5 ms·

The western mind can definitely comprehend it. When it's garbage pickup day in my city, sometimes people are going by on bicycles rooting through trash bins (o

The western mind can definitely comprehend it. When it's garbage pickup day in my city, sometimes people are going by on bicycles rooting through trash bins (or recycling bins if it's recycling pickup day) and taking anything they can turn in for a recycling deposit. This is in Vancouver, Canada. It's probably not nearly as prevalent as in Colombia, but yeah... And yes, for sure, the root cause is the creation of plastic and its inclusion in nearly all commercial products. It's everywhere, and it's not the fault of you and I. We didn't choose it. I completely agree that having discard that is biodegradable (and perhaps can directly contribute to a compost pile) is a very worthwhile goal. Oh yeah, a bunch of cities here banned plastic takeout bags, but it's implemented in such a poor way that it's now just a great profit center for fast food restaurants: they are _legally required_ to charge $0.25 for a bag, even if it's a paper bag. I'm sure McDonalds absolutely loves this new policy. They already gave out paper bags with takeout, but now they cost the customer $0.25! It's especially funny because now all the restaurants give you these thick "plastic fabric" bags (and charge you for them) which you'll get more use out of, but are not any better for the environment. I still get one every single time I get takeout from any sushi place. Now instead of a bag full of thin plastic bags in my closet, I have a bag full of just as many super-thick plastic/cloth bags in my closet! Good stuff. Some are recyclable, I have a huge stack of these from takeout: https://lppackaging.ca/collections/biodegradable-bags/products/cloth-bags https://lppackaging.ca/collections/biodegradable-bags/produc... ... I wonder if I can just tell them I don't want a bag, and arrive with my own...

riffraff 3y ago
> I wonder if I can just tell them I don't want a bag, and arrive with my own... I bet you can. I've recently discovered you can ask the cold cuts/cheese counter to pack things in containers you brought. Admittedly I'm not sure that ends up as a net win (is washing liquid better than a gram of oil paper?) but it shows we have a lot of mental dark spots for reuse.
martyvis 3y ago
The point of more resilient bags is you take them back with you. Both of our cars has a cooler bag with a bunch of regular bags to get packed at the Supermarket. You just have to remind yourself to bring them in with you.
- Nextgrid 3y ago
  The reusable bag idea only really works for car owners where you can keep a bag stash or intentional, stand-alone grocery runs where you can take bags from your house ahead of time. If you're just walking back home from some unrelated task and want to grab some groceries you will rarely have a bag on you, so you'll end up buying one anyway, it'll be then collecting dust at home for months before eventually being thrown away.
  - schiffern 3y ago
    They do have tiny reusable bags that can go in a day-bag or pocket. Surprisingly handy for random things. eg https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TT5VH1V/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TT5VH1V/
dotancohen 3y ago
> having discard that is biodegradable (and perhaps can directly contribute to a compost pile) is a very worthwhile goal. No, biodegradable is far worse for the environment. Normal plastic sits on the Earth's surface for years, as an eyesore to remind us to clean up our act. Biodegradable plastic releases CO2 directly to the atmosphere quickly, contributing to climate change more quickly (albeit with less eyesore).
- xolox 3y ago
  This is completely disregarding the impact of microplastics on the health of animals, plants and ecosystems (FWIW I am aware that bioplastics shed microplastics as well).
  - dotancohen 3y ago
    Actually, it is not. For one thing, biodegradable plastics release microplastics, just sooner so there is less opportunity to collect them (as is done in TFA). And for another, even if it were not so, the looming climate catastrophe is a far greater danger to all species then is the microplastic concern.
cvarjas 3y ago
It's worth asking to use a bag you've brought. I do that all the time and businesses don't mind at all. Many are actually surprised and think it's a great idea. For less planned purchases, I find it pretty easy to keep a bag in backpacks, jackets, etc. for ad hoc purchases (or carrying anything generally) to forgo one time use bags. The ones I use for everything are lightweight and foldable, and can easily fit in a pocket.

riffraff 3y ago

> I wonder if I can just tell them I don't want a bag, and arrive with my own... I bet you can. I've recently discovered you can ask the cold cuts/cheese counter to pack things in containers you brought. Admittedly I'm not sure that ends up as a net win (is washing liquid better than a gram of oil paper?) but it shows we have a lot of mental dark spots for reuse.

martyvis 3y ago

The point of more resilient bags is you take them back with you. Both of our cars has a cooler bag with a bunch of regular bags to get packed at the Supermarket. You just have to remind yourself to bring them in with you.

Nextgrid 3y ago
The reusable bag idea only really works for car owners where you can keep a bag stash or intentional, stand-alone grocery runs where you can take bags from your house ahead of time. If you're just walking back home from some unrelated task and want to grab some groceries you will rarely have a bag on you, so you'll end up buying one anyway, it'll be then collecting dust at home for months before eventually being thrown away.
- schiffern 3y ago
  They do have tiny reusable bags that can go in a day-bag or pocket. Surprisingly handy for random things. eg https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TT5VH1V/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TT5VH1V/

dotancohen 3y ago

> having discard that is biodegradable (and perhaps can directly contribute to a compost pile) is a very worthwhile goal. No, biodegradable is far worse for the environment. Normal plastic sits on the Earth's surface for years, as an eyesore to remind us to clean up our act. Biodegradable plastic releases CO2 directly to the atmosphere quickly, contributing to climate change more quickly (albeit with less eyesore).

xolox 3y ago
This is completely disregarding the impact of microplastics on the health of animals, plants and ecosystems (FWIW I am aware that bioplastics shed microplastics as well).
- dotancohen 3y ago
  Actually, it is not. For one thing, biodegradable plastics release microplastics, just sooner so there is less opportunity to collect them (as is done in TFA). And for another, even if it were not so, the looming climate catastrophe is a far greater danger to all species then is the microplastic concern.

cvarjas 3y ago

It's worth asking to use a bag you've brought. I do that all the time and businesses don't mind at all. Many are actually surprised and think it's a great idea. For less planned purchases, I find it pretty easy to keep a bag in backpacks, jackets, etc. for ad hoc purchases (or carrying anything generally) to forgo one time use bags. The ones I use for everything are lightweight and foldable, and can easily fit in a pocket.