As of July of 2015, California will become the first state to ban the use of plastic bags, according to an article I read. Several U.S. cities {Seattle, Austin, Chicago, L.A. San Francisco} have already taken the plunge, but nothing state-wide until now. Californians in support of the ban feel that banning plastic bags from retailers is a step in the right direction. It will decrease the amount of unnecessary garbage that ends up in swirling around in the ocean, on the beaches, and blowing across the parks.
Some Californian stores will give the option of reusable bags or a $.10 fee per paper bag. Proponents of the bill hope is that the $.10 will be motivation to bring your own bag. Opponents say the $.10 fee will add a burden to the already budget conscious portion of the population.
Of course, the national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers is seeking a repeal of the law–don’t it always come down to money? They state that it will result in the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs. I have no doubt that it will…and that sucks, plain and simple. But, I will still go on record and say that I think re-usable bags are totally the responsible way to go. If we can figure out a way to generate less garbage and waste, in general, we totally should. {Though, important safety tip: make sure to wash your reusable bags regularly, they can carry lots of gross bacteria.}
What do you think? Should plastic bags be banned? Do you or would you be willing to bring your own if your state followed suit?
~Mavis
Amy says
The loss of jobs is truly unfortunate, but reusable are clearly the responsible and sustainable way to go. I would LOVE it if my state banned plastic bags!
Diana says
I love my reusable bags. Once I realized how nice it was to have a plastic-grocery-bag-free home, I was hooked on fabric. I hadn’t realized how those ugly plastic bags found their way into all areas of the house in various uses, all ugly and unnecessary. I made the switch to reusable a few years ago and from then it has only gotten easier. I’m never without the bags in my car and purse. Should plastic grocery bags be banned? I’d be for it. Surely the loss of jobs from the plastic bag industry would be somewhat made up with the uptick in the demand for paper and reusable bags.
Julie Ann says
Yes! I would also really appreciate the LOSS of plastic bags as a state. Locally, we call them “town tumbleweeds”. It’s rather nasty to see them hanging on to every barbed wire fence, tree branch, and tall weed. With no recycling program (just the very small voluntary setup that’s closed half the time) they do tend to be prolific, like tumbleweeds. (At least these plastic ‘ tumbleweeds’ don’t grow to be as big as my Geo Metro!! That natural tumbleweed was a turkey to dodge on the highway going 60mph!!)
As for lost jobs – it’s a shame and kind of sad it got as big as it did anyway! Let’s put our efforts into more renewable sources of bagging conveniences 🙂
And, as for washing the bags, unless they are made with cloth, most reusable bags I’ve come across fall apart in the wash or only last one wash and the second disintegrates them 🙁
*note to self – make own real cloth grocery bags*
Lisa says
What is reusable? I reuse plastic bags all the time.
I’m also seeing a lot of reusable bags being thrown away. Ask Goodwill Outlet how many of those bags they throw away EVERY day.
I’d prefer if we would leave the choice to the consumer and the stores, leave the government out of it. Stores that want to do their part, can charge for bags, or give credit for people who bring their own.
What if the government came to your new house and said you couldn’t remodel, that what you have is perfectly fine and that your plan to remodel would be wasteful of perfectly useful materials?
Jennifer says
We reuse the grocery store bags ALL THE TIME. We never end up having any left to bring back to the store for recycling.
Mary says
Lisa, I think you’re right. I don’t see a lot of people washing their own reusable bags either. Iwant the government out of my life as much as possible. I live in an area where many people use wood stoves for heating in the winter, and now those are going to be banned. It’s getting insane.
Jen Y says
I reuse plastic bags all the time as well. I also wonder what community run thrift stores will do for bags without plastic?
One other thought on reusable bags – I keep them in my car for Aldi shopping among other things – they can get really nasty if they aren’t washed, especially those that are used to carry meats or produce. I wonder if CA will have problems with meat born bacteria from people mixing their meat bags with produce over time? I am always glad to have plastic to wrap my meat in before it goes into my bags.
JD says
Since I am probably older than most your readers I would add I grew up when there where NO plastic bags. Produce and groceries went into paper. We use reusable bags and I for one am tired of seeing them stuck in fences, trees and along roadways. Just saying. We use small brown paper bags for cleaning up after pets and other icky stuff. Works for us.
