paper or plastic

I suggest the govt or corporations give out free netted bags, like the kind used for potatoes, to each citizen instead of this big debate over paper vs. plastic. Netted bags can be reused practically forever. If Walmart can give out free stickers supporting the latest war in the Mideast, they could give out some free bags.

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since they now have recycling available for the plastic, i think either one is okay IF YOU RECYCLE OR REUSE IT.
if not, i dunno...
everyone should carry their own bag. i've seen 'em before, they're pretty cool.
and what about stickers at walmart? i haven't heard about this before... curious.

 

REDUCE, reuse, recycle. Why the hell do you need a bag for your potatoes? Get a basket.

 

Its tedious loading potatos out individually, plus in your car they'd roll around everywhere. So the knitted bags are a good idea.

 

kill a tree or clog a landfill?

I use plastic....I feel its a better alternative because I save everysingle bag I get and reuse them as trash bags, for kitty litter, whatever....they always come in handy.

 

why are paper and plastic the only options? How about CLOTH? They're $1 a piece at very MOST in second hand stores, and they take about 40 seconds to sew up yourself..

here is an article i read last night on msn.com i hope it catches on nation wide in both Canada & the US:

San Francisco has become the first city in North America to ban the use of traditional plastic grocery bags, a step that municipal leaders hope will spread across the country.

Passed Tuesday by the city's board of supervisors, the law prohibits large grocery stores and drugstores from using non-recyclable and non-biodegradable plastic bags made from petroleum products.

Supermarkets will have six months to comply while drugstores will have up to one year.

The city legislator who introduced the bill, Ross Mirkarimi, said that up to 200 million plastic bags are used each year in the city of roughly 740,000 people.

It's estimated a traditional plastic bag takes 1,000 years to dissolve.

"The first order of conservation is reduction and what we want to do is reduce the non-recyclable plastic bag," Mirkarimi said.

"Many [foreign] cities and nations have already implemented very similar legislation. It's astounding that San Francisco would be the first U.S. city to follow suit," he said.

Will reduce carbon dioxide output

Jared Blumenfeld, the head of the city's environment department, said there would be many benefits.

By cutting 100 million plastic bags a year the city will save 1.5 million litres of oil, and eliminate 4.2 million kilograms of carbon dioxide, Blumenfeld said.

Blumenfeld said he hopes other cities will follow in San Francisco's footsteps.

"We certainly hope that it will proliferate throughout the United States, certainly at least throughout the state of California," he said.

Canadian town to ban bags

On April 2, the tiny town of Leaf Rapids in northwestern Manitoba is set to become the first Canadian community to ban plastic bags.

The bylaw prevents retailers from selling or distributing the single-use bags. Ignoring the ban could result in a $1,000-per-day fine.

Officials will hand out cloth shopping bags to each of the town's roughly 550 residents before the ban comes into effect on April 2.

The B.C. mountain town of Rossland is also considering a voluntary ban on single-use plastic bags.

 

For one or for all?

 

me too

 

I dont know if my brain is just not working or something, but I have always used plastic bags for garbage. I dont know what else to put garbage in if I use cloth bags?

 

And this does not even count the millions of creatures killed and displaced because of there ecosystems where stripped and destroyed for the trees.

 

I agree with the OP

 

I use my back pack, sometimes.

 

I know everyone hates WALMARTS already but I just heard today from my mom that Walmarts is getting rid of the plastic bags and going with paper ones. I know that any time I get a plastic bag I do exactly like dudenamedrob does and just reuse the plastic bags I get from the grocery store. I did however make a few reusable bags today to take with me to the store so I dont need to use the plastic ones anymore. Hopefully I will remember to bring them with me next time I go shopping. Doh!!! I should just keep them in my car for those random stops I make and end up with a paper or plastic bag........

 

What's wrong with just taking a backpack and not using either?

 

Why use either? I use these bags that you buy from the stores that cost about $1.

Paper or plastic..Hmm..Destroy a tree or fill a landfill. I noticed someone else said that. People should not be allowed to constantly get new bags from shops. I worked at a shop once and in a five hour shift, the amount of plastic that goes out is insane. If you think about all the tills in the store, and then all the stores in the country and then all the stores in the world that give away plastic bags, the amount of plastic used everyday is INSANE. Buy a backpack or something so you don't have to use a new bag each time. Or just reuse the plastic bag from the last trip to the shops. Hope that made sense.

 

I use canvas bags, you just have to remember to bring them..:& When I don't, I just use them for garbage and such, as I do need something for that. Canvas is such a good idea because they can be used forever and only cost like $1.50. The funny thing is, the bagger people look at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears when i hand them my bags... The other day when I bought some, the guy started bagging them in a plastic bag along with the rest of my groceries and I had to remind him what they were for....

 

Plastic bags -

 

I bring my own.

 

The only recyclable product in the US that does not create further pollution, or cost more money (which rules itout by most corporate standards) is aluminum. So I bring my own.

 

No Frills in Canada, was recently doing a thing where you could pay a buck for a re-usable bag and a lot of people actually got them (hence you normally have to pay money for the plastic bags there anyways)