New Respect for Paper Grocery Bags

[mso489]

Paper or plastic? I re-use many of the bags that come into the house. Up until now, I have used the plastic bags from groceries or drugstores for scooping litter boxes, one of those chores for town people who keep their cats indoors to keep them out of the road and less exposed to various feline diseases.

Lately my city put out a guideline on yard trash stipulating that only paper bags will be accepted now -- for leaves, limbs, grass cuttings, etc., that won't fit in the yard trash cart. It points out that the paper bags compost more quickly and improve the content of compost.

Today when I scooped the boxes, I used a paper grocery bag thinking of those same benefits for the landfill. I try to be disciplined about recycling between the wet trash, the yard trash, and the recycling, although I'm not as meticulous as some. Some activist claimed their entire trash for a week will fit in the average glove compartment of a car. Not mine.

I flatten the recycled boxes the litter comes in and try to dismantle and flatten shipping boxes. I doubt the plastic recycles in any effective way, but I separate out the bags and recycle them at the grocery, hoping that will develop some kind of recycling stream.

Paved with good intentions.

 

[Chasing Embers]

We used to make kites out of them when we were kids. I mainly use canvas ones for shopping now.

 

[cshubhra]

Here , restaurants give paper bags. Some clothing stores give you paper bags. Other stores expect you bring a reusable bag or buy one from them.

This has led us to amass a large number of reusable bags as we often forgot to take one. We now keep all the bags in the family car, and every time we go grocery a few come home.

Eventually the car runs out of bags (They are all home now) and we again buy maybe a couple. Then we put back all the bags back in the car.

This has been repeating quite some time now

 

[Piping Abe]

Its crazy. About 20 years ago there was a major push to use plastic because paper products would kill all the trees and ruin the environment. And now all the plastic is gonna kill the oceans and ruin the environment.

 

[mso489]

I don't take any of this on faith, just try to do what's "better" than what isn't.

It still puzzles me why people throw trash/litter on the ground. They have to look at it too. I guess they're angry, maybe with themselves.

I can't remember having a piece of trash I couldn't put in a receptacle without inconvenience. The idea that someone else is going to pick up my leavings is absurd. if it's mine, I'll take care of it, whether it's my socks around the house or my fast food bag on the road.

 

[warren]

Thanks to a municipal ordinance I now must provide my own plastic bags. At my age I need one hand for the railing on the stairs and one for groceries. I can usually carry three of the plastic bags up which is a hell of a lot more convenient than three trips up with the paper bags. Then I can reuse the bags, usually twice more before they give up the ghost. I buy the bags from Amazon and the store "baggers" seem unaffected by their use.

I'll take care of it, whether it's my socks around the house or my fast food bag on the road.

Must be that USN training.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Its crazy. About 20 years ago there was a major push to use plastic because paper products would kill all the trees and ruin the environment. And now all the plastic is gonna kill the oceans and ruin the environment.

They are cheaper, can be much more convenient for sure, and so on, lol. Our grocery stores have paper but you have to ask for them, otherwise most who push plastic do it because it fuels the bottom line, lol - they are an abomination, IMO. Our recycling provider won't accept them, lol, so off to the landfill forever with them. I ask for paper, the wife takes her woven bags - gets a discount for using them, she loves discounts.

 

[kcghost]

Plastic is kind of a pain in the keister at the store, but I tend to take them because it isn't killing the trees. Don't hold very much stuff though.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I’ve wondered what the nuns are making children cover textbooks with now that paper bags are out of fashion.
Good thing the chemical companies got the evil brown paper to go away in favor of their crap that never goes away.

@kcghost we’ve got one of these type things hanging in the pantry for keeping the plastic bags-pretty handy.

 

[captpat]

We use reusable canvas bags at the grocery store. Biodegradable bags for collecting dog stuff on our daily walks.