Ellen in Clackamas says
Like several others above I always re-use my plastic bags, especially when I take my dogs out for walks! When I was a kid the groceries were packed in boxes or paper bags and both were kept and re-used. And regarding having to pay for bags…I have a couple of friends who are on food stamps and they have gotten to the store without their re-usable bags and had no cash to buy a paper bag and ended up carrying groceries in a coat or sweatshirt. Very humiliating for people already down on their luck 🙁 .
LeftSeattleforever says
I remember when we could get clean, reusable paper bags at the grocery store. Then whackos who wanted to save the world decided we couldn’t “kill” trees….a farmed, renewable resource just like corn for goodness sake….and put thousands of people out of work. We got plastic bags instead because they were “so much better for the environment”. Now the majority of idiots that throw the plastic (that I reuse constantly!) away will improperly use “re-usuable” bags, never wash them, and expose store employees and their own families to salmonella and numerous other disgusting food borne illnesses. I wish “do gooders” would mind their own darn business and, instead, try to lead by example.
Betty D says
I grew up in the ire…of no plastic in most things.In fact flour came in cloth bags which people later washed and used them.There are those that blame the trees on paper bags…but if a fact storm /lighting causes more damage to trees than humans. they used to cut the trees and reseed the area so they would still have trees in the future. back to paper…we use to use them to wrap things to be mailed through the post office. Ive gotten several bags that are re-usable…but at times forget to take. There are the cloth ones…but as for the cloth and re-usable ones….I still sorta leery of them…as if there not cleaned good before bringing them bag to rebag…who’s to say your not bringing a virus/bacteria to a store. With sickness on the up now ….with new/old germs/virus/bacteria floating around…we need to be careful as we can. I was thinking maybe some cloth bags made for stores and dropped off whenreturn…..the store can have them special laundried…for reusable…..just a thought….oh, yes….had a friend that took the plastic bags…cut in strips/hooked together and made by hand s…mats for the homeless to lay on….that way they can use…then throw away……
Amy says
I use plastic grocery bags as trash bags. (I don’t have a big kitchen trash can, just a little one.) Each day I throw out a bag of trash in a plastic grocery bag. If this ban becomes widespread, I will have to buy “trash bags.” Usually, these are made of thicker plastic and will have greater environmental cost in manufacture and time to degrade in a landfill. I understand the motivation behind the ban, and the issues others have pointed out with litter, but in my little ecosystem, I’m not sure the ban is a good thing.
Rebecca says
I use reusable bags. A few of the stores I have used “their” reusable bags at actually give a discount for using them. I have no problems washing them (to which every bagger and checker I have dealt with has said THANK YOU!) and if they happen to be a type of material that can’t be put in the washer I wipe out with bleach wipes and allow them to air dry before folding up again to put back in my trunk. If some extreme fluke happens, my next go to is paper which I also reuse.
Lisa says
I wouldn’t mind going back to paper. Stores offered both for a long time, but ones that found their customers preferred plastic just kept the plastic. Other stores (Trader Joes for instance) have a different market and offer paper. A store should be able to offer what their customers prefer.
Let us decide how to re-use packaging. I take my paper bags from Trader Joes to the co-op, so they don’t have to buy bags. My neighbors give me their egg cartons and I give them back with eggs. I reuse strawberry containers in my green house. I use thick feed bags to share chicken doo-doo with gardener friends. My kids walk around town and pick up garbage, which they put in a plastic grocery bag. The library has a box of donated plastic bags for people to put their books in on rainy days. There are many, many ways to re-use packaging. With a ban on plastic bags, well, there goes help keeping books dry and help keeping litter picked up.
Shannon says
Our grocery store usually provides bags in the meat department for wrapping up meat products to help keep grocery bags, hands, etc., clean. We use reusable bags most of the time. We sometimes purposefully get the plastic bags because we use them to line our smaller trash cans in our house. I lived in Canada for a while, and some stores there charged for bags. People will get used to the concept of remember their bags. People have used the argument that folks will loose manufacturing jobs. I’m curious – where are most of these plastic bags made? Are they made in the US? Perhaps the demand for reusable bags will increase and people can work in those manufacturing jobs. Other people use the argument that the government should not be involved. I suggest people read Garrett Hardin’s 1968 article, “The Tragedy of the Commons” http://www.sciencemag.org/content/162/3859/1243.full or about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons.
