Thinking green...?

Question

I always thought that being green included the three R’s – reduce, reuse, & recycle.
I know that the plastic bags aren’t the best thing for the environment. However, I don’t have a car, live on a fixed income, & those cloth bags are just not sufficient for my needs.
When I go to the grocery store, I stock up for the month. It’s just easier to make one trip for groceries for the month when I have to tote them on the bus. The plastic bags mold to the shape of my personal cart. The cloth bags would overflow the cart.
Now when I get home, I take the plastic bags & put them in my holder. I REUSE them for many tasks. They are great for cleaning the cat box, tossing out spoiled foods, little trash bags, packing material, dirty laundry on trips, wet umbrellas, etc. I have so many uses for the bags that they all find another use, some of them more than one additional use.
My green friends still say that I am ruining the environment.
I need another opinion...

Answer 1

Your friends are @ssholes and hypocrites. Here's a test you can do. Weigh one bag, and multiply it by the number of new bags you get each month. Contrast this weight against the weight of gasoline each of your friends uses each month. You bet theirs would be higher. No comparison! Plastic and gasoline are both fossil-fuel derived.

By the way, how do you manage to get everything on the bus? I would need 4 muscle men to help me if I was buying a month's groceries!

Answer 2

I have been doing the basics of green living for several years but only recently have started researching how to be more proactive. I say this as a preface to my opinion because truly it is only that...I am definitely no expert. I think that it is a tremendous credit to you that you are concerned enough to ask your community for their thoughts. I think your friends' hearts and ideals are in the right place but perhaps rather than saying you are still ruining the environment they should help suggest ways to build on what you have started.

I will admit I still use plastic bags to line trash cans and remove pet waste, but I have significantly cut back on their use. The concern about plastic and even paper is not just how it fills land fills but also the amount of toxic by product that occurs in the production of these objects. I think it is great that you have found new uses, and I definitely agree with the other e-mailers that taking the plastic bags to recycling bins at the grocery store is also very helpful. I carry canvas totes sometimes, but you are right that they can be bulky.

A couple of suggestions...carry a couple of mesh bags in your purse. They are thin and will slide well into your cart. Another idea that I just happened to see on the Martha Stewart show today (hey, green ideas come from all places, even Martha!), was T-Shirt Bags. Grab a couple of your old T-shirts (and you can pick cool ones with fun slogans, too!), sew the bottoms shut, cut off the sleeves at the seams, and around the neck-line. Now you have a fun, and light, bag. You also recycled your old shirt into something new! If you can reduce your plastic bag use by even 20%, you are helping tremendously!

Sometimes being green can be a little awkward in smaller communities, but if you stand your ground and have a little fun doing it...well, you and the Earth win. I hope you won't become discouraged by your friends. You are starting on a good path, keep going! Good Luck!

Answer 3

You could always reuse the bags by taking them back to the store and using them as bags again. If your friends say that you are ruining the environment because you are not buying the cloth bags then I'd say they have it all wrong. the cloth bags take alot of resources to make and transport, if you can make goo use of your plastic bags then you are doing very well.

Ask them what they put thier garbage in. and all those other uses you find for the plastic bags.

The big reason why you are miles ahead is that you are using your brain instead of following the trend and buying the cloth bag without neccessarily thinking about what you are doing. your friends answers may give a good example of not thinking.

There is a chinese saying along the lines of 'the frame of mind that got you into the problem will not be able to get you out of it'

Consumerism is an easy frame of mind to get into, and not easy to see that you are in it.

By the way, the contents of those bags are much more important and your 'friends' may be thinking you are not as good as them because you don't seem able to afford those nice cloth bags. I think you could probably find truer friends if needs be.

Answer 4

In many instances recycling uses more resources than new production - just not the same resources.

If it didn't, there would be no need for government subsidies of recycling efforts, because recycling would be a profitable venture, which it is with respect to some commodities in some parts of the world where those commodities are rare.

Re the plastic, If you reuse the plastic bags as trash bags, what's the problem? How else do you dispose of your trash? Wait, on second thought, given what Sheryl Crow said about t.p., maybe I don't want to hear this. I'll get some long haired hippie telling me he buries the trash in his backyard or builds sculptures out of it or feeds the garbage to his pet opossum or something.

Answer 5

It good that you use them for other things but when your done with then the bags you can recycle them is some grocery stores. If you don't use the bags like you are, then someone else will use them and who knows what they are being used for, even if at all, some might just end up in the trash. some times to make change though we just need to bite the bullet and tough it out. its a hard reality but then how much is out environment.

Answer 6

Sweetie, you are doing your best. In fact, you're doing better than many of us. Don't feel so bad. You're not ruining the environment.

If you're so concerned about the plastic bags, you might be able to find a cloth bag that doesn't overflow your cart. They come in different sizes.

Meanwhile, keep up the good work. You're doing good.

Answer 7

Many people think that "plastics" in general are harmful to the environment. however, this is not true. Although almost all plastics these days are made using petroleum and are completely synthetic, bioplastics, using plant oils (preferably hemp seed oils) is a "green" alternative. Truth be, there isn't much you can do, but please support bioplastics and the decriminalization of hemp (cannabis with less than .3% THC content).

Answer 8

yes carrier bags of the plastic variety are awfull they dont biodegrade and alot of carbon is produced when being made.lots of wildlife die because of the consequences of carrier bags in landfill.i bought a shopping trolley for my food shopping instead and get friut and veg from market in brown paper bags.or maybe you could use boxes sometimes stacked up in supermarkets for your shopping fit neatly into boot of car or basket of trike!! good luck.old rucksacks large hhandbags etc are good and found in charity shops.good luck dont beat yourself up at least you try where others dont!

Answer 9

Thanks for shareing this.
Many store now have a recycle point where you can leave you old plastic bags I tend to do this but only after they are almost fallen to bits

Answer 10

TELL YOUR FRIENDS ( WHO SOUND AS THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS AT ALL ) TO PULL THERE HEAD OUT OF THERE TAIL FEATHER SECTION OF THERE BODY , AND GET A LIFE AND OFF YOUR BACK . IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE DOING YOUR PART AND A LOT MORE THAN I DO . I'LL GO TO THE STORE FOR 1 - 2 ITEMS 1 - 2 TIMES A WEEK