What will I vomit in? Brown bags get soggy and dump the puke all over your shoes. At least they did in my college days!
3
What we need are biodegradable plastic bags. Banning the so-called "single use" plastic bags of today puts a burden on the ordinary citizen who needs them in order to:
1.] store produce in the fridge
2.] store compostables in the freezer (also goldfish & hamsters)
3.] carry breakables in wet weather
4.] send leftovers home with guests
5.] carry flowers and damp plants
6] dispose of kitty litter
7.] dispose of dog poop
Looking at this minimal list, I'd say a "single-use" plastic bag has three or four uses before it becomes a nuisance or a danger.
We need biodegradable not a ban. Put the burden on industry, not us.
1
No one even asked how the styrofoam felt.
But luckily, someone on YouTube took the first line "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?" from Katy Perry's song "Firework" and told the story entirely from the plastic bag's point of view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr0i1_M3Vxo
2
We had a plastic bag ban in Austin that worked just fine. It was a relief not to see those stupid bags flying around the streets, stuck in trees and bushes, and generally polluting the landscape. Then the Texas legislature, which does everything it can to stop anything that Austinites vote for (while at the same time trumpeting its fake support of "state's rights" and "individual freedom"), passes a law that says that Austinites have no right to ban plastic bags. For a state that loves to blabber about personal responsibility and freedom from the tyranny of the federal government, the Texas legislature is doing a bang-up job of steamrolling over any grassroots movements that help individuals take responsibility for stemming environmental damage. Sorry, but plastic bags are unnecessary. We survived millennia without them, we can continue to get along perfectly well without them, and we all need to be doing whatever we can to minimize our impact on the things we really do need to survive. We need clean water and air. We don't need plastic bags.
11
I recall this is not the favorite Beyoncé number for some folks here, but hope they don’t mind.
“Single Uses (Put A Ban On It)”
Tune of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
All the single uses (all the single uses)
All the single uses (all the single uses)
All the single uses (all the single uses)
All the single uses
We got them outlawed
The subway’s slow, but cash flow’s low
State Senators agree.
And we can’t fix your landlord’s dirty tricks
That’s just reality.
But with plastic, since that’s drastic
Support has been so fantastic
Don’t get ver-klempt, some stuff’s exempt
But the impact will be wonderful to see
We don’t like it, so we’re gonna put a ban on it
Legislation’s on the way so better plan on it
The committee’s work began on it.
We don’t like it, so we’re gonna put a ban on it
5
What about the 13 gallon large plastic garbage bags that I use to throw down my garbage compactor chute? Those are single use. Is there a ban on that too?
3
Replacements.com ships fragile china in biodegradable bubble wrap and peanuts. No doubt plastic bag manufacturers could devise a biodegradable bag. But I won't hold my breath.
In the meantime, plastic saves me from retching as I deal with fermenting summertime garbage.
Probably the sanitation guys too. Who work too hard to hold their breath while dealing with millions of people's household (and other) waste.
3
Retail single use.
1
@Carl LaFong
From the article: "No. You could still use them in your personal life."
"The prix fixe menus offer great dishes that are, by definition, less expensive than the rest of the menu. Fewer options means fewer temptations to impulse-order appetizers and desserts that can add inches to your waistline."
But it never works out that way. Inevitably, you want wine and dessert and end up spending much more than intended.
1
“Plastic” is a song cue for The Graduate, isn’t it?
“banning single-use-plastic bags”
Tune of “The Sounds of Silence”
Hello, plastic bag, my friend
I’ve got to use you once again
But still the rules of which we’re speaking
Based on bills that Cuomo was seeking
Has exemptions and may not mean much to me
Wait and see
Til they hand down some guidance.
They say the rules will not apply
To meats and produce that we buy
And the doggie bag that we take home
With food we once had packed in styrofoam
Doesn’t matter if it’s kosher or it’s traif. (*)
That’s all safe
When they hand down some guidance
(*) “traif” sounds awful, but just means non-kosher
7
Good it’s about time. Why is America AWLAYS behind on environmental issues?
2
Plastic bags tear so easily that anything packed in them have to be double bagged. I re-use the ones that don't rip (even when double bagged) and there is so much more waste than plastic bags. Too bad there isn't a bigger campaign to ban guns.
3
I don't favor laws for everything, especially laws "for our own good". The idea of the nanny state irks me. Or that we need a "one size fits all" law instead of using some common sense.
