Plastic bags

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:44 pm

What the hell am I suposed to do with all these plastic bags the stores hand out??At one store, They take my hemp bag and throw it into there palstic.. Now I have the damn things by the shit load

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:48 pm

I think you're supposed to smoke one of the sets of bags, but I forget which. Hemp? Plastic?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:54 pm

Hah! Imagine the blank looks I get in THESE parts, carrying my own container into the grocery store!
Been working on some kind of art project for those bags for a while now. So far, the best I can come up with is to either dissolve or embed them into some sort of recyclo-mulch casting gunk, and then cast a piece from THAT.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:04 pm

The best I can come up with is: To compact them into a gray cardboard container..This would keep them from being spread an inhibit the ground waters..

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:14 pm

There has to be some way to exploit their natural tendency to glom onto tree branches...I'm reminded of Tuttle's demise in Brazil.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:21 pm

robotland wrote:There has to be some way to exploit their natural tendency to glom onto tree branches...I'm reminded of Tuttle's demise in Brazil.

\/
Do'nt tempt me.. I can think of a couple on my S-list

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:25 pm

In my rural 20th-century upbringing, the TP treatment was bad enough...Imagine the impact of a Vaguely Biodegradable Shoppingbagging. you'd be praying for a tornado instead of a simple, cleansing rainstorm!

Mushroom · Post by **Mushroom** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:33 pm

LOL thats funny, at work I give the weird looks to people who buy bags and containers and then get upset when i don't automaticly give them a bag to put their bag in. Plastic bags work great for indoor waterworks/ ponds. I used to have a couple of misters (they died) and used to put plastic bags down to protect the walls and other things around them. Kinda creates an indoor oasis/ rain garden.

gypsy68 · Post by **gypsy68** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:04 pm

Cat Litter! If it wasn't for cat litter, there would be no need for plastic bags.

skibear · Post by **skibear** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:16 pm

Around here -Maryland- most the big grocery stores will
collect clean plastic bags and recycle them.

If you do this the damage to the environment is less than if
you use new paper bags. Unfortunately 90% of the people
don't recycle them. Thus maybe SF's idea of a ban on plastic
is a better idea.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:16 pm

gypsy68 wrote:Cat Litter! If it wasn't for cat litter, there would be no need for plastic bags.

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I have a large Tiger Shredder..I figure on useing fewer bags for his crap..I save the litter that he as used for a while..When it's time to clean the box (twice a day) The soiled litter will go into a bag..Then cover the waste with used litter.. Put it in a covered pale untill it's full..But I still have a house full of those damn bags..Do you think could black market then in SF??

misfit · Post by **misfit** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:41 pm

Thus maybe SF's idea of a ban on plastic
is a better idea.

with a ban on plastic, won't that create more usage of paper, since only a few actually bring their own cotton/hemp bags.?...

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:38 pm

Perhaps the masses need Tough Love...Make 'em carry their groceries to the car in their arms or pockets! I myself seldom grab a cart unless I need MANY things, given that people generally push carts WORSE than they drive cars...Eliminate the little baskets, and install rail barriers to control cart traffic, and eventually they'll catch on and Watch Where The Fuck They're Going AND bring a container.
Mushroom, you Get It! I LOVE unusual sacks, bags, containers and such, and more often than not am offered a bag for my purchase...When I observe the absurdity of Bagging A Bag, I am (9 of 10) rewarded with a blank stare.

Post by **AntiM** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:56 pm

Some of our canvas grocery bags are 15+ years old, a couple of them may even be twenty years old. We got our toughest, biggest bags in Japan, at the Daiei basement grocery store. They also had a recycle bin where you could bring back your old plastic bags and stuff them in.

The trick is straps which go around the bottom of the bag, not just sewn into the top.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:37 am

AntiM wrote:Some of our canvas grocery bags are 15+ years old, a couple of them may even be twenty years old. We got our toughest, biggest bags in Japan, at the Daiei basement grocery store. They also had a recycle bin where you could bring back your old plastic bags and stuff them in.

The trick is straps which go around the bottom of the bag, not just sewn into the top.

\/
Do your think the stores realy recycle those bags?? Or is it a big bluff??

Thanks for the"strap" heads up.. Have the sewing machine on the work table this morning..

The BM Earth Guardian camp gave me a canvas bag last year..They wanted me to put moop in it..It's just to nice for that..It has straps log enough to go over you head.. Still are long enough to ride right at the hip..Great for hualing stuff on the bike..

Post by **AntiM** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 10:27 am

unjonharley wrote: \/
Do your think the stores realy recycle those bags?? Or is it a big bluff??

The stores in Japan do ... You should have seen our very complicated recycle post in the neighborhood. They built a small community center with the proceeds!

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 2:59 pm

gypsy68 wrote:Cat Litter! If it wasn't for cat litter, there would be no need for plastic bags.

Or dog poop on walks...

Mushroom · Post by **Mushroom** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 11:57 pm

OK stopt he presses... we need to clear up a few things...

first when you talk about recycling plastic do you mean reuse them or actually send them to a plant and have them melted down?

making new paper is better for the environment than recycling old paper (unless you do it by hand), in order for them to recycle paper they need a factory which runs on fuel and produces harmful waste. On top of that the paper we buy in the stores comes from tree farms, which would not have been planted if it weren't for the need of wood pulp to make paper. And of course we all know how good trees are... now think of thousands of trees being planted and maintained.

Here's a little thing to think and ponder about if recycling is so good then why do you have to pay to do it? and why can you get money on certian materials and not others? for example glass and aluminum (cans) Vs Paper and plastic.

