Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2315360)

Good point.

Also without plastic bags, how would we carry all the food that is packaged in plastic?
The plastic bag weighs about 6 grams, but can hold 1000x its own weight. You can eliminate a few grams of plastic by bringing a reusable bag, but I don't think anyone wants to be buying their groceries in a reused (not recycled, reused) package

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2315381)

You should be using the bags that the Daily Sun comes in every day for the dogs. That's good for at least 1 poop every day!

I do re-use those plastic grocery bags to clean the little box for my cat. And I use an unscented clay-based litter, which makes the litter itself biodegradable and non-toxic to the environment (the cat's waste is - toxic. But the litter is not).

If I didn't have a cat, I'd always use re-usable bags I bring from home (I have several and do use the thermal one often).

Also, Publix has bins where you can toss your unwanted plastic bags, and they recycle them. Their green plastic hand-baskets are made out of recycled plastic too.

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2315398)

I never requested paper bags for groceries. The folds in the bags are where insects lay their eggs. Or so I have thought for many years of hearing that. I never want any paper bags in our home.

Originally Posted by Velvet (Post 2315386)

OP you are talking about the “dark ages”. I prefer plastic bags, especially if they are burnt in the garbage and reduce our energy bill. True recycling. Not only are plastic bags hygienic and convenient but I use them for all kinds of things at home that I can’t use paper bags for. I think we’ve got it right, here. The Villages is again ahead of everybody.

Originally Posted by frayedends (Post 2315388)

We have towns in MA that don’t allow plastic bags. So they put my laundry detergent (plastic jug), produce (plastic bags), vegetable oil (plastic container) and everything else packaged in plastic into a weak paper bag that’s hard to carry and tears open.

Not to mention, our eyeglasses are plastic, our shoes, our clothes, desks, cars have tons of plastic, computers are plastic, k-cups are plastic, aluminum cans are lined with plastic, windows, siding, picture frames, plugs. It's in everything.

I think plastic is a big problem. I just don’t see supermarket bags doing much at all.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2315578)

The problem my wife says is that, "the NORTHERNERS do NOT bring their reusable bags with them."

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2315398)

I never requested paper bags for groceries. The folds in the bags are where insects lay their eggs. Or so I have thought for many years of hearing that. I never want any paper bags in our home.

Originally Posted by barbara828 (Post 2315441)

Half the produce is in plastic.

Originally Posted by Darield (Post 2315456)

. 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.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2315626)

A perfect example of the word, "rationalization"! I will continue doing something wrong for the environment (using plastic bags) BECAUSE........and then I will express some example of something that I find WORSE (like commuting between 2 homes).
........It is ALMOST like saying, "maybe I did rob someone of some money, but at least, I did NOT kill them".

Originally Posted by Darield (Post 2315288)

I am amazed that Florida still allows the use of plastic bags in grocery stores. So many other states have banned it. We now have microplastics (very small plastic particles) in our agriculture soil, ocean and just about anywhere you can think of. There are so many studies that verify the dangers of plastics and I cringe every time I go to the grocery store and see 10-20-30 plastic bags per cart. Just one Publics said they can go through thousands of plastic bags in a day. Here is one link that talks about how serious this problem has gotten. It's our new DDT.How microplastics are infiltrating the food you eat . There are now studies beiing done of earthworms ingesting micro-plastics. ScienceDirect

Originally Posted by Karmanng (Post 2315651)

This should be the least of your problems in TV !!!! Go enjoy the day ! We still have those here in AZ ............recylcle them if your that worried geeezzzz

Originally Posted by msirianni (Post 2315512)

Why is the plastic bag so offensive to you when about 95% of everything you put in that bag is packaged in PLASTIC.

Originally Posted by GATORBILL66 (Post 2315524)

Florida also has love bugs and no-see-ems which other states have banned!

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive (Post 2315528)

Absolutely.

Coincidentally, after the cat walked on my face at 3:00 AM this morning, I was flipping through the offerings on YouTube that covered this topic, as well as recycling in general. Very informative. Good coverage of how plastics can be recycled and the efforts being made by various countries, as well as many other substances being recycled and/or repurposed. One rather fascinating topic was "green" burials. Many advertised as such aren't, or aren't to the extent that they're being touted as, but this particular segment concerned the use of mushrooms for coffins! Apparently they introduce a certain breed of mushroom to a mold, wait for the time needed, and the mushroom grows to fill the mold. Once done and processed the end result is something that looks like Styrofoam and apparently can be handled the same way, and burying good old Uncle Walter in one guarantees that the whole thing degrades quickly, returning Uncle Walter to the environment in about a year, vs. up to ten years (according to the segment) if a wooden casket with metal accouterments and various other plastics used in the process, was used.

The show did contain a warning however, for people to be watchful and not be taken in by emotional appeals. Ikea, for example, as made a very public effort to go the green route, recycling many not-too-damaged pieces of Ikea furniture to a resellable state, which they then resell. They tout their efforts as saving the environment but apparently this arrangement is very financially advantageous to them as well, as (as I recall) they charge the customer $X to drop the item off, then resell it for less than new but still at a pretty hefty price. The point was that the environment is not being helped as much as IKEA might want people to think: the stuff that would take too much time or money to fix apparently just ends up in landfills. Another such emotionally-laden topic was "reef burials", where Uncle Walter is apparently cremated, with his (and more than just a few others) remains then mixed into concrete, formed into something that looks like a huge upside-down flowerpot, and dumped in the ocean. The upside-down pot has openings for fish to swim in and out of, and is apparently an ideal structure for coral formation. You can also write Walter's name on it, add trinkets, etc. if you wish. Well and good--but your effort at saving the environment, providing structure for coral and making the fish happy costs, according to the segment, about as much as a normal in-ground funeral and burial, and as THAT number today can go as high as $12,000.00 (I've seen higher) it is obvious that somebody (maybe several somebodies) are profiting from your emotion.