But these bags are a blight on the landscape, and even worse, they adversely affect other forms of life, particularly on the ocean. So in a case like this, with 100 billion of these non bio-degradable bags produced each year, we just need to suck it up and do the right thing even though it inconveniences us. IMHO this really is obvious and necessary.
2
WINTER WOE-WOE-WOE
Cold of course is the worst of it,
Freezing the body, every bit.
Snow by contrast is manageable
Long as there's a kid who'll till.
Then there's the force I'd love to rescind,
February's fiercesome wind.
Bare oak trees and browning grass
Bring no earthly joy, alas.
What I hate the most, however,
Way beyond the utmost endeavor,
Is the season's daily distressing,
All that dressing and undressing.
5
There are few (if any) positive notes coming out of this extended government shutdown, but one of the bright lights must be the reaction of friends, neighbors and businesses to the plight of furloughed or non-paid federal employees and their families.
And one of the first stories I came across was involved a group of Canadian flight controllers who delivered several hundred pizzas to their American counterparts in an act of goodwill.
Bless them all.
16
Lovely.
On the other hand, these good Samaritans enabling the Southern base, stronghold now of the GOP, to crush the Federal government and give us States Rights forever.
What they've been striving for since Reconstruction.
2
Single use plastic bags are like single use plastic straws...once maybe a good idea that caught on too well, now an environmental nightmare once they hit the landfill or roadside. Plastic does not degrade quickly and when it is in the environment then it becomes only what it is long chain hydrocarbons that are absorbed in the food chain. Single use plastics should be banned. Is it going to make it difficult yes is it the right thing to do; yes. Do I have and reuse them; yes. If they aren’t reused (we have four dogs) they are recycled but I’m unsure where they end up. As a society gone amok with heavy duty packaging, most to foil shoplifters or satisfy rough handling during shipment and benefit retailers...knock knock Mr. Bezos; either we curb our appetites or accept our vision of the world is going to change. Frankly I don’t want to the teach what used to be to my grandchildren as video clips from the BBC nature series, but it IS HAPPENING.
12
Chicago has found a good solution that appears to be working. they just have the stores charge people 7 cents for each single-use plastic bag. 7 cents isn't much, but it does appear to have a good effect on getting people to bring reusable bags, and lowering the use of those plastic bags.
17
Who uses a plastic bag one time? I use mine for garbage after they were used for groceries. If I didn't have them I would have to buy large ones and since I take out garbage every day, I would add more plastic to the garbage stream. I am a single person household. So banning them is a bad idea. People who have larger households can recycle them. Not every problem needs a law. Sometimes you just have to use an educational approach.
19
Do you really believe that the problem is simply lack of awareness, and informing people about recycling and other options will make everything better? People know all of this already. They are simply lazy or they just do not care, thus the only practical solution to the obvious problem of all of the plastic trash produced by disposable shipping bags is government regulation. People seldom do things they are not forced to do. Sad but true.
6
Banning them is a good idea. There are 270,000 such bags produced worldwide every 11 seconds. Your anecdotal use of one a day is a huge exception to a monumental problem. Yes they have their extended use but how many wind up in our coastal waters in spite of that? Trees in some parts of New York city are emblems of the needless waste, flying shredded flags of surrender from the natural world. I recommend you see Chris Jordan's documentary "Albatross" and educate yourself. Communities all up and down the east coast have banned them after reasoned and open public discussion. New York can make a difference too.
12
@Angel I am a single person household. I also use my reusable bags diligently for my shopping. Yet, despite using reusable, I still have an uncontrollable volume plastic bags that will take me years to use up.
Note, if you buy online and receive packages in a plastic mailer bag, those fit nicely into small to medium size garbage cans. Also, they are not banning plastic bags for take out or produce. So, I think there will still be plenty to be found for secondary garbage pail use.
3
Banning plastic bags will only serve to inconvenience and literally nickel and dime NYC shoppers. The plastic bags ate re-used to line small wastebaskets and for storage.
17
"Free lunch for furloughed federal workers at Melba’s restaurant in Harlem: catfish, barbecue chicken, sides and salad ... "
This sound great. It's a very light tax day, and no one will miss me as long as I stay reachable by email. Where can I send my resume? (I think I already have the civil service exam results on file.).
I don't think they'd miss me at the federal office if I can't make it in tomorrow, right?
