plastic bag police!

There are some days when I am especially aware and notice every person passing by or sitting in my subway car that is carrying a plastic bag, or as more often the case, multiple bags. When I am feeling especially impassioned, I count how many bags in comparison to people. And then there are the people at the grocery store putting a bunch of bananas in a plastic produce bag. Or an apple. Or a couple of onions. What?!
I just. Don't. Get. It.

It drives me insane. I am almost always fighting the urge to explode in someone's face (as nicely as possible, of course), chastising them for the plastic bag in their hand that is holding one t-shirt or paperback book, or for the produce that is unnecessarily in a bag in their shopping cart. 'What are you DOING?!' I want to ask. Or maybe, more what I want to do, is blast some sort of wonky siren and embarrass the ne'er-do-well-er on the street, spouting off some facts about how plastic bags (and well, plastic in general) are giving us cancer, choking cute baby animals, leeching chemicals into our soil and water, and just being generally unaesthetic (in your hand, on the land). Plastic bag police! It might make for good poli-social performance art though...

We use plastic bags and the like so much, it becomes a completely unconscious consumption. Almost as if the thought of plastic bags not existing at all would be impossible to swallow. Awhile back, my now former roommate made an interesting observation-- the vendors at our heralded farmer's markets are often overly quick to put your purchases in a plastic bag for you. You've looked down for a quick moment to grab your wallet, and swoosh! all of your produce has been deftly tossed in a bag or two. I usually make my tote visible and/or say 'I don't need a bag' as I hand over the goods to be weighed, and I do see lots and lots of people using their own bag at the market (just another reason why the Greenmarket is my 'happy place'). And all of the Whole Foods in the country are now plastic-bag free (except in the produce department), so the whole choice of 'paper or plastic' is now more like 'your own bag? oh. no? well, we sell an assorted bunch of snazzy ones ranging from $1 to $30. but we will otherwise begrudgingly, but with a smile, pack your goods into a 100% recycled paper bag.'

And I have heard entirely too many excuses from people saying 'Oh, well they put my stuff in a bag before I had a chance to say I didn't need one.' Yeah, that's nice. TAKE IT OUT OF THE BAG and kindly leave the bag there and say 'I brought my own' or 'I don't need a bag'. This surprises and befuddles some cashiers, and sometimes I emphasize my point by saying 'I'm trying to reduce the amount of packaging I use.' I promise you, if you do this enough, everywhere you shop-- grocery stores, clothing stores, book stores, etc., you will not only get more in the habit of bringing and using your own bags, but you will also influence store employees and managers, and maybe even teach someone something new along the way.

So maybe you think I'm up here on my repurposed sustainable lumber soapbox making big noise over something that's 'not a big deal.' But I believe that we must all realize everything we do makes a difference and has consequences. One person makes a difference. One household makes a difference. You, YOU make a difference. So it's 'just saying no' to plastic (and paper) bags today, and it's another step tomorrow.

I hardly have any plastic bags in my house. Or paper ones for that matter. I try not even to use baggies (or I often wash and re-use them when I do). I am 95% a-okay with this, until the time comes when I need to transport my grungy kitchen clogs to an event, or throw wet items into, or help someone take leftovers home, and then I'm scrambling around improvising. But I can live with that so long as I know I'm doing my part. Are you doing yours?


FYI:If you have an excess of plastic bags sitting around your house, most Whole Foods, Central Market, and conventional grocery stores have bins near the doors for plastic bag recycling-- for shopping, produce, and newspaper delivery bags. I know the Whole Foods at Union Square in NYC employs a sort of 'have a bag, leave a bag; need a bag, take a bag' system, so if you do need a plastic bag for some reason, you could just take what you needed.

being a greener shopper

Sometime last year I read this fact on a wall at grocery store: “Every year the U.S. produces enough plastic film [in the form of plastic grocery and produce bags, etc.] to shrink wrap the state of Texas.” Quite frankly, that freaked me out. While it’s not exactly surprising, to hear it put that way was pretty impacting and got me to thinking about more ways we can be ‘greener’ shoppers. And not just at the grocery store, where we might think about it most, but also in our runs to the general stores, clothing stores, and anywhere where we leave with more than we came with.

We are a culture obsessed with over-packaging (as evidence by the photo above, taken at the corner deli), everything come pre-packaged for our convenience, in tissue paper, a box, and a bag with more tissue paper. We haul around over-sized carrier bags from shops, each yielding small items that could easily be fit into one bag. And what happens when we get these things home? Things get thrown away, or maybe reused once or twice. If we’re really on top of our game, they get recycled. But would it be better to avoid having all the excess bags in the first place?

