Should Plastic Shopping Bags Be Banned?

Stores that don't furnish plastic or paper---I go to one that does.

Sunshine Girl wrote: Hey SC, have you ever used "paper plates," "plastic silverware," and "plastic cups" all made of corn which decomposes easily? It's just and sturdy and nice looking as the other stuff.

Our office uses them in the common kitchen areas and I can't stand them. They have a bad taste and the forks melt when eating hot food.

Ronbo wrote:

Sunshine Girl wrote: Hey SC, have you ever used "paper plates," "plastic silverware," and "plastic cups" all made of corn which decomposes easily? It's just and sturdy and nice looking as the other stuff.

Our office uses them in the common kitchen areas and I can't stand them. They have a bad taste and the forks melt when eating hot food.

Do you know who they buy them from by any chance? I have never had that experience with them, but it would be a turn-off for me.

Science Chic wrote: This might sound harsh, but people need to stop being so thoughtless and lazy for the mere sake of convenience. I keep my reusable fabric bags in the trunks of both my vehicles so when I get to the store, they are right there. When I get home and empty them, they immediately go back in the trunk so I don't forget when I leave again. A little thought saves the environment and our wallets - do you think the grocery stores don't pass on the costs of those bags to you? They aren't free. You say you re-use them; great, but how about finding an alternative that is smaller and maybe biodegradable? I buy doggie waste bags that I use for my kitty litter clean up - smaller than grocery bags and better for the environment. One example:
http://www.amazon.com/BioBags-Biodegrad ... B000AA7PWQ

Disposable plates and tableware don't HAVE to be plastic either. I was at a wedding last year where they used bamboo plates, forks, knives, and spoons. You can wash and reuse them, like many do with plasticware, or throw them away, but the difference is that the bamboo won't still be here a thousand years from now. And they look a heck of a lot prettier!
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/bambu-0 ... 60700.html
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/bambu-0 ... 61500.html
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/bambu-0 ... 61600.html

Plastic bags aren't just a bane for the need for petroleum to make them and because they don't degrade.
http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/ ... -info.html

Plenty of other cities have banned plastic bags and people learn to adapt.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/p ... an29m.html
When I read something like this, it only makes my resolve all the firmer:

The American Chemistry Council, the lobbying arm of the plastics industry, has poured $1.4 million into the campaign to defeat the Seattle bag fee

The first steps to eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels starts with reduction and conservation. No, we can't go cold-turkey on oil use, but we can stop using so d@*n much of it by switching what we can. Imagine if we started pushing the pie graphs in this link toward more sustainable sources of energy - we'd have more for the production of household goods, etc and the finite supply we do have will last much longer...
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.o ... sil-fuels/

I would just like to thank you, for your efforts, as I'll call what you do and what I do EVEN.
No guilt here.
BTW, sometimes, I re-use the plastic bags to take food to work.

Sunshine Girl wrote:

Ronbo wrote:

Sunshine Girl wrote: Hey SC, have you ever used "paper plates," "plastic silverware," and "plastic cups" all made of corn which decomposes easily? It's just and sturdy and nice looking as the other stuff.

Our office uses them in the common kitchen areas and I can't stand them. They have a bad taste and the forks melt when eating hot food.

Do you know who they buy them from by any chance? I have never had that experience with them, but it would be a turn-off for me.

Sorry, I don't know where they get them.