[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by RoseyRed

Years ago, paper was used prior to plastic bags. Paper would be much better for the environment, but getting the general population to use it is a challenge.

Paper bags are notorious for containing insect larvae. No thank you. Plastic is the way to go for me. I just put all my plastic bags in the trash. Covanta, the recycling facility which serves my neck of the woods in The Villages, incinerates it so none of those plastic bags wind up in landfills. Win-win.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by RoseyRed

wow! did not know that

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

Energy? How? How much? Any "waste" or "byproducts" with that? Like smoke, soot, toxic run-off, etc containing microplastics? Inquiring minds want to know!

Covanta provides energy when trash is incinerated. Byproducts are NONE. Just now found out that Covanta is now called "Reworld" when I looked up their website.

Sustainable Waste Management at The Villages

[mraines]

Originally Posted by Darield

Lately I have been getting feeds on my phone about foods and products to avoid to reduce our consumption of micro plastics. So this has obviously become a problem since we are even finding this nasty stuff in our livestock our soil and of course The Ocean. I decided to ask several stores how many plastic bags they go through a day and the common answer was between 4-7,000 A DAY! I then looked up approximately how may grocery stores are in Florida? Approximately 20,000. If I multiply 20,000 x 3,000 bags (a very conservative number). Just in Florida we are using approximately 60 million plastic bags a day!! We don't have the manpower to recycle this plastic (latest figures are between 5 and 6% gets recycled) so the majority ends up in landfills, the ocean or best yet, we burn it in huge trash facilities. Please use reusable grocery bags.
If this interests you, here are some links to read more;
5 Things You Need to Know About How Florida Banned Plastic Bags - Debris Free Oceans
plastic-bags/https://www.npr.org/2022/10/24/1131131088/recycling-plastic-is-practically-impossible-and-the-problem-is-getting-worsehttps://shunpoly.com/article/how-much-of-the-usas-plastic-is-recycled

I have been trying to make a concentrated effort to avoid plastic bags. I have cloth bags in my golf cart and if I forget them will sometimes just carry my items if there are a few. I avoid buying laundry detergent in plastic bottles although it is getting harder to find them. We are surrounded by plastics. Remember The Graduate when Dustin Hoffman was told "plastics"? We are over run with plastics, however, the government, especially here in Florida, won't do anything about it. NJ and CA don't allow them. We can do the same and should make all plastics go away.

[mraines]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Sorry, but I like the plastic bags and I will keep using them.

Evidently you don't care about the environment, only your own convenience. Typical Villager.

[mraines]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

If I don't put my groceries into plastic bags from the check-out, then I'll have to buy plastic bags so I can clean the litter-box every day. I much prefer to re-use. I also use these bags for the little waste bins under each of our two bathroom sinks, and I don't throw them away until they're completely filled up. Usually once every month or so. I ALSO keep a couple of them in my car, in case I have trash from the drive-through or candy wrappers or whatever else. I ALSO keep a few in my suitcase, so when I'm visiting family, I have a place to put my dirty clothes at bedtime.

I say - use whatever makes you comfortable but IF you choose plastic, make every effort to re-use them.

They do make biodegradable plastic bags. Try using them.

[mraines]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

Good post, solid logic.

For those who wish to ban plastic bags, what do you propose as an alternative? What will I pick up dog poop with? What will we put our garbage in at the curb?

Reduce and reuse: Yes
Eliminate: No

They make biodegradable poop bags. Try using them. I do.

[mraines]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

So in New Jersey, plastic bags are illegal. All groceries come in a petroleum based, type bag. You know what we do with those bags, throw them away.
Know what we did with the old plastic bags, put them in the bathroom trash cans, picked up dog poops, etc.
Now we also need to buy poop bags.

Aww. So inconvenient.

[mraines]

Originally Posted by luvdancin

I just had to comment on this. I lived in CA for 25 years. They did away with bags. So, you have these people who bring gross, cockroach infested, meat juice covered bags that are left in their filthy trunk. Those bags go on the counter contaminatinating everything else. Just saying that it was not a good thing. I use my bags in the car, waste baskets and over and over again. I was SO happy that FL didn't do away with their bags.

I guess you are so happy to be in the "free" state of Florida where you don't have to get vaccines either.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Whatnext

Have you tried picking up a squidgy dog poop with a paper bag?

No. Have you?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by mraines

They do make biodegradable plastic bags. Try using them.

They're more expensive, and make use of more fossil fuels in manufacture and components. Most of the plastic grocery bags you see in supermarkets are made from recycled plastic, not virgin petroleum. Re-using them is more economic for me, and we all do what we can, given our circumstances.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by mraines

Evidently you don't care about the environment, only your own convenience. Typical Villager.

I've seen a lot of threads about plastic bags, but I haven't seen any threads about all of the houses in The Villages that sit vacant for 6 months every year while the heating and cooling systems continue to run.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

, and we all do what we can, given our circumstances.

If only that was true, the planet would be a much cleaner, healthier and more beautiful place.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

If only that was true, the planet would be a much cleaner, healthier and more beautiful place.

And human being would be so much unhappier being slaves to the “environment” whatever that is. Sorry it is whatever environmentalist define it to be. While I initially fully supported them, when they became absolutely unreasonable and it became an ideology rather than a science, we parted ways.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Paper bags are notorious for containing insect larvae.

Link to source?
A Google search came up empty, which leads me to believe it may be an urban myth.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by mraines

We can do the same and should make all plastics go away.

So will we make automobiles? TV's? Computers? Printers? Telephones? Lights?

Let's just go back to the 1800's and hunt for our dinner.