Mindy says
Reusable for sure. We do most of our shopping in Thurston County (Olympia/Lacey, WA) which has a plastic bag ban. You can bring your own or most stores have paper (and a few still plastic) that you can purchase. The Target store even gives you 5 cents back per reusable bag you use. People complained but seem to be getting used to the idea. It makes me feel good to bring my own. Every little bit counts right?
CathyB says
I usually use reusable bags for grocery shopping, but I would hate to see plastic bags disappear completely. I usually keep a stash of plastic bags on hand for all sorts of things. They come in handy when I am painting a room to wrap paintbrushes and paint rollers in between coats. It keeps them from drying out and allows you to just clean your brushes when you are completely done with the job. I use plastic bags to double and triple wrap loaves of bread that are going into the freezer. They also come in handy to hold my garden veges. or scraps that are going to my friend’s chickens. I try to use the biodegradable doggy bags, but if I am out then plastic bags are the stand-in. I guess eventually my plastic bags end up in the landfill. But I usually try to use them again at least once, and for things that I would probably have used disposable plastic anyway. It WOULD be great, however, if more stores used the biodegradable plastic bags.
CathyB says
PS – If I find a store that has nice-looking but inexpensive reusable bags, I will often buy several and give Christmas gifts in the bags.
Kate says
Plastic bags should go. Or at least there should be a charge per bag. I loved being in California this past spring because bags weren’t even offered. Here in SC, everything is bagged but then SC is home to most of the propaganda surrounding the elimination of plastic bags.
Lisa Millar says
The less plastic the better!
Over half of Australia’s states and territories have banned the use of non-biodegradable, lightweight HDPE shopping bags less than 35 microns thick. (Yes I had to look that up!)
The use of barrier film bags for perishables such as meat is still permissible.
The amazing thing is though… with a small population of around 23 million and half the country not being allowed to provide the above plastic bags…. we have still used at least 50 billion plastic checkout bags since 2002. Horrifying.
I lived in both the A.C.T. and then Tasmania at the time the bans first went into effect… it was chaos and anarchy for the first week or two as people came to terms with changing their habits… now its just a matter of course bringing your own bags.
You can buy them if you forget, but I am happy to carry groceries in my hands and jackets etc to get them back to the car… not because I won’t spend the 10 cents, but because I don’t want to add more plastic bags to my household.
Some shops have an area with all their boxes from their produce that you can just help yourself to as well, which is a great idea.
On job loss…. why don’t those companies restructure and produce biodegradable bags? As time and technology progresses, items need upgrading and changing to meet the current needs. Sure it will cost them money to change in the first place to more environmentally sound solutions, but then they have a viable business keeping people employed way into the future!!
(Like photo processing shops… film to digital… companies need to change and upgrade to keep up with the times and stay in business!)
Shannon says
Do you realize how much money it would take for a manufacturing company to ‘restructure’, purchase new equipment, etc., so they can make ‘biodegradable’ bags? MILLIONS. It isn’t worth it. It is easier to go out of business, and take a financial loss, and lay off thousands of people (because that is the way the government in the US has structured it).
You said there was a ban, and then if you forgot your reusable bags, you could buy them? Not much of a ban in my opinion. People will forget, and then just buy them………..so the only people winning here are the grocery stores who are now just making money on the bags too!
Lisa Millar says
Of course it costs money to change a company. But it has been over quite a number of years that the phasing out of certain types of plastic bags here, giving companies time to change (and they have in many cases).
Other manufacturing companies are formed to produce the bags that are permissible… that creates jobs.
I don’t agree when you say ‘not much of a ban’. Last year the figures showed plastic bag usage reduced by 2 billion!! That’s significant and it will only get better as the rest of the states and territories here follow. Sure people will occasionally buy a bag when they forget… but that bag is either reusable or biodegradable. Its a huge win for the environment.
When I go shopping I see people everywhere with their own bags and very few resorting to the bought ones. People have changed their habits and attitudes towards plastic bags and bringing their own quite quickly.
Elise says
I grew up in a very hippy-dippy part of California in the ’70s and I’m back now as an adult 🙂 (just some background on me and how I’ve formed my opinions).
