California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores
California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores
“Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
This could not happen soon enough.
Now what about food packaging? Everything comes in plastic!
That's on the whole probably good news, though I'm having trouble finding immediate satisfaction. Banning plastic bags doesn't necessarily mean less of an impact on the environment. Not without a behavior change, as well.
Plastic bags have the lowest carbon footprint to produce and distribute compared to paper, polypropylene, or cotton. In many places plastic bags (including small produce bags) can be recycled at the grocery store (two near me do but it's easy to miss). I also found plastic very easy to reuse. It's a bit annoying to have to buy trashbags when my reused grocery bags worked fine and were made of less material.
Reusable totes are only as eco friendly as they are reused (about 130 times to equal plastic). Forgetting them and amassing a huge collection is not progress nor is using paper bags once and then recycling them. source
Happy to see attention on the issue but as I haven't always appreciated the nuances or been wary of the green washing in the past, I thought this was worth sharing. Progress is rarely as simple as a new regulation or new product, as strong capitalist forces would want us to believe. If we want meaningful progress we need to foster a culture that consumes less and reuses more.
Plastic bags have the lowest carbon footprint
Why do people only ever talk about the carbon footprint when plastic bans are discussed?
Plastic waste is lying around everywhere, microplastics have been found in placentas and brain stems, the great pacific garbage patch is larger than some micro states.The environment consists of more than just the atmosphere and we should reduce both greenhouse gases and plastic waste.
Also
plastic bags (including small produce bags) can be recycled at the grocery store (two near me do but it’s easy to miss). I also found plastic very easy to reuse.
That may be so but many people do not recycle or reuse their plastic bags. I would assume this measure is aimed more at them then at you.
Why do people only ever talk about the carbon footprint when plastic bans are discussed?
To remind people they pollute in multiple ways, and reducing one way might increase the other way.
However I’ve never seen a good comparison of the relative severity, only opinion. Is the apple worse for the environment , or the orange?
the great pacific garbage patch is larger than some micro states.
Why do people only ever talk about the carbon footprint when plastic bans are discussed?
This is not the case. Ai, crypto, airplanes, cars, meat production, fertilizers, etc are more are on my radar than bag bans. Suggesting otherwise feels combative. I agree that we should reduce both greenhouse gases and plastic waste. I didn't say or even suggest we shouldn't reduce plastic waste. My last sentence ("... we need to foster a culture that consumes less and reuses more.") is inclusive of reducing plastic use and waste.
many people do not recycle or reuse their plastic bags. I would assume this measure is aimed more at them then at you.
And that's why my response was about the behavioral and cultural change. The unintuitive fact about plastic vs paper bag carbon emissions was something I heard about a decade ago and it helped push my understanding of environment impact beyond simply "plastic bad, paper good," and focusing only on waste and not manufacturing and distribution, as well. Regulation is just one tool, and a blunt one at that, but individual choices matter and can operate with more nuance for better results. To be clear, that's not an argument against regulation, it's an argument for acting beyond the baseline that regulation sets.
Edit: formatting, brevity, clarity, typo
Why do people only ever talk about the carbon footprint
To be fair that is not what occurred. The comment was significantly more rounded than that.
Microplastics are the big focus right now, so actually bringing up carbon footprint diversifies the discussion. You’re actually saying stop - don’t bring that up?
I’m old enough to remember when plastic bags were considered the friendly option because they cut down trees to make paper. Anytime people focus only on one aspect, we come to the wrong decision.
I've never viewed getting rid of plastic bags as a carbon saving measure. To me it's addressing how bad they are when they get into the environment. As much as these bags can be reused, most aren't and they just end up thrown out.
They're no problem when properly thrown out, but a huge problem when people litter with them as happens far too much. I hate to see us all punished because a significant portion of people can't stop littering, but I can't see us stopping them...
recycled at the grocery store
recycling thin films often doesn't happen without specialized equipment and most regions don't have it. so they collect it, but... it probably goes to a landfill.
I live in Italy. We have plastic bags made out of plant material. They feel flimsy but they get the job done. They're not very reusable though.
We’ve had this in Jersey for a couple of years now. It’s been great. I highly suggest that any Californians who read this go to their nearest grocer within the week after the change goes into effect, I had a grand old time laughing at all the lazy people raging at having to pay for reusable bags. I had already been using my own bags for years so it didn’t change my behavior at all. Has changed how much plastic litter I’ve seen outside, though.
California already had banned single use bags. We've been
postingpaying for "reusable" plastic bags for a couple years already. This legislation bans all plastic bags, including the reusable types. Now we get tobeingbring our own bags, or get paper bags.Sometimes I still forget to bring a bag, then I need yet another wawa bag, and I just stare at this neverending pile of bags
the change itself is worth it to me; I don't need to laugh at anyone.
we swapped to reusable bags here in seattle ages ago. then came covid, and some silly idea that reusable bags might spread it. so plastic came back.
we're back to our reusables but the grocery is handing out free thick plastic bags so no one brings their own, again. we're going to have to go through it all again.
in some ways I prefer paper bags but the handles on the cloth reusable bags are better.
My Whole Foods just uses paper bags, so I guess this doesn’t affect me :shrug:.
I have so many reusable bags, mainly because I have a terrible case of "God fucking dammit I forgot to put it in the car again-itis" but i still wouldn't go back to plastic bags
I have an “emergency” bag I leave in my trunk that I only use when I forget my usual ones. It helps!
Now where will people store all their other plastic bags in under the sink????
Well I've lived longer enough to see the beginning and total end of grocery delivery in California, that's neat.
Right because there's literally no other type of bag in existence other than single-use plastic bags. So now it's impossible to deliver groceries because there's absolutely no type of container whatsoever that can hold groceries other than plastic bag