6
Plastic bags are not recycled in NYC. All single use plastic bags like ziplock and small plastic packaging should be banned altogether. It has to start from the corporate level down to we consumers. When you buy something it has tons of useless one-time use packaging. Distributors and consumers need to hold themselves accountable.
15
My family uses ziplock bags for freezing half of certain items we buy and will use later, particularly in winter when weather is uncertain and we don't get out. We use a straw to suck the air out.
After shopping, we fold, tie, and store all plastic bags for later use, for our garbage and cat litter. (No doubt, others use them to pick up theirs dogs' leavings.)
We are pretty strict about recycling and have been composting for twenty years.
We have all electronics on rocker switches that are on "off" whenever a thing is not being used. Unlike most people, we do not waste electricity on unwatched TVs, unlistened-to stereos, computers that are not in use, and so on. Our energy footprint is a lot smaller than most Americans'. In autumn I rake by hand.
If we find plastic in trees -- admittedly, a blight -- it's because slobs let it fly. The same way slobs discard their cigarette boxes, coffee containers, soda bottles, leftover Chinese food, and other trash onto the sidewalk and also into people's gardens. The stuff that comes my way, including an occasional used condom, I put into plastic bags and stow in my trash until collection.
Plastic isn't great, but it has its uses.
22
@Stephen
I reuse plastic bags, ironically, to hold recycled items destined for the bin. I use Ziploc bags of different sizes for many tasks, from holding toiletries and makeup to craft projects. They are not single-use.
5
Then of course there are the poor birds who get themselves tangled in line left by lazy fishermen, and in six-pack plastics left by lazy beach goers. Ever walk the NYC beaches? I do.
Right now, I have fresh water out in the backyard for birds (in this freezing weather, a job that needs doing several times a day) and several types of food for them; they begin coming around for breakfast at 6:30AM.
I am not a plastics person. I would prefer mayonnaise in a glass jar. We save glass jars, and we do our own jams and chutney canning.
Spouse picks up garbage on walking trips and totes it back to trailhead trash can.
Ziplock bags? Please. Can we just ban slobs?
4
New York is way behind the global curve on banning plastic bags. It's time the State gets this done.
Right now I'm looking out my window in Brooklyn at a tree with 2 or 3 such bags stuck in its branches, fluttering in the wind. Countless more of these eyesores are no doubt stuck in our harbors, rivers and oceans.
17
@Brian I live near a large Stop-N-Shop supermarket. I never see loose plastic bags blowing around their parking lot or in nearby trees. Everyone re-uses the bags around their homes.
8
@NYC Taxpayer Well, anecdotal evidence (mine or yours) isn't a good barometer of the problem. To quote a recent Times Op-Ed:
"The United Nations Environment Program estimates that some eight million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year, while a 2016 World Economic Forum report projects that there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the oceans by 2050 if current trends continue. Plastic production and disposal also generates around 400 million tons of carbon dioxide a year globally, more than total annual emissions from Britain.
Millions of whales, birds, seals and turtles die because they mistake plastic bags for food or because they become ensnared in nets, packing bands and other items."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/opinion/sunday/plastic-bags-pollution-oceans.html
If Europe, California, Boston, NJ and many smaller US cities can do this, so can New York.
17
Banning one-use plastic bags....in 2019! Wow, hadn't realized how much we Europeans are ahead of the game. (Largely thanks to the EU which seems to be able to get its act together, despite its complexity and cultural and linguistic issues, on this as well as on protecting consumers from the rapacious high-tech giants in a way that should cause you US-ers to be gaping in envy. Such a tragedy that the UK wants to leave all this behind.)
19
@Michael Ashworth I pack garbage, compost, recycle in the plastic bags to take down the block to our garbage bins. How will I transport these items in the future?
Buy single use garbage bags at the grocery store? how does that solve the problem?
11
When I was a kid, my dad brought home our Saturday groceries in big brown paper bags. (The "big shopping" at Bohacks.) When used for garbage, the bags leaked and tore at the bottom. The time spent scraping up stuff from the floor that didn't make it to the garbage cans outside. . . .
No plastic in those days.
Also no scooping the poop. But then, in those days, at least dogs were curbed -- ours knew to pull us between parked cars when he needed to relieve himself -- and so our city sidewalks weren't awash in urine and slippery with leftover feces. People now do scoop the poop, usually, but the urine remains, right in the path of pedestrians.
3
Get used to transporting your trash in sturdy plastic containers you can rinse out and reuse hundreds of times. There’s a war on (our environment), do your part!
3