[Strutz]

romanP romanP:

That's why I think a nickel isn't enough. They should charge a quarter per bag, that would make people think twice about using them. Think about it: twenty bags of groceries will only come to a dollar at five cents each. That doesn't give much incentive to switch to reusable bags, when most people will barely blink at an extra dollar. But at $0.25 each, that comes to $5 worth of grocery bags, which would make it cheaper or approximately equivelant to buy a couple of reusable bags and pack them well.

And that's another thing. Does anyone else ever notice just how many plastic bags get used to bring home a large load of groceries? It's ridiculous! Because the bags are so weak, they can't put much in them so you end up with a shopping cart full of bags, which could usually be contained by only two or three reusable bags!

You have a point there about charging more, some people will feel the impact more if the price is higher, then again some people won't care. My previous post is in line with your point on plastic vs. reusable bags. The nylon ones I use for groceries easily are the equivalent of 2-3 plastic ones and are well made and will hopefully last a long time. I've noticed other retailers (such as London Drugs and M&M) are also selling reusable nylon bags at a very reasonable price. It's just a matter of remembering to take them with you on your way to do your shopping.

[Strutz]

Yogi Yogi:

To get around this 'environmental issue' I decided to use cloth bags. But now I still require garbage bags. So I purchased a roll of 'kitchen catchers' which are also made of plastic and are also larger than plastic grocerie bags and cost about 7 cents each!
So how are 'we' helping the environment by using cloth bags for our purchases and then using larger plastic bags for our garbage which then creates a larger problem when they too end up in the landfill?

I have found that most plastic grocery bags are unsuitable for garbage because they always have holes at the bottom of them plus they are so flimsy that a sharp corner on a box can puncture additional holes in them. Can get a little messy! I've used "kitchen catchers" for years and try to stuff them as much as possible before tying them up to put into the outside garbage. Yes, yes, I know plastic is plastic. When I accumulate alot of plastic bags I take them to one of the local thrift stores as they can always use them for their customer's purchases. Like I said before there is no perfect solution.

[Proculation]

Well if you really want to charge more to make people think twice, just ban them... Go back to paper bags. It would help the wood industry !

[fifeboy]

Proculation Proculation:

Well if you really want to charge more to make people think twice, just ban them... Go back to paper bags. It would help the wood industry !

Good point, and it's not like the forestry people couldn't use some help.

[fifeboy]

Yogi Yogi:

I go to the grocery, make my purchases, have them bagged in plastic, ( 5 cents each) bring them home and put them away. The plastic bags are then 'recycled' as garbage bags in various household waste baskets. Eventually of course, the bags with contents end up in the landfill.
To get around this 'environmental issue' I decided to use cloth bags. But now I still require garbage bags. So I purchased a roll of 'kitchen catchers' which are also made of plastic and are also larger than plastic grocerie bags and cost about 7 cents each!

I went to Princess Auto and purchased one of these:
Holds the days kitchen trash. Easy to wash out and gets dumped right into the dumpster our condo has nearby. It was less than $5.

[Yogi]

fifeboy fifeboy:

Yogi Yogi:

I go to the grocery, make my purchases, have them bagged in plastic, ( 5 cents each) bring them home and put them away. The plastic bags are then 'recycled' as garbage bags in various household waste baskets. Eventually of course, the bags with contents end up in the landfill.
To get around this 'environmental issue' I decided to use cloth bags. But now I still require garbage bags. So I purchased a roll of 'kitchen catchers' which are also made of plastic and are also larger than plastic grocerie bags and cost about 7 cents each!

I went to Princess Auto and purchased one of these:
Holds the days kitchen trash. Easy to wash out and gets dumped right into the dumpster our condo has nearby. It was less than $5.

I don't have a 'dumpster option'. 'Jimmy' comes by and empties our garbage into the back of his pick-up and then hauls it to the transfer station, where he unloads it by hand. I like Jimmy!
I am however thinking about installing a trash compacter and a 'burn barrel' which is an option I do have out here.

[romanP]

Yogi Yogi:

So how are 'we' helping the environment by using cloth bags for our purchases and then using larger plastic bags for our garbage which then creates a larger problem when they too end up in the landfill?

