to Pret this morning to pick up a yogurt and a baguette sandwich. The guy was immediately ready to give me a paper bag despite me already having one. I told him no bag was needed, as I had plenty of room in the Whole Foods bag I had. When I am only getting one or two items I just use a bag I have on me. The other advantage to paper bags is you can recycle them with your regular recycling once they become worn out. No need to take them to the supermarket. Something else I do. Any plastic I use I wash/rinse and recycle. I don't put any of that stuff in the garbage. If I am out I carry it home with me and put it into the recycling.
I only buy plastic bags for the recycling now. For my garbage, I re-use the Whole Foods paper bags and put them into the trash room.
We have to throw closed bags down the trash or it makes a mess for the poor porters. Paper bags don't really close and when going down the chute can open and spill everywhere. It can be bad especially if you have food in it.
We have to throw closed bags down the trash or it makes a mess for the poor porters. Paper bags don't really close and when going down the chute can open and spill everywhere. It can be bad especially if you have food in it.
My girlfriend has a chute on her floor too, but she too uses the Whole Foods paper bags or she uses the Trader Joe's bags. We've never had a problem with them. The other option is just taking the trash down and putting it in the trash room, which is what I do. My recycling I put out every Tuesday myself on the curb right before Sanitation comes, this way it is sorted to my liking. I keep a magnet on my fridge with everything that can be recycled. The only thing I don't do is put dirty recyclables out. That is just disgusting. I wash everything out with soap and water and let it dry and then put it out.
I never thought I would agree with anything a Cuomo ever said, but it would be a very small inconvenience, and a big benefit to the reduction of waste.
Use a cloth bag. Buy the special bags for dog waste. What’s the big deal?
I never thought I would agree with anything a Cuomo ever said, but it would be a very small inconvenience, and a big benefit to the reduction of waste.
Use a cloth bag. Buy the special bags for dog waste. What’s the big deal?
Naw, it isn't about us hating change. It's about government and the environmentalists always trying to make a name for themselves. That's all Cuomo is doing.
Why not just give the consumer a choice - paper or plastic? I'm guessin' the majority of us would take paper. The paper is much more stable in the car, and they carry more groceries.
But NO!. Government has to have that upper hand by telling us what to do.
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