In my country they only use plastic bags, in the stores and elsewhere! and people throw them in the nature! I hate that, and I hate plastic bags! how can I convince people to replace them?
If you have access to the capital/resources, try selling canvas or other cloth bags. if you talked to merchants, they may give discounts to people who bring their own bags (or may be convinced too) because it lowers their operating costs. talk to the merchants to switching to paper bags (most are made from sustainable stock and are biodegradable).
people need to start using more canvas bags ....reusable bags save far more paper bags are not the answer as they actually require more energy to make then plastic bags add that paper bags are made from trees that are clear cut, destroying entire eco-systems it might degrade faster .....but it has all its own problems the real main culprit are humans who have no regard for anything else but there own personal gain...sad
Start small, by getting your own reusable canvas bag, and maybe others will take your lead. I've seen people actually make a reusable grocery bag from a bunch of plastic ones. What you do is cut them into strips, tie the strips together as "yarn" and then crochet/knit/weave it into a bag. I have yet to do it myself but it's a cool concept.
People should use paper bags. It's more environmentally friendly on the whole since not everyone recycles or reuses their plastic bags. The argument of cutting down trees to make the bags is kinda "eh", considering the fact that people aren't going to stop using PAPER anytime soon. Besides that, tree's go back sooner or later with responsible harvesting... while plastic bags just sit and choke nature
Here's a plan for you - ask for your groceries to be "bagged" in boxes. Groceries come from the manufacturer in boxes, then to the food wholesaler, then to the grocer, still in the boxes. Some big grocers bale and recycle them, but most middle-sized grocers burn them and the Mom-and-Pop stores send them to the landfill. Carrying groceries home in boxes means no bags of any sort have to be manufactured, used, or disposed of.
this is becoming quite a big issue over here in the UK. yes, youre right, plastic bags are horrible for the environment. People are consistantly being encouraged to just remember to bring a bag with them when shopping! It's not that hard after all. In Ireland the production of plastic carrier bags has been clamped down on in an attempt to stop this damaging aspect.
if you want to start making a change in peoples attitudes towards using plastic bags, get out there, talk to people about the damage and effects of plastic bags, write to your newspapers, use the internet to raise peoples awareness. and of course, as somebody else mentioned, lead by example! go to your local fabric store, buy a few metres of calico and sew up some re-usable shopping bags. paint them or sew fun things onto them to make them pretty and sell them at the markets, or give to your friends as gifts. this is a great way to create awareness. it mightn't seem like much, but start small and there will be a chain reaction. in australia a few years ago nobody could've cared less about plastic bags save for a few radical greenies, and luckily those greenies persisted and campaigned enough so that now almost everybody uses re-usable shopping bags. one person can definitely make a difference! good luck
like was said earlier here in ireland the government have kinda clamped down on plastic bag use by putting a taxation charge of 15cents per bag. Therefore people have decided that rather then paying lots of money for bags, they will bring their own. it has worked
Its awful here in the UK just awful Why the hell do all the supermarkets have heaps and heaps of bags on display just begging to be picked up and taken, begging you to be lazy? Why dont they take them away and only keep a few in the back rooms for emergencies or people who request Theyd soon start bringing their own bags along with them How difficult is it? But...when i bring my own bag here...when i say to the checkout person "no, thank you, i have a bag, its ok" they tut at me, frown, like i was some kind of alien...and people have even been known to comment! Strange, strange world
I have reusable bags, but I have trouble getting the supermarket baggers to use them. Sometimes they start tossing stuff in plastic bags before I finish putting all my stuff on the belt. Yesterday, I was just getting a few things, and told her to use my bag. Well, she did, but I was paying and didn't see what else she did until I got home. She put my soap in a plastic bag and then put it in my reusable bag. What was the point of that!!!???
That must have been so irritating! The thing that really changed my awareness about plastic bag use was seeing a poster about a whale caught off the coast near where I live who was dying from having consumed ALOT of plastic bags and other items. They couldnt save his life unfortunately, and when they did an autopsy they extracted all the plastic from its stomach, put it on a big board and took it around to all the local schools to show kids the damage of plastic bags. Very effective.
