Ban The Plastic Bag Rap (VIDEO)

Green Sangha, a nonprofit that combines spiritual practice with environmental work, has created an irresistible, sing-alongable video as part of their Rethinking Plastics campaign, which aims to encourage bans of single-use plastic bags.

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It is about time plastic bags at grocery and other stores are banned in America, they have been banned in most European countries for years. When I started traveling to Germany in the early nineties they were not only banned in all stores, there weren't even available to buy.

I stopped using plastic bags at the end of the eighties, only use 100% cotton bags which are not only reusable but washable.

The major obstacle is big business as usual, being the reason they haven't been banned yet, but thank goodness individual stores are doing it, it's all we have for the time being.

reply to post by Aquarius1


I'm on the fence with this issue. Where I am, the city has attempted to implement first an extra 10 cent fee for using plastic bags at the store which failed and now second, is attempting to ban the use entirely, not sure where that stands as of now. I know that in many areas, the stores have chosen of their own accord, to ban the use. Here's the catch though: they are still using paper. So where is the trade off appropriate? If it's an environmental concern, is banning plastic but using paper the best option?

I do have the luxury of being able to walk to and use my own bags at grocery and other stores and do try to do so when possible. I think Ideally people who are able to should use re-usable bags, but not everybody has this option. Bottom line: I think a ban on plastic bags as law, is not the way to go.. I do think that marketing strategy to "go green" and promote the use of re-usable bags as well as increased social pressure, can be very strong incentive though, it is around here.

reply to post by LadySkadi


I understand your dilemma, but there is a major difference between paper and plastic in the sense that paper is biodegradable in a short time opposed to plastic which takes, not sure but maybe thousands of years to turn back into oil. I am not saying we should be cutting down trees either, cloth would solve that problem also.

What is strange is the type of grocery store you shop in, I shop at organic stores for the most part, on the rare occasion I go to a regular super market like Kroger, Safeway etc. I see that most are using plastic, not so at the stores I go to, but then the big super markets don't encourage cloth. Another problem with super markets are the bags they offer for sale are also made with chemicals not necessarily cloth.

Thanks for posting.

reply to post by Aquarius1


I did just recently read about the large amount of chemicals in the bags being sold at many places. Frankly, I had not heard that before and that is a very big deal. I wonder how many people believe they are doing the "right" or "better" thing for themselves and the environment and have no idea what they are carrying around? It's a scary thought. I'm very glad that my mother is into quilting and has found a very cool way to unload all the scraps (i.e. makes them into re-usable bags) as I do feel it it the most environmentally friendly route to take. And I hear ya about the demographics.. it is very interesting how they make such a huge impact. Around here, even the chain stores will be seen filled with shoppers using re-usables - so much has to do with the "vibe" of the area.. Does an area identify with and consider itself "green"? If it does, then it will be more likely to find alternative means to this issue and it won't be mandated by law, it will be the people who mandate it by actual implementation and it will be of their choice.

reply to post by Aquarius1

There is a convenience store in the area where I live that I used to pop in to for any last minute groceries that I needed to buy.

Ever since the owners have jumped on the 'ban the plastic bag' bandwagon, I have frequented the establishment less and less.

It really annoyed me that I was having to stumble out of the premises cradling various items in a very precarious manner because the shop owners were so set on imposing their 'green' philosophy on their customers.

Honestly, how many people go out with reusable cotton bags in the event that they might find themselves wanting to pick up something from the shop on the way home from work?

reply to post by Silver Star

Honestly, how many people go out with reusable cotton bags in the event that they might find themselves wanting to pick up something from the shop on the way home from work?

Almost everyone I know, my car always has four or five bags in the back seat, when I bring them in I put them by the door so I remember to put them back in the car, it is a matter of getting used to it. I shop at Costco a lot and they have never offered bags of any kind, the best they can do if you don't bring your own are cardboard boxes and I have shopped there since 1991.

The whole idea behind this is doing something good for the environment, not everything is convenient.

Originally posted by Aquarius1 my car always has four or five bags in the back seat, when I bring them in I put them by the door so I remember to put them back in the car, it is a matter of getting used to it.

