That’s cause they just throw it anywhere. Most 3rd world streets are garbage dumps.

. I agree that there are plenty of distractions from so much corruption, gas-lighting, etc, but with a background in science, I know this is not the "hysteria du jour". I can't do anything about much of the craziness going on right now in the world but I can do my part by bringing bags when I go shopping at the grocery stores as well as other stores. I asked my local Publix and they use thousands of bags a day. Multiply that by the hundreds of Publix, Walmarts, Winn Dixie, etc.,etc in Florida and the number is astronomical. Many of this plastic ends up in landfills and the ocean.

Apparently you have never been to a base to shop. The commissary offers on a voluntary list to work bagging grocery. No wages, government facility, so they volunteer for shifts.

Signs at entrance, cashier, and at the card reader, let you know the young workers are here on a no pay volunteer basis. Tips are not expected, but greatly appreciated.

To keeps line’s moving quickly each line has 1-2 teens. By the time you show your military I’d, your groceries are already on a trolly to be loaded into your car. Bags are packed so perfectly not only by weight, but by category, with frozen packed in double bag, the 70 minute drive, the frozen items are never thawed.

Never have I witnessed people that felt obligated for the services provided by these young teens. But happy to see young people putting forth efforts with zero pay, smile, and that Military respect for the veterans who enter.

In all the years we have shopped on base, have never witnessed any veteran not tip. My guess is almost all veterans that shop on base feel the young people deserve something for their efforts, to take initiative and respect them.

If you don’t want the service, you can use the self checkout, but usually only the uniform service members use them for snacks.

My guess is you would be in the line for I am not going to tip you, but that’s ok, they would still thank you for your service.

Military families serve in their own unique way, and sometimes their sacrifice is the loss of a sibling or parent. Have great respect for what families endure, everyday their parents serve our country.

For us that tip is the least we can do for our military families.

You buy them on Amazon.

You know what else we have to buy now, plastic bags to go in the small trash cans in the bathroom and bedroom.

And the bag that goes in the poop trash can.

DUMB.

Most of the things we buy are packaged in plastic. There is biodegradable plastic and I don't see that being used too often in most packaging. I get glass when I can but it's not always an option. Stores sell plastic bags for us to put our garbage in and this plastic not available as a biodegradable option. Paper bags are made shabbily and break easy. Glass isn't always a safe option but a lot more things could be packaged in glass.

When you cringe over every plastic bag, do you do the same for your ketchup, mustard and mayo bottles, creamer, milk, soda, do you buy garbage bags, tubs of butter, the sad truth is plastic is everywhere.

Assumptions are dangerous!!!!

Buried behind the original poster's statement, and maybe in the cited articles, is the unspoken assumption that plastics we dispose of are going into landfills. Sure, that was true back in New Jersey, but not here.

All plastic that we put in our trash doesn't get anywhere near those poor earthworms. It goes directly into an incinerator that turns it into electricity for powering our clean running and environmentally harmless Teslas.

Exactly! It seems some others are suggesting solutions in search of a problem.:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

And to those devout environmentalists: It's not the fault of the plastic bag or container that it ends up in the ocean----it's the fault of people not disposing of it correctly. Banning plastic would be like banning cars because some people drive over 100 mph or banning 32 oz. soft drinks because people get fat (oh, yeah, the former communist mayor of NYC did that already)

Well, the ancients had to carry their shopping home in something! :icon_wink:

Um...
 

Um...Florida. Progressive thinking is banned.

I'm one of those snow birds heating and cooling 2 homes... BUT, I bring my free plastic bags back up north with me (where they're banned) to reuse and offset the global warming that I'm contributing to.

All true.

Just a couple of other things to add to that list. Styrofoam, which is extruded polystyrene foam (AKA "plastic") is one of the biggest "offenders" when it comes to plastic. It is one of the best insulating materials around. I insulated my garage with it back in Minnesota a few years back--easy to work with; comes in 4' x 8' sheets in whatever thickness you want depending on the insulating property being sought. Styrofoam is everywhere; not just in building construction or remodeling. Just about every large item ordered from Amazon, Costco, etc. comes packaged in the stuff: light, cushioning and can be formed to exactly the shape needed. There are probably dozens of examples as well. Problem with Styrofoam though is that it doesn't degrade, or degrades very slowly, in landfills, plus you can't recycle the stuff. In fact landfills are composed of anywhere from 25% to 35%, by volume, of Styrofoam.

And that doesn't even include the other "offender", expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is used to make all those cups, containers, to-go boxes and bags, etc. etc. etc. that people think are styrofoam but isn't, used once and then tossed by both businesses and consumers, to the tune of eleven million TONS of the stuff. Every year. It might not be Styrofoam but it degrades just as slowly as Styrofoam. And like Styrofoam, it is non-recyclable.

Looking at the problem from that perspective, burning both the styrofoam and expanded polystyrene and turning it into energy, such as is being done here in The Villages, makes a lot of sense. You're getting energy from something that would otherwise just lay in the ground not just taking up space for decades but at the same time leaching harmful chemicals back into the soil. MUCH better to get rid of it by using it as fuel for electricity.

This is just one of the reasons I am so amused by those anti-plastic bag crusaders and their unthinking mantras. It is a great way to show others of like mind how virtuous they may be, I suppose, but in the grand scheme of things it carries all the weight of, say, a spat of flatulence in mid-Katrina.

I wonder how many BTU's are generated from burning the dog poop in those bags.