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At the time the first ban was passed pressure from customers has already driven the creation of rapid decomposition plastic bags that would disintegrate under U

At the time the first ban was passed pressure from customers has already driven the creation of rapid decomposition plastic bags that would disintegrate under UV (likely creating micro plastics, but hey, who's perfect). The industry was slowly self correcting. People were free to do what they want (what a nasty word "free"). And some people used paper, other plastic. Then the government started to "help". First they banned paper because "the trees" of course, leaving plastic only, then they "banned" the plastic. Which of course was never a ban, yet a tax that just really nailed the poor more than anyone else. (NICE BONUS!!). So now you would pay .10 a bag. And who knows where that massive amount of money went! Another government compelled transfer of wealth from the poorest to the richest! (SUPER BONUS!!). And what did the environment get for all this devious underhanded corrupt dealing? Surely at least the goal was met! NO! Old mother nature got THICKER bags that likely will outlast the heat death of the universe (MEGA SUPER BONUS!). OH but people were supposed to _bring_ bags, don't you see! It was the nasty "free" people at the end of the day that mucked it all up again! But it turns out reusing bags is really bad for your health! You would have to clean and disinfect the bags every time to prevent the spread of harmful mold, bacteria, and whatnot. Which in turn is far more wasteful and harmful to the environment than the reusable thin plastic. So it seems the ultra thin fast decomposing bags were likely the best bet. Good luck reprogramming the public to buy that! But no no no, why stop a dumpster fire when you got it good and going, we're going to have YET ANOTHER GOVERNMENT LAW TO FIX THE FIRST TWO (three? Was it three?) GOVERNMENT LAWS! This time they got it! This time for sure it's all going to go well.... or, perhaps, let's make a prediction now. We moved from 8lbs per year per person to 11lbs in just under 20 years thanks to these laws. Here's a prediction: this is not a logarithmic curve, this one's exponential baby! We're going to take it up to 20lbs/person in the next decade! Let's do this!

brnaftr361 3y ago
Do you think they have a policy against bringing a tub in? I'd just as well like to grab one of those hip hugger laundry baskets to pack my groceries around in. Maybe I'll try that some time. Probably won't fly with the CV shit they have on the registers. Why were we using bags in the first place? I mean, they could probably give away those shitty little hand totes anyways, and at least they'd be easy to clean up if they were littered, but exceptionally easy to recycle.
newaccount74 3y ago
Here in Austria most people seem to use reusable bags for groceries. The mold issue is overblown and not an issue. You sound like someone who has never used a reusable bag. I think the bigger problem is that all the food is packaged in so much plastic, so it doesn't really matter much because the bags are just a small fraction of the total plastic.
- coolhand2120 3y ago
  > The mold issue is overblown and not an issue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reusable_shopping_bag#Food_safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reusable_shopping_bag#Food_saf... Here's 8ish citations that seem to disagree. I guess they could be wrong, I'd love to see your evidence to the contrary. All I've read says it's dirty and common sense seems to agree: you don't wash something, it gets dirty. Stick dirty stuff in it, it gets dirty. And yes, I don't use reusable bags, down right unsanitary. The insides of product shipping containers are disgusting. That's what's rubbing on the insides of your bags. Totally agree with the use of plastic at all. I think paper is a great. It does have a problem with permeability so some places need another solution, cellulose? But damn the plastic, and the damn plastic bags, I ask for paper. Trees are a great renewable resource. And you can make cool hats for kids when you're done, let's see you do that with a plastic bag! Try testing your bags to see how dirty they are and if you want your food rubbing up against all that. Do a white paper towel test at least.
  - newaccount74 3y ago
    1) I do clean the bags. The plastic ones I wipe when they get dirty. We also have cotton shopping bags, I just put them in the washing machine. 2) Who cares if you can detect E coli or whatever in the bag? It's not like I put raw meat loose in there. Most of the food I buy is packaged, or I wash it or peel it before eating.

brnaftr361 3y ago

Do you think they have a policy against bringing a tub in? I'd just as well like to grab one of those hip hugger laundry baskets to pack my groceries around in. Maybe I'll try that some time. Probably won't fly with the CV shit they have on the registers. Why were we using bags in the first place? I mean, they could probably give away those shitty little hand totes anyways, and at least they'd be easy to clean up if they were littered, but exceptionally easy to recycle.

newaccount74 3y ago

Here in Austria most people seem to use reusable bags for groceries. The mold issue is overblown and not an issue. You sound like someone who has never used a reusable bag. I think the bigger problem is that all the food is packaged in so much plastic, so it doesn't really matter much because the bags are just a small fraction of the total plastic.

coolhand2120 3y ago
> The mold issue is overblown and not an issue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reusable_shopping_bag#Food_safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reusable_shopping_bag#Food_saf... Here's 8ish citations that seem to disagree. I guess they could be wrong, I'd love to see your evidence to the contrary. All I've read says it's dirty and common sense seems to agree: you don't wash something, it gets dirty. Stick dirty stuff in it, it gets dirty. And yes, I don't use reusable bags, down right unsanitary. The insides of product shipping containers are disgusting. That's what's rubbing on the insides of your bags. Totally agree with the use of plastic at all. I think paper is a great. It does have a problem with permeability so some places need another solution, cellulose? But damn the plastic, and the damn plastic bags, I ask for paper. Trees are a great renewable resource. And you can make cool hats for kids when you're done, let's see you do that with a plastic bag! Try testing your bags to see how dirty they are and if you want your food rubbing up against all that. Do a white paper towel test at least.
- newaccount74 3y ago
  1) I do clean the bags. The plastic ones I wipe when they get dirty. We also have cotton shopping bags, I just put them in the washing machine. 2) Who cares if you can detect E coli or whatever in the bag? It's not like I put raw meat loose in there. Most of the food I buy is packaged, or I wash it or peel it before eating.