There’s really no excuse not to use reusable (cloth) bags. The “reusable” ones that they sell in the stores are just more plastic, although they are heavier and thus less likely to be taken by the wind and end up in the garbage swirl in the Pacific. There are still “produce bags” available to put meat packages into to keep juices from dripping. Not that the standard plastic grocery bag was good enough for those anyway, with the little holes they always have on the bottom seam.
I bought a cloth grocery bag from Safeway in the late 90s and I STILL have it and still use it occasionally. I LOVE sturdy reusable, washable bags, and I have about 1 dozen of them. I have 2 sets made of parachute cloth that fold up into something smaller than a wallet. They are easily available online and are completely washable.
I LOVE you blog Mavis, I’m excited to see your remodeling 🙂
Jennifer says
We did the reusable cloth bags for a while but kept forgetting to bring them to the store. They’re now used as veggie planters. As to banning the use of plastic bags… It seems like a rather small drop in the bucket of global pollution. But I guess cleaning up the planet has to start somewhere.
Kirsty says
Did you arrive at the supermarket by accident ? did you bring a list ? did you remember some method of paying for your groceries ? Yet you ” forgot ” your bag or box.
Aileen says
Here in Ireland we introduced the plastic bag ban in 2002 and overnight there was a decrease in plastic bag usage from an estimated 328 bags per capita to 21 bags per capita!!!! Customers were not prepared to pay a rate of 15 cent per bag. It has had a very positive impact on the environment as less littering & generally people have become more eco conscious. In 2007 the levy increased to 22 cent per bag as the bags per capita was creeping back up. Success in Ireland.
Lisa Millar says
Those stats are awesome!!
Its a slow process getting everyone on board, but seeing the numbers decrease really gives you heart!!
Liz says
I crochet all those ugly plastic bags into reusable bags. No matter where I go it seems someone gives me a plastic bag so why not put them to good use. Personally I love cloth.
Martha says
Where I live in Canada, you HAVE to take reusable bags! You can purchase a plastic bag from the store for .05 each. It’s become habit to take the reusable bags into the store. The problem for us is as someone above mentioned: I use those grocery store plastic bags for soooooo many things in our lives and now I have to BUY plastic bags, the thrift stores BEG for plastic bag donations, etc. Those plastic bags become precious to us and they are used until they are shredded and falling apart. I personally wish we could go back to the paper bags of my youth!
Pam says
Do we really need the government to tell us what we need and don’t need? I’ve never voted for anyone because I felt unable to recycle my own plastic (bags, bottles, whatever) or because I felt unable to control the number of ounces of soft drink I consume each day. I use cloth bags when I shop but I do, on occasion, run into the store without one and appreciate being able to get a bag without having to pay for it. I used cloth diapers because I made the choice to NOT help contribute to the issue of disposable diapers piling up in the landfills. But I purchased disposables for the babysitter to use. I have a water container I’ve used for years but that doesn’t mean I’ve never purchased a plastic bottle of water on a road trip. I’m not claiming to know the answer here but I kind of resent the government wasting it’s time and money on this. *sigh* Okay…..I’ll put my soapbox away now……………..:)
Shannon says
I agree! Go Pam!
Stacey says
Right after moving back to Vermont we noticed many, maybe even most people, using reusable bags. It took a little while, but now we usually remember to grab them from the car, too. I get annoyed with having to bring home plastic grocery bags. I have a bunch of them ready for other uses, but I still ended up bringing home way more than I need to keep. The grocery store around the corner gives us a few cents off for each reusable bag, which is a good way to get people started on not using plastic.
Rebecca says
I think it is wonderful to ban the plastic bags and help the environment. I use reusable bags and keep them in my car so they are always handy. Paper bags would be a good solution for those who do not want to use and wash reusable bags.
Nancy K says
I live in the Issaquah, WA area and we’ve had a plastic bag ban for around 2 years now. Some folks tried to get it repealed but that didn’t work. I was bringing my own bags for many years, long before the ban took effect, so it wasn’t hard to transition. I have bags from many different places – a lot of them give them out for free on Earth Day, for example.
Robin says
I think the plastic bag ban is a good thing. People will adapt, and may even find that they prefer reusable bags.
It would be great if we didn’t need government intervention for this, but unfortunately a lot of people won’t make the effort until they’re left with no other options.