Garbage bags may be larger, but they are also fewer. You can also get compostable garbage bags. I find No Name compostables work best. Another brand I tried broke down so quicly they actually leaked garbage juice through osmosis, which left a disgusting mess in the bottom of the pale in my step-can.

[romanP]

Proculation Proculation:

Well if you really want to charge more to make people think twice, just ban them... Go back to paper bags. It would help the wood industry !

Banning them would make more sense. But, that is not yet the policy because there would probably be some considerable consumer outrage if people were suddenly made to buy re-usable bags without any transitionary period.

[romanP]

If you can, compost as much as possible. You'll see a significant reduction in the amount of garbage you put out to the curb. I've got a second, smaller step-can for vegetable waste, fruit peels, egg shells, etc., which works very well for keeping fruit flies and the smell of rot out of your kitchen.

[bootlegga]

CommanderSock CommanderSock:

No other LCBO I have been to has a "no plastic bags" policy anywhere in Canada yet. I'd be interested to know if anyone has seen anything similar in their 'local' LCBO branches.

No such thing as LCBO outside of Ontario...might have something to do with being called Liquor Control Board of Ontario

[Wally_Sconce]

as i have said before, plastic bags are the ideal solution. They are cheap, suitable for single use, and recyclable.

If only we could get people to stop throwing them away and start recycling.

For all you people that like the idea of a reuseable cloth bag, why the hell aren't you recycling your plastic bags? I am not saying you are wrong, I just think you should use a bit more common sense on this issue.

Plastic bags are made from HDPE which is an excellent plastic for recycling into new bags, pill bottles, patio furniture, etc.

[Blue_Nose]

Plastic bags have always been used in my house for anything from carrying lunch to carrying a dirty pair of shoes to lining the bathroom garbage can - in fact, the plastic bags are the one thing I bring home from the store that I can reuse, it's all the packaging on other products - especially styrofoam trays - that can't be reused and are just thrown in the garbage.

These stupid regulations are not the solution, because plastic bags are not the only problem. If people were just generally more conscious of the amount of waste they generate, the problem would fix itself, but when the government steps in and says that things have to be a certain way, everyone just assumes that the stupid reusable bags are going to save the world and won't worry about all the other crap that gets thrown out.

[romanP]

The problem with people being more conscious of what they consume is that we've spent so long reinforcing only one of the three R's: reduce, reuse and recycle. We've only been teaching the recycle bit, because consumers reducing their consumption and finding ways to reuse products and packaging does equate to big bucks for capitalism. Everything is made to break for a reason.

So, now that we've got people on the recycling kick, everyone can continue to mindlessly consume far more than they need to, generating more waste and creating a culture of entitlement where a lot of people think it's acceptable to consume cheap, easily destructable products that they'll have to buy again and again.

[kenmore]

Well if you ask Lowblaws who gets the money on the bags they say the gov't.. and in Ontario the government said it was a municipal call.. the city of Toronto implemented the fee.. what pisses me off is some stores have bags so flimsy that anything heavier than a loaf of bread breaks the bag before you get to your car..
I was in a store yesterday and there was bag rage at the check out, some little old lady was ripping a strip of the cashier over the charge. After about 10 mins of rant they gave her 3 reusable bags free lol..

[Blue_Nose]

Speaking of the 3Rs, I've been on a big "reuse" kick lately - keeping jars from pasta sauce, etc, to store spices and stuff I buy at the bulk barn, saving the plastic containers some transplants came in to use for new seedlings, buying milk in bags instead of cartons which can be rinsed out and reused for sandwich bags (it's cheaper per litre, too). There's ridiculously simple things too like keeping the plastic containers from salads, etc, to reuse a few times to keep leftovers, instead of recycling them and then going out and buying tupperware containers.

These are all simple little things that are directly beneficial to me, and saves money at the same time. Compare that to this stupid 5 cent bag policy, which costs consumers money, and doesn't make benefit them in any way.

Other things are too much of a hassle, but might work for someone else. It's all about people actually thinking about it and making their habits work for their lifestyle, and the government frankly sucks when it comes to coming up creative solutions to problems that people could otherwise manage themselves.