Yes, congratulations on your foresight. I too have begun to pre-empt my shopping habits - to a degree. I now carry around with me a grotty old shopping bag in the event of a shops refusal to supply me with the necessary apparatus to take their products home with me.

To cut to the chase, I'm being asked to compromise my buying habits for the sake of some pet theories dreamed up by left-wing environmentalists.

reply to post by Silver Star


So you don't think plastic has impact on our enviroment. Do you think it is alright that it is killing whales and fish in our oceans?

reply to post by LadySkadi


My cloth bags are old, most about twenty years and 100% cotton, some came from book stores, but most I got in the early nineties from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. They are heavy duty and been washed over and over with no break down in the fabric, I use these bags for all kinds of things, when I moved last year I loaded them up with books, very easy to transport that way, I actually moved them all in my car so made many trips back and forth since I have close to 2000 books, bless my daughter for all her help, of course she said Mom when I you going to get rid of some of these books, I said never. Don't ask me how long these books sat on the floor in my living room until I got my book cases set up again.

Originally posted by Aquarius1

So you don't think plastic has impact on our enviroment. Do you think it is alright that it is killing whales and fish in our oceans?

I have watched those video's with interest, but the humble plastic bag is clearly not responsible for the mischief caused upon the marine ecosystem.

Please get real and get a sense of perspective. Plastic shopping bags are invariably sent to land fill sites.

reply to post by Silver Star

Please get real and get a sense of perspective. Plastic shopping bags are invariably sent to land fill sites.

Is plastic filling the landfills an acceptable situation? Is there not a better, more acceptable and environmental conscious way to handle our waste? Is a small sacrifice in "instant gratification/convenience" not worth the possible elimination of tons of waste? If not, why not?

reply to post by LadySkadi

If you could see how much plastic waste is sent to landfill sites everyday by shops and businesses (for example) you would be amazed. It makes you realize how ineffectual our little efforts at recycling truly are in the grand scheme of things. The waste generated by plastic bags is a spit in the ocean.

For example, I have a drawer in my kitchen where I stuff all the plastic bags I come home with after shopping. There is probably about 3 weeks worth of them in there, about 20 bags in total. As an experiment, I pulled them all out and screwed them up into a little ball and the whole lot still only weighed about as much as an empty 2 litre drinks bottle.

Carrying around reusable bags and refusing plastic bags is a bit like voting - it makes you feel as though you have some control over a situation when in reality your efforts are almost entirely inconsequential. It is purely an exercise in making yourself feel better.

But if people want to do so then that's great. I just object when I'm forced to tow the line as well, however small the inconvenience may be to me.

Originally posted by Silver Star
reply to post by LadySkadi

 

Carrying around reusable bags and refusing plastic bags is a bit like voting - it makes you feel as though you have some control over a situation when in reality your efforts are almost entirely inconsequential. It is purely an exercise in making yourself feel better.

But if people want to do so then that's great. I just object when I'm forced to tow the line as well, however small the inconvenience may be to me.

You can be part of the problem or part of the solution, why not be part of the solution by reusing those plastic bags you have stored in a drawer when you go to the store.. No one is forcing you to tow the line, you always have choices.

No not all plastic ends up in landfill, tons end up in our oceans and waterways, you don't see that as a problem.

Originally posted by Aquarius1

You can be part of the problem or part of the solution, why not be part of the solution by reusing those plastic bags you have stored in a drawer when you go to the store.. No one is forcing you to tow the line, you always have choices.

The whole 'part of the problem or part of the solution' argument is tired - MTV circa 1992.

I have to confess that if I recognize propaganda, my instinct is to rally against it. This has been the green movements biggest downfall, underestimating the ability of the average Joe on the street to think for themselves and make their own decisions. In fact they come across as condescending.

I have, on occasion, been forced to tow the line thanks to the draconian policies of my local shop when I had forgotten to bring my own means of taking my shopping home with me. Once it resulted in me dropping and smashing a jar of pasta sauce (because I wasn't provided with a bag), thus ruining my dinner plans for the evening.

That didn't exactly endear me to the cause.