P.S.-I live in California, so I’ll have to start remembering my bags every single time.
Shannon says
Do you use the same reusable bags for meat and then produce? Do you know which bags you use for what? Do you wash them after every single use to kill the germs from meat blood/juice? That is the public concern here. You know most people wont ever wash their reusable bags.
Lisa Millar says
This comment bugs me. How do you know that “Most People” won’t ever wash their bags?
It’s not hard, its not rocket science.
I would like to believe that “Most People” are capable of washing a dirty bag.
If you are too lazy or stupid to wash out a bag that gets manky and get sick because of your own negligence …. blame yourself.
Shannon says
As a Californian, I am just frankly sick and tired of this government telling what to do! I get it……there are millions of pastic bags (most of which are in my pantry right now!). However, give me a break! .10 for a paper bag? Just switch to all-paper and don’t charge us for them.
No one has mentioned here (that I have read) that REUSABLE BAGS ARE A HEALTH HAZARD! Most people do not wash cloth bags after using them every time. One day you put in raw chicken/meat which contaminates the bag, then the next day you use the bag for your fresh veggies. THIS IS DANGEROUS! They will still have to provide the produce and meat bags anyway….or are they banning those too?
California has more things to worry about (like illegal immigration, counties going bankrupt, a growing homeless crisis, poor education for our kids, etc), then stupid plastic bags.
Just our millions of tax dollars at work!
Lisa Millar says
I am sure the government can multi-task and deal with plastic bags as well as other pressing social issues.
The plastic bag issue is far from stupid, unless you really don’t care about your environment.
Over one trillion plastic bags are used every year!!! The U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually.
Those bags take about 1000 years to break down and we are still adding to the volume. During the breaking down process they become toxic.
Every square mile of the ocean has about 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it…. These awful numbers go on.
We have to start getting this under control, and even though these issues have been out there for years about plastic bags, not enough people make an environmentally sound choice, which is why the gov. should step in to make people pull up their socks.
(Produce like meat should still be provided in barrier film bags, but if people are too stupid or lazy not to wash out a bag that gets dirty and get sick because of it… well there is only one person to blame… themselves!)
Leslie says
I am split on this one. The bags are so useful, and can be recycled endlessly, while paper bags can only be recycled once or a few times due to the shortened fibers. But they so often become litter, that may it’s not worth the recycle-ability factor.
Job loss is moot- they will manufacture other things. That’s like saying construction creates jobs- no it doesn’t. It creates contracts, which are filled by existing construction works. It’s always a matter of shuffling, isn’t it?
Kirsty says
Have not used plastic supermarket bags since they were first introduced. . Take a calico bag, I keep one folded in my bag. At the supermarket I pack my groceries in a cardboard box. Aldi charges 20c per plastic bag and I am surprised that people bypass an empty box yet buy a bag.
A says
Great comments. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I reuse every single one of my plastic shopping bags. Because of this I have never had to buy, in my whole life, plastic garbage bags. Which is what I would consider to be a true waste–purchasing additional waste to pack up more waste.
Beyond that–I hope you have considered how much waste goes into washing bacteria-ridden reusable bags–waste of water, detergent-wise (chemical), and energy-wise (coal-fired power-plant)? And of course there’s the whole infringing on personal liberty and people’s choices, but who cares about that when you can tell other people what to do with their grocery bags, especially when there’s actual important issues to be distracted from, right?
Lisa Millar says
In regards to infringing on other peoples personal liberties and peoples choices… well… on a whole if the majority of people naturally made good choices that meant they were not impacting in a negative way on other people and the environment, then governments would not have to pass such laws.
However… sadly this is not so.
There are speeding limits, there are littering laws, there are laws against fraud, stealing etc. There are laws prohibiting dumping of wastes into waterways… the list goes on of course. It is a way of protecting other people and the environment of the bad (greedy or lazy) choices that other people can (and do) make.
100 billion disposable bags are used every year in the USA. (1 trillion worldwide) This clearly means most people are not making a good environmental choice. Its not a small issue.
Most of my bags rarely need washing as they carry packaged goods. Sometimes the bags that takes the meat/fresh produce need attention so the water/detergent issue doesn’t have to be as huge as the waste as the plastic bags themselves.