California Lawmakers Pass First US Plastic Bag Ban

I'm all for a clean environment but a lot of it is individual responsibility ie at least throw your trash/bags away or recycle them.. And just like for scooping poop those bags can be used in many other ways including small trash cash liners, odd trash bags(nasty mess that needs a second bag), waterproof bag(temporary), dust cover or just a bag to carry and store stuff. This same nanny state will cry when a logger comes in and starts cutting down their trees to make paper bags.

When nanny STATES attack!
 
I reuse all those plastic bags for my small trash cans in the house, and for picking up after my dog. The park I go to has eco-friendly plastic bags available, I use those when at the park. I also use my paper grocery bags for other things too. I hate to see them do away with these, and I don't want to have to pay for the bags either. Maybe they'll do like Costco and provide the customers with boxes from opened stock to put their groceries in. Those cloth bags that people use over and over again, are shown to harbor toxic bacteria, etc. unless frequently washed, and you know that's unlikely for many. And if store-bought trash can liners aren't expensive already, watch the price jump when businesses realize that free trash bags are no longer available to US residents.
 

i USE my plastic bags just like folks above mentioned, all sorts of things. just moved from one 2 BR apt to another, & just about all my packing material was hundreds of plastic groc bags daughter & i saved for ages. much better than using newspaper like in old days, it left everything inky. i even cut some of them in strips to make light weight ties for bundles. i dont want to see more trees cut down, but some are being grown like crops & harvested. & and some of the cloth or plastic coated cloth bags i see people using in stores look really dirty & nasty.
pardon my lack of capitals etc. I shut off auto fill & auto correct because it was getting annoying.
 
That's a good tip on cutting the bags into tie strips, Geezerette....I'm afraid I'm guilty of reusing the plastic bags too....I live in the country and for years we used burn barrels for trash, I just recently started using a pick-up service, I'm all for helping the environment too, but it will be hard to get away from plastic.
 
Jackie, We too use to burn trash in a 50 gallon metal barrels, but we too now use a service. I have a neighbor that uses a backhoe to dig a pit that he burns his trash in, then he fills it back in. His burning trash has the worst smell while it burns. We can't say anything to him because he doesn't speak English. He moved in about ten years ago. :wave:
 
Jackie, We too use to burn trash in a 50 gallon metal barrels, but we too now use a service. I have a neighbor that uses a backhoe to dig a pit that he burns his trash in, then he fills it back in. His burning trash has the worst smell while it burns. We can't say anything to him because he doesn't speak English. He moved in about ten years ago. :wave:

LOL....no telling what he is burning, Ina.

Yes, I have a pit down in the pasture that catches a lot of the trash and used washing machines and the like, before we would haul the burn barrels down there and empty them but after my husband died, I decided to eliminate that job.
 
I have a couple of areas where I burn trash and tree limbs. I also reuse plastic bags and when I get too many I take them to be recycled. California is usually the first state to pass stupid laws.
 
Wilkes Barre (PA) has municipal garbage collection which requires purchasing city-made plastic bags. I wonder - if they passed a law like that here, how would that effect the collection system?
 
One thing to keep in mind with plastic bag bans is that they seem to coincide with an increase in shoplifting because many are bringing their own bag to the stores.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Store-owners-say-plastic-bag-ban-causes-more-4314744.php

Plastic bag bans don't increase shoplifting but make it easier, in other words it's another personal responsibility issue. I don't want to have to go through TSA style screening just to go to a supermarket or any store actually because if I buy several small items at Home Depot or Walmart I still need a bag. Customers will be dealing with receipt and bag checkers more often now.

California's environmental hardliners haven't stopped drought,forest fires, mud slides etc. California tends to write checks it frequently can't pay. This is already a high cost of living state. Increased paper bag use means more logging. California will probably mandate the logging be done in someone else's state/back yard.

I say do what a lot of stores are doing now, offer or ask the customer if they want a bag. Also make available merchandise boxes for customer reuse like several supermarket chains do. I think Save A lot, Aldi and Bottom Dollar offer shipping boxes to customers.
 
I've been using reusable shopping bags for 10+ years. I do sew, so I have made my own and they are of coarse washable.

I too use plastic bags to clean out the litter box. I'll usually re-use plastic bags for lunches for the work week. I keep everything cold so they don't spoil. Then I start using them for cleaning out the litter box.

I don't have a use for garbage bags. I put what is appropriate in recycling. For garbage I use empty bread bags, cereal bags, chip bags etc. Whatever works.

On the rare occasion that I stop at the store and get a regular plastic bag, I'll keep it to use when I may have more garbage. I cut the handles. I see people at work just throw the bags in the garbage and I wonder why they don't take them home to reuse.
 
Kitties, Some people just have buy- itus. I've met people who must buy something, anything, or they feel lacking. I on the other hand, get a kick out of seeing just how far I can get without purchasing stuff, other than food and necessities. We save more than most, and we live on hubby's SS and my disability. We pay in cash for what we need, and we pay for our bills on line online. We seem to think it's harder to let go of cash than a credit card,so we only have a bank card. I don't care what my credit score is, because we don't buy on credit.
 
I have read a little about the banning of plastic bags, and I can kind of see both sides of the issue. Definitely , goin back to paper bags is not a good idea, then we lose more trees to make bags. The reusable bags apparently are fairly expensive to make , which is why they are also expensive to buy sometimes. They also leave a lot of pollutants when they are making the bags.
I save my plastic bags, and take them down to the local SDA food bank, and they are always in need of bags for when they hand out food to people.
The ones that I keep, I cut into loops, string the loops together and make "plarn", and use it to crochet slippers and throw rugs.
 
California is a constant source of anxiety for me as they are always up to something that might eventually reach me...
 
California likes to micro manage private life through legislation. Some is necessary but some isn't. With all the money and so called free spirits in California it is very easy to push a personal agenda. Dippy hippies with money. Creepy crawly.
 
I'm a native Californian. I hope I have half a brain. :) But yes, I've met far too many pretentious idiots who think they are cool here. I think they are everywhere though.

As far as using reusable bags for shopping, I do find it makes life easier and I feel better about doing so. No more bags around and as I mentioned, I do sew so I've sewn my own. And I've got numerous compliments on them. People even asking if I sell them. I wouldn't sell anything I make but when I have time I'd like to make some for family and my close friend. And maybe make some and donate them to our PAWS thrift.
 


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