What are they? Now the packages are stuffed with air bags, bubble wraps. Have to use two paper coffee cups instead of one styro foam cup since it is so hot. As obnoxious as styrofoam is, it is mostly air with very little plastic. Are airbags less plastic? I don’t like it, either but I don’t know if enough thoughts are given banning styrofoam.
“Have to use two paper coffee cups instead of one styro foam cup since it is so hot.”
How about a reusable mug? 
The issue is how long it takes styrofoam to decompose. This has been known since I was in college, ages ago. Avoid it when you can. I don’t use two paper cofee cups or the little sleeve. Some plastic store bags are now made to be easily decomposable-- but we’d need to know what and where, to make use. The are plastic cups and water bottles made of corn byproducts. I believe they also break down more easily, but some scientist needs to confirm.
Did someone say, WF now has an option of lightly waxed paper bags for produce. Also, the news reports of ocean and other animals ingesting plastic bags and etc was enough for me to reconsider my rights to plastic bags. (And I don’t litter.)
I hate plastic straws, make noises when I see them, to my kids’ chagrin. But remember, we all used paper straws back in time, when we were kids.
“Some plastic store bags are now made to be easily decomposable”
Most items, including food scraps, don’t decompose quickly when buried in a landfill, unfortunately.
“. But remember, we all used paper straws back in time, when we were kids.”
True but I don’t think they were as common - most people did not dine out, even take out, as much as people do now. Likewise, there was much less processed and packaged food, and less people. I could be wrong but I just don’t think we generated as much single use waste back then. I still remember soda coming in reusable bottles with a deposit.
I just returned from a trip to Britain. I know, lucky me. One thing that struck me was that we were always served tea and our meals on china plates. I’m not talking fancy places but the ‘tea rooms’ that were at every palace, castle, or major tourist site. It was so nice to always dine off real plates and use real utensils and not have so much paper waste. I hate drinking coffee or tea out of paper and styrofoam is even worse. One town near me has banned the stuff.
- Use reusable bags at the grocery store.
- Buy reusable mesh bags for produce (amazon)
- Don’t use single use plastics.
- Use a refillable water bottle.
- Type “Save Seas” on instagram and there are many accounts with suggestions and education about what all the waste is doing to our environment and oceans.
@doschicos When people own 4, 5 or 6 large SUVs/trucks and no cars, I say they own a fleet of trucks. Not sure what else to call it.
Why would I peek in people’s garbage? In my experience, ardent recyclers tend to tell you all about how much they recycle. I suspect that if I started a thread here about recycling, there would be no shortage of people telling all about their recycling habits. No peeking necessary.
Not sure why you say I am hanging around the wrong people. We aren’t closing car plants and converting them to truck plants/opening new truck plants because trucks are unpopular and cars the vehicle of choice. And we had people saying that houses 2x the average house size weren’t “big” in the big houses/not selling thread. And in various retirement threads, there are people talking about moving to 3-5k sqft houses/not downsizing in retirement. There are a lot of over-sized house/big truck driving people out there. And I suspect a lot of them recycle with many of them being passionate about it (doing so much for Mother Earth – lol). Maybe those are all the wrong people too?
Seems odd to me that threads would be limited to people who agree with the subject particularly on a site whose primary subject is higher education. But different people will have different opinions on that.
" I suspect that if I started a thread here about recycling, there would be no shortage of people telling all about their recycling habits."
Jeesh. Of course they would. What else would they post about on a thread about recycling other than…recycling. And I imagine you’d chime in repeatedly knocking any constructive conversation and stereotyping all the posters like you are doing here. How is that helpful? What are you trying to accomplish? The OP started the thread to find ways to reduce her plastic consumption.
Longer than airbag made of plastic?
You have not seen a good composting plastic(?) produce bag. My local grocery store has them. They decompose in a few days. They also have compostable reusable grocery bags. Those take a little longer, about a year or two in my compost bin.
In a compost pile, yes. But buried in the ground, @Iglooo, in a landfill? Two different things. Most people don’t compost.
Both styro and plastic grocery bags are lousy. Glad your grocer has them. I’m not sure about mine. I can guess.
“The most common type of plastic shopping bag is made of polyethylene, a petroleum-derived polymer that microorganisms don’t recognize as food and as such cannot technically “biodegrade.” … The best solution to plastic bag waste is to stop using disposable plastic bags altogether.”
Look,I one either cares or doesn’t. When you care, you do what you can. Not just point fingers at bigger problems or decisions.
I am sure it would compost buried in the ground. Just moisture seems to get the process started. It probably takes longer but I could tell wet ones looking different after a bit.
You can google biodegradable plastic and landfills and read up on it. Many articles to be found, Landfills are tightly packed, lack oxygen and create methane gas. It’s not pretty. Again, very different from composting. Food scraps are biodegradable in a compost pile but in a landfill they too take a very long time and release harmful methane gasses.
That’s why reducing, reusing, and recycling, in that order are better than single waste items much of which doesn’t get recycled.
If landfill is that bad, compostable produce bag won’t be the only thing that doesn’t compost. I would bet not much would compost. My compostable produce bag compost in my refrigerator if left alone. I am not a good house keeper and some items are left alone a bit too long.
Recycling is good but reducing consumption may help a lot more. How much garbage do you produce a week? I often get by with one 8-gallon bag to put all my garbage a week.
I think the damage we are doing to our oceans and marine life should worry everyone. I don’t think the answer is in legislation but rather creating a demand for better packaging. My sister has 4 kids and has all but eliminate plastics from their home - going so far as to seek out places to refill her glass vinegar bottle rather than buy new jug at the grocery store . It’s fascinating how many ways she has found to work on this. A boutiqe near me has a line of bags made from - of all things - recycled billboards! Again -great way to save something from the landfills! I am tempted to make a trip there and get one for my sister.
What does she replace plastic with? If it is with paper, I am not sure if we are helping. I don’t use many plastic bags but I found that at times, only plastic will do the job, for garbage, or for something that may leak or smelly.
Things in landfills do not compost. Landfills may be places where future archaeologists look for clues about life in recent decades (including newspapers that are still readable).
Compostable items need to be put in compost piles, though compostable plastics may need to be put in industrial compost piles because some may not degrade in typical backyard compost files.
https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials describes garbage generation, landfilling, recycling, and composting trends in the US.
I am the most informed recycler in our house. The city recently sent out a mailer basically saying it’s better not to recycle than to “recycle” stuff that doesn’t belong in there as it jams the machines. My family is terrible about this (esp. plastic). I am always picking thru the recycling: I probably should tell them just glass and soda cans only. They cannot be trusted with cardboard that has a liner. I once considered doing a “quiz” of 6-8 or so items and giving the winner $20 – include a couple items that are “theoretically” but not as a practical matter recyclable to encourage educating themselves.