Yes seeing a few more cloth type bags would be nice and it would be nice to see a plastic bag ban... but a plastic ban? I think that is a little to far, do you know how many things use plastic... clothing, utensils, furniture, kids toys, need I go on? oh not to mention your car.

~And rant done~

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 6:15 am

Sorry Mushroom, No cigar..I was asking what "I" could do with plastic bags.."I" do not want my refuse to be spread out in a land fill to inhibit the ground table water..With hopes others would feel the same..Plastic bags were meltred to make them in the first place..So your thoughs on remelting are moot..But! If others feel as I do of plastic shopping bags..They would not use them in the first place..ONe person at a time s ust a starting point.

As far as planted for paper trees..They only make up in 10's % of the wood needed for the world paper..The mud slides in South America ever year..THat kill 100's of people only shows mans gluttony for vergin trees..Again globle warming..

I agree recycle cost"today"..The day may come when a service comes to your door to buy your refuse..At this time, everything must start some where..

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 8:04 am

Mushroom wrote:Here's a little thing to think and ponder about if recycling is so good then why do you have to pay to do it? and why can you get money on certian materials and not others? for example glass and aluminum (cans) Vs Paper and plastic.

Glass and Aluminum have a fairly high value, and are easily recycled (in fact, EVERY batch of glass today includes recycled glass to act as flux). The economics are enhanced by the fact that these materials are reasonably homogeneous without contaminants like ink, etc. Paper, and especially plastics, are more difficult ($$$) to recycle (in part because there are thousands of variations, most of which cannot be recycled together, so much more sorting is required or you get a mush of low-value stuff)

What really makes all this hurt your noodle is the concept of "life-cycle" analysis, from the energy used to dig it up, convert it, transport it, shape it, pack it, then transport it to the consumers (glass gets hit here due to it's huge weight), then it's "disposal" and subsequent recycling/landfilling.

McDonalds switched to styrofoam (EPS) sandwhich boxes some years ago. The Green Movement hammered them good in the press. McDonalds quickly responded to public pressure and switched again to plasticized paper (kraft, with lots of "green" messages printed on them). Green Folks happy. Problem is, the plasticized plastic cannot be recycled, where-as the styrofoam ones are easy to recycle. Comparing the two solutions from a life-cycle perspective, the Green Folks clearly stopped a more "Green" solution and replaced it with a less "Green" solution. Of course, most of either type ended up in the landfill....

Just don't take the bags unless you REALLY need them...and then try to bring one back and re-use it or use a cloth bag.

I bought a dog pack and dog toy the other day - the clerk started to put them both in a bag - I grabbed the toy, put it in the pack with the receipt, and handed the bag back - "no thanks"

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:30 am

Now if we can get big retailers to install safety openers and receptacles for the evil blisterpack packaging...

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:30 am

dragonfly Jafe wrote:
I bought a dog pack and dog toy the other day - the clerk started to put them both in a bag - I grabbed the toy, put it in the pack with the receipt, and handed the bag back - "no thanks"

\/
Just for drill, If every one in this country would follow dragonfly's step, one day each year..That would amount to about 300 millon bags..I would imagine that is around the the dayly count just in the U S..

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:23 am

ALRIGHTY THEN......

This is unjon's away to handle
"his" plastic bags..Take a toilet paper tube..with you thumbs, press as many bags as possible into the tube..Make up a gallon bucket w/lid..A hole in the lid the size of the TP tube.. AS the tube gets to full to hold any more, Let one bag drop into the bucket..Do this until you have to force bags into the bucket..Force the bucket full..This should last my life time..Put the bucket in my will

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 6:08 pm

This was made using recycled plastic. Amazing what they can do with genetic engineering.

http://www.mcphee.com/items/M6058.html

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 6:21 pm

Plastic kids, What'll they think of next??

Sensei · Post by **Sensei** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 6:26 pm

From the thread title I thought this was going to be a discussion about Pamela Anderson.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:13 am

Here's a link to chair made from rags:
http://www.greenergrassdesign.com/ragchairbydroog.html

If we can make chairs from compressed bags of rags, we ought to be able to make 'em from compressed bags o' bags, right?

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:34 am

I often get funny looks when I tell a sandwich shop person I don't need a bag for my sub, which is already wrapped in one or more layers of paper. Yes, I'm willing to accept the risk that a drop of mustard might escape before I sit down to eat.

The regular attendant at the Sandwich Company near where I used to live (she may have been the owner) would actually get this sort of hurt look on her face when I interrupted her routine of wrap, place in paper bag, place in plastic bag with napkins. I almost felt bad about it.

I've actually stopped getting Chinese takeout because of the huge pile of plastic and styrofoam I'm left with after I finish. I can't even tell them to keep the bag because those clamshell containers leak so bad.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:18 pm

> I often get funny looks when I tell a sandwich shop person
> I don't need a bag for my sub, which is already wrapped in
> one or more layers of paper.

That's one of my peeves about ordering from Adorama or other places that sell electronics. I ordered a camera bag. It was made of canvas, had metal clips, not plastic, and a collapsible foam interior that folded down flat. It was sent to Adorama (or B&H, whoever), in a flat cardboard box. B&H then packed that flat box into a bigger box and filled the empty space entirely with styrofoam peanuts. Nothing else in the box, and the sole content was unbreakable and already properly boxed.

Same with CF cards, which are put in big, hard to shoplift impregnable plastic bubbles, then packed again in a bigger box with peanuts. You can't get away from double packing these days.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:55 pm

A lot of that is theft prevention.
Some boxes have obvious brand names on them.