Off Topic The situation has reached critical....

[Billy]

Everyone on earth should see this. It's that important.
And please pass it on-


PoconoRecord.com: Slideshow: The dangers of plastic bags

 

[gracefulone]

My friend and I are both really eco-aware, so we've talked about this before. We usually use paper bags and then recyle them or use some of the cloth bags we have.

 

[Robindq]

Wow thanks for sharing that!

My family also no longer uses plastic bags. Wherever we go shopping we bring our cloth bags.

 

[Billy]

I'm guilty of using the plastic bags and thought I was doing okay because we recycle most of them (we use some to empty small trash cans and such). But now that I know the expense of recycling, I think I at least need to switch to paper bags. Those will at least break down in the rain and water.

 

[AmyCollins]

the easiest way, I have found, to keep from using plastic bags is to purchase the reusable cloth bags at the grocery store. I have about 15 kroger reusable bags.They only cost $1.00 each. i use them all the time at publix and target and no one seems to mind that they say a different store on them. I just love them. if they get dirty I just throw them in the washing machine and problem solved!:thumbsup:

 

[Billy]

Excellent idea! I'll have to look into that.

 

[Robindq]

I agree with amycollins on the cloth bags vs. paper bags idea. I hear reusable cloth bags are much better for the environment than paper bags (or plastic of course). Paper bags may be easily broken down but they ARE made from trees which is another problem in itself .

 

[NYgymfan]

We always use cloth bags. I know NYC is trying to make itself a "green" city and they started promoting these ideas a long time ago, and I talked my mom into it. I think the grocery stores like it because they don't run out of bags so quick when more people have cloth bags.

But cloth bags aren't for all people at all times. Poor people might not be able to afford them. And sometimes when I make a "surprise" trip to the store I won't think to get the cloth bags from home, and I still like having something to put my food into! But I will always try for paper bags instead of plastic.

 

[KBT]

There's a spot in the ocean - can't remember where off the top - where the currents meet that's about 8 square miles filled with plastic bags and containers. Some floats, some is suspended in the water for miles down. Icky.

In terms of recycling, plastic is much more expensive to recycle than metals or glass. I try to buy things in metal/glass containers rather than plastic when I have the option.

The trouble with throwing things away into landfills is even biodegradable items don't degrade in that kind of high pressure, no oxygen environment. Things like fully intact apple cores and banana peels have been found in 100-year-old landfills. [Insert plug for composting here....]

A great way to remember to bring cloth bags is to leave them in your car so they're always there when you go shopping. While you're "training" yourself to always bring them in, you can refuse to use store bags, load all your stuff back into the cart individually after checkout, then load individually into your car. A good reminder not to forget!

The one dilema I still have is the produce bags so I even reuse these because they don't get that dirty. You kindof have to use them for some things, although I have stopped using them for things like a single cucumber or peppers. Apples, though, you need something to put them in. And I have food allergies and don't want to put my veggies directly into the cart and the checkout belt in case they get contaminated.

 

[KBT]

But cloth bags aren't for all people at all times. Poor people might not be able to afford them. And sometimes when I make a "surprise" trip to the store I won't think to get the cloth bags from home, and I still like having something to put my food into! But I will always try for paper bags instead of plastic.

True, there is a small expense. But even those who can't afford cloth bags can still reuse paper bags many times before they wear out.

 

[Billy]

The one dilema I still have is the produce bags so I even reuse these because they don't get that dirty. You kindof have to use them for some things, although I have stopped using them for things like a single cucumber or peppers. Apples, though, you need something to put them in. And I have food allergies and don't want to put my veggies directly into the cart and the checkout belt in case they get contaminated.

Wow, I hadn't thought about the produce bags. That's a tough one. I have seen some stores that have little paper bags with handles for produce. Maybe the key is to stock up on a few of those and re-use them.

 

[NYgymfan]

True, there is a small expense. But even those who can't afford cloth bags can still reuse paper bags many times before they wear out.

Very true. We always used to use the paper bags in the trash bin as trash bags. You can't tie them like a normal plastic trash bag, but you can staple them. Now we use plastic in our trash bin since it is embedded into the kitchen cabinets instead of a small bin next to the fridge. But....no food goes into the trash bin. That gets emptied directly into...paper bags, and then tossed out into the outdoor can. Thus, we only actually change out the plastic bags in the trash bin maybe once a week. And we also use paper bags instead of plastic for "dog waste". Seriously, we can't ever get enough paper bags in my house!

 

[midwestgymmom]

Thanks for posting this

 

[Billy]

Welcome.

 

[AmyCollins]

Check out www.terracycle.com for a cool way to recyle all those old juice pouches our kids drink! Capri sun, kool-aid, any brand (even the store brands) I run this program at my daughters school, we we have turned in over 2000 juice pouches in 4 months! THis is a great company, I have been totally satisfied. Each pouch we turn in gets 2 cents for our school. they pay all the shipping cost. It takes a little time to count them but DD loves it and thanks she's doing something cool.
THe kids at school have really gotten into it and the teachers do not even have to remind them to turn in their juice pouches after lunch!
They turn the old juice pouches into cool bags, lunch box/bags, and pencil cases!

 

[KBT]

I also reuse the bags I put my paper and other recyclables in. When they get full I take them out and dump them in the recycling can, then reuse the bag. Recycling bags don't get that dirty. Garbage bags you can't really do this with.

As for the capri sun/juice boxes - buying the big jugs and putting a single serving into a small water bottle or thermos creates much less waste.

 

[Robindq]

Things like fully intact apple cores and banana peels have been found in 100-year-old landfills.

On one of those 'green shows' i heard of how much food is wasted and ends up in landfills . It was shocking. I forget the actual statistic, but if you really think about how much food an average household will throw out...it's alot!

I live on a farm so at my house we give our hens all our vegetable peals, older vegetables and fruits, and egg shells. Not only is it good for recycling the food, it also make our eggs delicious with bright orange yolks lol.

we also give some of our leftover meats to our hound, so in our house we have hardly any food waste.

also, if you get a chance watch the documentary 'an inconvenient truth' about saving the environment. It's a huge eye opener, i guess you could say.

 

[AmyCollins]

As for the capri sun/juice boxes - buying the big jugs and putting a single serving into a small water bottle or thermos creates much less waste.[/quote]


I do agree with this, but if the parents are going to send them in the lunch boxes the least I can do is try to recycle them and keep them out of landfills!!!

 

[Billy]

Wow! This is all a much bigger problem than I'd realized!