Have just read a fascinating article on how Cocos Islands manages waste, including plastic shopping bags. For me, what really appeals is the shopping bags concept - their resident community is small but is hugely multiplied by tourists, so it's vital to control the kind of 'companion waste' consumers tend not to even see.
The big stores have communal 'boomerang bags' bins. You choose your appropriately sized bags for today's shopping, and then next time you're passing the store, you return the bags. Simple.
Simple if the bags are returned. Here we find supermarket shopping carts abandoned in the strangest places. A deposit for each bag to be returned to the customer upon return of the bag might work; but, could disadvantage those unable to afford the up front cost of the deposit. Then there is the issue of dirt, damage, and infestation referred to above.
Have just read a fascinating article on how Cocos Islands manages waste, including plastic shopping bags. For me, what really appeals is the shopping bags concept - their resident community is small but is hugely multiplied by tourists, so it's vital to control the kind of 'companion waste' consumers tend not to even see.
The big stores have communal 'boomerang bags' bins. You choose your appropriately sized bags for today's shopping, and then next time you're passing the store, you return the bags. Simple.
Simple if the bags are returned. Here we find supermarket shopping carts abandoned in the strangest places. A deposit for each bag to be returned to the customer upon return of the bag might work; but, could disadvantage those unable to afford the up front cost of the deposit. Then there is the issue of dirt, damage, and infestation referred to above.
Somehow, I'm not sure that dirt, infestation, damage issues could be worse than in remote or coral island communities, communities with very little access to running water/no water for drinking and cleaning, etc. These are donated bags in the first place, you don't need deposits for them to be returned - they're not marked or owned by anybody, they're communal. Pride in the community helps to keep the scheme going. If you don't believe your community will support the scheme, you don't implement it.
We've also got shopping trollies abandoned in public toilets, on railway lines, in dumpsters, on roofs of buildings, down mine shafts, hiding around goal posts, in rivers and in the shallows of the beach, in drainage tunnels and canals... Under sand dunes creating sailing/surfing hazards, or thrown into the tops of trees from steep hillsides, so there's added risks in fierce bushfires and cyclone/gales. Totally separate issue. There's a central phone number one can ring so they're collected; I'm sure you'd have a similar solution?
The problem with this video is that it's essentially presenting a carbon footprint argument for a pollution problem. The pollution problem with plastic is that it ends up in the water and lasts there for what is essentially 'forever'. That doesn't happen with natural fibers. If you throw a paper bag into the ocean it will eventually dissolve. So the carbon footprint is really only one side of the equation.
As far as reusable bags, I just keep reusable bags that we've gotten from Trader Joe's in the car. I always would forget to bring in the bags, so I'd just bag them at the car. These days I pretty much just plan on bagging things at the car. It works for most situations. If I know I really don't want to do that then I just need to plan on bringing the bags from the car when I go in the store. The bags live in the car though, so they're pretty much always around.
I can't recall ever having a problem with the Trader Joe's reusable bags breaking, and for larger loads we have a blue Ikea bag or two around as well. Between Trader Joe's and Ikea bags, everything's pretty much handled. Most of our bags would date from around the time we got our car in NYC, which was like 8 years ago.
I have some older Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods canvas bags. I like them because I can just turn them inside out and toss them in the wash. I haven’t had one fall apart yet. I use hot water and detergent, but no bleach since it degrades the fabric. They might look a bit older with stains and such, but I figure that just gives me more street cred with the reusable bag crowd
Remembering to bring them every time, that I still haven’t figured out yet
I have some older Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods canvas bags. I like them because I can just turn them inside out and toss them in the wash. I haven’t had one fall apart yet. I use hot water and detergent, but no bleach since it degrades the fabric. They might look a bit older with stains and such, but I figure that just gives me more street cred with the reusable bag crowd
Remembering to bring them every time, that I still haven’t figured out yet
I have accumulated a lot over the years (way more than I need, but most were freebies) and I store them in the trunk of my car. When they come inside, I put them together (all folded and inside one of the bags) in the kitchen in a fairly prominent place near the back door and take them back out fairly quickly, although there are usually a few in the house (where they sometimes find other uses, so that’s ok) I also try to keep a few in the ‘other’ car, but don’t always succeed. It took a while to remember to grab them from the car on the way into the store, but it became a habit over time and I rarely forget at the grocery store now. Still having trouble remembering at the mall or restaurants (for the inevitable doggy bags), but I’m working on it.
Simple if the bags are returned. Here we find supermarket shopping carts abandoned in the strangest places. A deposit for each bag to be returned to the customer upon return of the bag might work; but, could disadvantage those unable to afford the up front cost of the deposit. Then there is the issue of dirt, damage, and infestation referred to above.