Plastic Bag Free For Life!!
So I haven't updated this experiment for a while. The reason is there hasn't been much to say, that is, I haven't had any problems that needed sharing,
In fact, ditching plastic shopping bags was about the easiest thing I have done!
So this is permanent now. What I've learnt is that to be less wasteful a consumer (when I am forced to be a consumer) requires only a little bit of forethought. that is, either always carry a bag with me, easier for a woman, or plan when to shop and make sure i take my reusables with me.
I am convinced that the immediate banning of plastic bags in Australia would not cause chaos, and would have an immediately positive effect on the local environment. there are examples all over the world of this.
Also, knowing that personal actions do not equal political change, I am going to take political action to make that ban happen!
I encourage you, dear reader, to do the same. write to your local council. think grassroots, 'local' and urge them to put forward a motion calling for a ban on plastic bags in their area. Even if it doesnt succeed first time it will have entered the debate.
I know how busy people are, but please take the time to spend 10 minutes writing a kick ass letter. lets get the local groudswell happening. then we can all enjoy living in better communities.
freedom tastes good.
take care
Michael.
Comments (15)
I've always been somewhat skeptical of the "evil plastic bags" school of thought. I have a multitude of re-uses for plastic bags, and honestly I don't know what I'd do without them. In particular, they're perfect as dirty washing bags when travelling, and they're also ideal for transporting anything leaky or slimy.
I know how detrimental their manufacturing process is (on the environment), and I know that many of them end up as trash in the worst possible places (e.g. in a whale's throat). But millions of them have already been produced, so we may as well do something positive with them, and re-use them in responsible ways.
i applaud your 'baby step' approach! try for a week...build up to a lifetime. much less daunting, and actually likely to be done! look fwd to reading more.
ps. i carry around an 'eco-sac' bag, it folds up into a tiny bundle, but opens into a pretty decent size and is wash-able
yeah youre right jeremy, plasstic bags have many re-uses. there wouldnt be so many of them if they werent convenient.
i made a curry 3 nights ago. in the grocer i put my brocoli, beans and snow peas in separate small baags, they were wieghed, placed in a plastic bag and taken home.
i think every house these days has a drawer or some device full of plastic bags. but in all honesty how many get reused? some do, but they build up quicker.
I don't dream of a plastic bag free world, but I know i dont need any more. there is enough in our drawer to line our bin for the rest of the year.
remember, plastic bags dont trash the environment, people do!
Jeremy, I must disagree with your arguments about convenience.
If there were no plastic bags, like, if they suddenly disappeared and all means of manufacturing more were erased, somehow (this is crazily hypothetical), would our lives change noticeably?
For a few days, it might be annoying. But cloth bags are a pretty easy alternative. We could take a small laundry bag on trips, which would weigh slightly more and occupy slightly more space that plastic. Dog owners would need to find an alternative, but I have complete faith in entrepreneurs to come up with truly biodegradable crap-picking-up-devices (bearing in mind the fact that most current biodegradable bioplastic bags don't really biodegrade).
Without getting into a serious discussion of ethics, there aren't really any conveniences plastic bags afford that couldn't be approximated with some readily-available, almost-as-convenient alternative.
And so the claim of convenience is doubly flimsy when contrasted with the negative effects of plastic bags – killing wildlife and marine life, breaking down into toxic subcomponents, visually polluting landscapes, etc.
are people actually aware of the great pacific garbage patch, an area the size of texas in the north pacific consisting entirely of plastic waste?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch
I've heard of that Michael - and the expedition planned to raise awareness of this problem - dubbed The Plastiki Expedition led by David de Rothschild.
The trip is not only to get people thinking about the environmental impact of all that discarded plastic in the oceans, but rising sea levels and coral bleaching, amongst other things.
Nice work. I've found it quite easy living without plastic bags for years... depending on the country I'm living in.
New Zealand stores always ask "Do you NEED a bag?" when you buy something. They're very encouraging of the bring-your-own idea.
Most US stores look at you like a purple alien when you pull out a reusable cloth bag & will even shove their plastic bags into your cloth bag (puzzling) after you've said no.
So, how are the Australian retailers' reactions to the movement these days? I'm moving there next week & I'm curious.
Hello Anonymous.
Whereabouts are you moving to?
The major Supermarkets here, Woolworths/Safeway and Coles, (Duopoly supermarkets actually) are big promoters of the green re-usable bags. they sell them and now have a policy of not giving you bag if you've bought less than three items, but if you say nothing you get a bag.
Since those two chains dominate the market so much other players are boutique, small and organic, and therefore more conscientious.
On a slight tangent, but more related to the 'live local' theme, may i suggest you try avoiding those two retailers when you are here and supporting a locally owned small retailer. Coles and Woolworths use their market power to shortpay local producers and they are homogenising society through depriving us of choice.
hope you find somewhere nice to live. Tassie is amazing, but there are good places everywhere.
Michael.
(sorry to hijack the thread)
I should be moving to Melbourne eventually & usually shop at farmers markets & asian grocers where they're available (I hope there are lots!). Like you said, the smaller the store the less likely they are to shove plastic bags at you. It's good to hear the larger chains are making a little effort in that regard though, with the 3 item or less rule.
i'm from the fairer city, but even i must admit that melbourne is streets ahead in terms of sustainability so that's a good choice anonymous!
on the bags; few things....i usually use (re-use an old, that is) a plastic bag to take my son's wet stuff home after swimming lessons. yesterday i tried using my enviro-sac (mentioned above) instead and it worked fine!
so i used the enviro-sac today when i needed to bring tupperware containers of food to work for lunch. alas, they leaked and the enviro-sac also leaked. i was in a bit of a mess (literally!) so i bought a bag from the local cafe. they are an organic store, they have plastic bags on sale - only if you ask (they prefer you to bring your own or use a box) - they sell the plastic bags for 10c, i think just to make you consider whether you need it or not. and they are degradable ones. but still, a bit of a fail for me. so....
...i was going to post on here asking for a solution for bringing lunch in tupperware to work and avoiding leakage, when i thought of an answer myself! put the tupperware inside a larger tupperware box. that would work, wouldn't it?
Vaike, I've got a FairShare lexan screwtop mug/container for all potentially messy food. As a frequent maker of soup, this changed my life. Make sure it's BPA free, though – dunno if the one in the link is.
But what does everyone do with their rubbish?? We reuse plastic bags as rubbish bags - it's been over a decade since I bought a roll of garbage bags.
Michael: I love your latest addition. Very inspiring.
And Camille, I might answer your question with a question: What is "rubbish", exactly?
If compost takes food waste out of the equation (which I know isn't always possible, but, you know, work with me here), then all you're left with is dry packaging, which can mostly be recycled. The remaining stuff – the (usually needless and excessive) unrecyclable plastic stuff related to food – can be put in a bin without a plastic bag.
You know, in theory.
Hi John, I love theory! I compost all food waste - either through the compost or to the chooks, and possibly I'm not recycling as much as I could (styrofoam meat trays - recycling?) - but I also have the added issue of nappies - biodegradable - but still, in the rubbish bin. And, as I live off-shore, I have to carry my rubbish to the big skip bins on the wharves so it may be that we have to keep using a few plastic bags. It's a bit of a household game to get just the right amount of bags - not too many and not too few for the week!
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