<p>I guess I just think it makes sense to plain do the best you can when it comes to bags and trash in general. Use less plastic. Compost. Give things to thrift stores. Buy things from thrift stores. All the time? No, but when you can. </p>
<p>As far as putting veggies and meats in the same reusable bags - I do that unless the meat is leaking, which is fairly uncommon. Heck, there is so much packaging in meats it takes a knife to open 'em up. I wash my reusable bags in the washer all the time. Why wouldn’t you put bread and bakery stuff in the bags with everything else? You just put them on the top… I think you’re stretching a bit MiamiDAP with the health hazards. :)</p>
<p>“Trees are a renewable resource and are replanted in a commercial forestry operation, and paper breaks down, can even be toren up and put in your own compost pile. Plastic bags are made from oil and are not renewable.”</p>
<p>Production of a paper bag consumes more non-renewable resources than manufactuting of a plastic bag does. I could not find the old Seattle Times reference that had the exact numbers, but it is just common sense: chopping down a tree, hauling it to a mill, production of pulp, trasporting the pulp to a paper bag-making factory, etc. all requires energy.</p>
<p>Take a look at page 4 of the following document that has the exact numbers:</p>
<p>When it comes to manufacturing, an average plastic grocery bag is much more environmentally friendly than a paper bag. Landfills etc. are a second issue. Recycling is a third issue: a paper bag, again, requires more energy to be recycled than a plastic bag (see the link).</p>
<p>^Hence the name “pee party”.
Yes, we keep our cars long, but 20 years is excessive, way too expansive, does not make financial sense in our situation at least. Computers for 20 years simply is not possible. I cannot even load software at my job on my old computer. I need this software to perform my job, but my old computer does not have sufficient memory. I do not have my own computer, we are required to carry the one from work to home in case we have to sign on from home. My H. is using left over D’s computer since she was required to purchase only certain kind at Med. School. He even fixed it himself, it was broken. Here, we are re-using again.<br>
Yes, I agree “The better way is to keep, repair, re-use everything.” I would add as much as possible, as long as it makes sense.</p>
I think it depends on where you shop. In my supermarket, the meat is very fresh and is just on a tray and wrapped in plastic. Leaks like crazy, so even if we used cloth bags to transport our food, we would have to put that in a plastic bag so it doesn’t leak all over the cart while we are shopping.</p>
<p>You have to balance finances, practicality, utility and other things when deciding to keep something or throw it out. </p>
<p>Reminds me of a conversation I had with a Prius owner. </p>
<p>Her: You should get a Prius. They save so much gas and save the environment.</p>
<p>Me: But I can only afford one vehicle and it has to be useful for everything. I can’t carry six people, luggage, or take the kids and all their stuff to college in a Prius. </p>
<p>Her: But I only use my van for ski trips so I save gas.</p>
<p>Me: I can use my van for everything and I haven’t used up the resources manufacturing another vehicle with a battery that is very environmentally questionable. One all purpose vehicle is more environmentally friendly that two vehicles even if one is a Prius.</p>
<p>kathie, it is a good thing that you wash your reusable bags. I’m far from being a germaphobe (heck, I think the less than 2 hour @room temp or throw away rule is RIDICULOUS), but I would not put bread or anything that does not require thermal treatment and/or washing prior to consumption in the *same bag *as raw meat, no matter how well the meat is packaged (have you seen how the packaging is done?).</p>
<p>^Yes, they will never see contradiction in what they are saying vs what they are actually doing, hypocrisy is a king, the bigger name, the more hypocritical…never leading by example.</p>
<p>MiamiDap: We are the same way. Our contributions to the consumer economy are minimal at best. Much of it is from being a one-income family for many years (now a no-income family with both of us unemployed), so we have scrimped for a long time. We go out to eat maybe 5-6 times per year, re-use as much as we can, keep our cars well past their prime, etc. </p>
<p>Our recycle trash can is always full and our regular trash can is always empty. Our neighbors usually have just the opposite: overflowing trash cans and empty recycle bins.</p>
<p>It is true, I have also heard that paper is quite expensive to produce. I remember going through the quandary of cloth vs disposable diapers when my kids were babies. We used a diaper service for awhile. However, the cost of the water to wash the diapers, etc probably equaled the damage to the environment of using disposables. </p>
<p>I use my plastic bags constantly and do re-bring them to the supermarket. When they have holes in them, I use them to line things or to peel potatoes or other veggies on. When I’m done they can be tied up into a neat package and THEN tossed away. THe same bunch of bags can stay in rotation in my house for months or more. I feel that is the best use of resources for my family and lifestyle.</p>
<p>I used to always forget my reusable bags in my trunk, but over time I have gradually learned to bring them into the grocery store, and now it’s just a habit - pull into the grocery store parking lot, get the bags out of the trunk. But that’s the only store I bring them to, though. I like them because you can put a lot more in a reusable bag than in a plastic bag, so fewer trips to bring it all into the house. We still end up with plenty of plastic bags for the cat box from Target, CVS, etc.</p>
<p>China’s already had a ban on ultra thin plastic bags (namely the kind that we encounter every day) since 2008.
They’ve saved an estimated** 24 billion bags ** in three years,</p>
<p>I have them but don’t use them in the grocery store. I either skip the bags ( which perplexes the cashiers ) or use the plastic bags. I re-use the plastic bags because I have dogs and walk with them in public a lot. The park down the street from me has a nice walking / running / bike path and a few recepticles for " doggie bags " I have a pet peeve about people who don’t clean up after their dogs , so when my bags start to accumulate , I leave my surplus there …hoping people who don’t pick up forgot their bags and might appreciate a spare</p>
<p>crizello,
sorry to hear about “both of you unemployed”. we pray every day for our jobs, i want to be able to pay for D’s Med. School. Somebody got to do it. If we do it, then my future grandkids would have more opportunites in their lives, Med. Schools loans grow very quickly to very large amounts. So, we are on very stringent budget for a different reason. Cetain things I would not give up, but we also go out to eat about 3 - 4 times / year, never go to the movies…we compensate by going on very nice long vacation once/year and going to museum for free for entertainment. Would be awesome if D. can graduate without loans!!
I wish you the best, keep on trying, I was unemployed 9 times in the worst economic region of the country. Be persistant, it will work out for you.</p>
Many bag makers have their versions. I love the WOCs that Kooba used to make.</p>