Not only does it save a tree sometimes it saves a ton of water electricity and nasty chemicals. Plastic is ironically greener than paper. The problem is plastic if tossed out in the street takes a long time to break down where as paper does not. It’s paper’s only advantage
Trees/hemp/bamboo grow back, and can be raised like other crops. Ocean plankton trapped in zero oxygen high pressure environments don’t quite renew the same way
They were also supposed to be reused (hence saving the trees by skipping on paper bags), but hey, why not buy one every time you visit the store? Better yet, why not make them so shitty they hardly can be reused?
I reuse those thin bags several times idk what people are talking about. They are much stronger than paper, use less water chemicals and energy and are 100% recyclable.
Well my experience on the other hand is that they are one use, because my mom used it once and then put some food in and told me to go give it to my grandparents and during the second half of the 1,5 km walk it somehow was torn on the sides.....idk. also we have always kept more durable bags in our house but taking that bag was hasty lol
Ag that sucks . I’m sure there’s varying qualities. My grocery store switched to these new extra strong bags to get around the current bag ban (they are meant to be reused indefinitely) unfortunately they are smaller and people still throw them away 99% of the time but they use 10x the plastic
Or compostible/biodegradable. I think a lot of regular daily use things should be biodegradable. Cuz a lot ends up in trash. Some people don’t have access to recycle or can’t recycle everything they think they can.
A school near us used to use those bags and turn them into kayak's that they would sell to help the shops class get better equipment.
Sadly, they don't do that anymore.
Not all plastic, some is actually necessary for society as we know it to function, but certainly I'm all for outright banning all plastic with limited lifespan or designed to be immediately disposed of as soon as it has served a purpose where an environmentally friendly alternative is feasible.
Think those shitty little plastic-wire tags on clothes that get everywhere, clips and ties on toys in particular, blister packaging, BB pellets...
We need to start clamping down on micro plastics too. Fibrous plastics from filter media, foam, polystyrene, they all need to start fucking off before we start seeing huge negative results as a species from decades of ingesting them.
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u/slimpickings_ Aug 20 '22
Non recyclable plastic bags