In the post-An Inconvenient Truth days, it’s especially chic and sexy to be green, so use that social trendiness as your inspiration to incorporate more
earth-friendly habits into your routine. Many of us recycle, but beyond that, you
can make your trips to the grocery store and beyond more environmentally friendly.

bring your own bags
Reuse bags from what you’ve hoarded over the past few months, or purchasing reusable bags made of canvas or other material. Most grocery stores sell inexpensive bags near the checkout, or you can have some fun shopping around for bag that reflects your personality. Keep them in your car or day bag so you always have them handy. And even if you’re just quickly popping into any store, refuse the extra packaging when possible- stores always appreciate you saving them time and money by not wasting another bag or box. You’ll generally find you can live without having another bag to carry around. And if you’re just going from store to car to house anyway, the bags are hardly necessary.

Websites like ecobags.com and reusablebags.com sell a lot of neat bags made from materials like organic cotton and hemp, and other recycled material.

don’t bag your produce
As a country, we use and waste a lot of plastic bags (among many other things). And for a product that does not biodegrade and is not commonly recyclable, we certainly abuse them. Several countries across the world have banned their use (incl. China, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Taiwan) or imposed per-bag taxes (Ireland). Plastic bag waste, and plastic waste in general, has detrimental effects on wildlife, and the environment, not to mention the petroleum used to manufacture (and import/export/ship) them.

Many produce items come wrapped in their own packaging, courtesy of Mother Nature. So, with the exception perhaps of fragile, wet, or especially dirty produce, do your best not to put everything into plastic bags. It’s simply not necessary. For the short trip from the market to your kitchen, where the bags will only be discarded.

For stores like Central Market where the customers weigh and price their own produce, I like to print the stickers and adhere them all to one plastic bag or a piece of paper for the cashier to ring up as I checkout. Having done this several times, I have been commended on the idea by the cashiers.

ask for support, be encouraging
While cities like San Francisco and Austin have imposed mandatory or voluntary no-plastic bag actions, you can make a difference in your home town or local shops by talking to store owners and managers about reducing their waste, recycling, and encouraging customers to bring their own bags or to use fewer bags. These are the people who have the power to make a difference, and one of their main motives is to keep the customers happy by giving them what they demand. And by encouraging your friends and family to be greener shoppers, the word will spread further than your initial reach, and as far as shopping green goes, that can only be good news.

china plans plastic bag ban

Even though this ban isn't scheduled to take effect until June of this year, I'm thrilled that the Beijing Summer Olympics have caused China to look at it's various pollution issues under the scrutinizing lens of the rest of the world. Being the world's most populous country, I think that this move on China's part can only mean good things for the rest of the world, and I hope that other influential countries (ahem, the United States) will soon follow suit.

The story mentions encouraging consumers to 'return to carrying cloth bags' which I think is such a strong statement if only because it's too easy to forget that these plastic bags didn't always exist to carry our groceries and other goods in, and that they do overall more harm than good. And now, between all of the cute canvas totes, baskets, and recycled bags available (check out links to the right), it's all too easy, and fashionable, to avoid them and even paper bags altogether. Refuse a plastic bag when you can easily carry something to your car, or put it in your handbag. Encourage your friends and family to do the same (I certainly do!).


See the full A.P. story on China's plastic bag ban here.

austin whole foods put a ban on plastic bags

Serving as a test-market for their other stores worldwide, Austin area Whole Foods stores are no longer offering plastic bags at check out. Encouraging customers to purchase a reusable canvas bag or inexpensive and cute bags made of recycled plastic bottles. I'm really excited about this, and already have a few of these bags, and have of course, been taking my canvas totes with me when I go shopping for a long while now. Most Whole Foods and Central Market stores now have bins where you can recycle your plastic bags, produce bags, and plastic film, so don't throw them out!

The city of Austin is also working to, in 2008, have all major retailers in the city voluntarily reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags, following the lead of green-friendly cities like San Francisco.

I think it's great that Whole Foods and Austin are taking these steps that will hopefully influence policies throughout the state and the country! Even if your local stores aren't involved in these progressive policies, you can easily do your part by bringing your own reusable bags when you shop or bringing in old plastic or paper bags to be reused when you go shopping! Take it a step further by encouraging your local retailers to be more eco-friendly, to use less unnecessary packaging, and to care for the environment and their communities!

Read the whole story in the Austin American-Statesman online.