Guest guest Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 No Plastic Please by ChrisJerri S. | edit | delete http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977174377 This phrase has been my battle cry for several years now as I cart my dilapidated paper bags until they can be used no more into department stores on the rare occasion I visit as well as grocery stores. I also am gathering quite an assortment of cloth as well as hand-crocheted bags my mother-in-law as been so kind to make. This has been my small effort at helping life continue to exist on this planet. Probably the second most remembered phrase in the movie, “The Graduate,” after “You are trying to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson,” is the one word uttered to Benjamin at his graduation party, “Plastics.” As I travel down any road looking to the side at the littered trash, I grimace at the fact that this advice was heeded only too well by the millions who have seen this movie. I heard once on Oprah that it took five hundred years for a plastic bag that has been thrown into a landfill to decompose. I actually thought this bit of knowledge uttered on the Oprah show would nip this pet peeve I have of the overuse of plastic bags in the bud. Not so. This doesn’t even address the fact that our fish and animals are devouring our wasted plastic. You can only surmise what this is doing to us as well as our ecosystem. I don’t know if my refusing to take plastic bags has made any difference. The area I live in is slow to change. I’ve had checkers pick up the bags, look at them oddly and try to scan them. I now do my own dry cleaning, but prior to this I used the local dry cleaner about once a month. They never seemed to grasp the concept of me taking my own laundry bag and hangers. I have had a few customers behind me say I’ve never seen anyone bring their own bags and that they should be doing this. So, I trudge along hoping to make a difference in this small way. One note that might help others take the splurge is that if you take your own bags to Kroger’s, a discount is given at the register. This is true in Kentucky. In West Virginia, the Kroger’s stores I’ve shopped at didn’t seem to be aware of this practice. This past year we attended lectures by a visiting swami. In his first talk he addressed some of the things that doing no harm meant as set forth by Patanajali. Al Gore would have bowed at his feet. Although the Swami’s attire was orange his talk glowed green. His discourses made considerable impact on many of the attendees as at a retreat held later, we brought our own dishes and utensils in lieu of using plastic. My husband and I have even taken our own dinnerware to family picnics to avoid the disposable plastic being used. Sadly, we have not had the same impact on our family as the Swami has had on his devotees. We still keep paper bagging away though. And if you wonder what we do with the paper bags at the end of their life span, you’ll be happy to know they are used as fire starter for our wood burning stoves or as compost for our garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 I don't know about where you live Jerri, but here in Melbourne all the plastic bags used by supermarkets are biodegradable and breakdown quite quickly - even so we are all being encouraged to use other means of transporting our shopping - the supermarkets all offer either cheap insulated bags for customers cold foods or other cheaper bags that can all be used again and again - but then these are an income for the supermarkets and these do not breakdown at all! So I tend to use the plastic bags and then re-use them when I throw out my non-recyclable rubbish Jane - Jerri Schlenker No Plastic Pleaseby ChrisJerri S. | edit | delete http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977174377This phrase has been my battle cry for several years now as I cart my dilapidated paper bags until they can be used no more into department stores on the rare occasion I visit as well as grocery stores. I also am gathering quite an assortment of cloth as well as hand-crocheted bags my mother-in-law as been so kind to make. This has been my small effort at helping life continue to exist on this planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Jane, we live in a very small town in eastern KY. There is no recycling here, unless we drive out of town somewhere to take it. Right now my husband and I are working on cleaning out a creek that was used for a dump.Is Wal-Mart using biodegradable bags now? In our area, it seems as if people have no trouble at all throwing out their garbage. A few years ago I helped clean up the side of a road, a stretch right off the interstate. It's amazing what people throw out and how much is thrown out. In a weeks time it was all back out there. It's just one of the many things I don't understand. There is no way to totally avoid plastic. It's a good thing in lots of ways. We just got carried away with it.I saw the very beginning of a movie the other day, George Rule. It opened with a beautiful shot of breathtaking scenery. In the very first minute the character played by Lindsay Lohan threw her carryout soda cup over the hill. Didn't even watch it after that. We just send so many awful messages unconsciously.JerriJane MacRoss <highfield1 wrote: I don't know about where you live Jerri, but here in Melbourne all the plastic bags used by supermarkets are biodegradable and breakdown quite quickly - even so we are all being encouraged to use other means of transporting our shopping - the supermarkets all offer either cheap insulated bags for customers cold foods or other cheaper bags that can all be used again and again - but then these are an income for the supermarkets and these do not breakdown at all! So I tend to use the plastic bags and then re-use them when I throw out my non-recyclable rubbish Jane - Jerri Schlenker No Plastic Pleaseby ChrisJerri S. | edit | delete http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977174377This phrase has been my battle cry for several years now as I cart my dilapidated paper bags until they can be used no more into department stores on the rare occasion I visit as well as grocery stores. I also am gathering quite an assortment of cloth as well as hand-crocheted bags my mother-in-law as been so kind to make. This has been my small effort at helping life continue to exist on this planet. Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make your homepage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 (To the Moderator, Since this topic is not directly related to the interest of the group, please feel free not to approve this message). Being in India, I can completely relate to what you say. However, bio-degradable plastics are NOT a solution. I know Australia have adopted these and they have review reports (I have read those) on how they have performed. From these reports as well as other sources, I compiled some information on biodegradable plastics and have it here: http://naikutti.blogspot.com/2006/12/biodegradable-plastics-reality-check.html. I have tried to address the issue of biodegradable plastics from a broader viewpoint. I feel that each and every product/facility should be looked from an " Life Cycle Analysis " view point to analyze where the raw material comes from TO what happens to the product once it is used. Each and every stage of the product (raw material, manufacture, shipping and transportation to consumer, disposal, etc) should be analyzed and the environmental cost for each and every stage should be added up. Take for example plastics - It is dirt cheap. Plastic covers for example, is given at will in every supermarket (except for some countries in Europe where they are charged). People use them like crazy in everything. But if you take the life cycle analysis of plastics - it takes in a lot of fossil fuel to get these products, the shipping to the consumers burns more fuels, and the disposal of the plastic is a BIG problem - it ends up in oceans affecting marine life, and end up in landfills leaching chemicals into the soil and theyby polluting it, and I could go on. So factor in ALL the cost and am sure consumers would think twice, thrice before taking it up. But since there are no incentives to do this for any corporates/governments, this would be a hard sell. It all boils down to " Convenience vs Conscience " and unfortunately most people prefer the former to the latter. On 11/19/07, Jerri Schlenker <jerrischlenker wrote: Jane, we live in a very small town in eastern KY. There is no recycling here, unless we drive out of town somewhere to take it. Right now my husband and I are working on cleaning out a creek that was used for a dump. Is Wal-Mart using biodegradable bags now? In our area, it seems as if people have no trouble at all throwing out their garbage. A few years ago I helped clean up the side of a road, a stretch right off the interstate. It's amazing what people throw out and how much is thrown out. In a weeks time it was all back out there. It's just one of the many things I don't understand. There is no way to totally avoid plastic. It's a good thing in lots of ways. We just got carried away with it.I saw the very beginning of a movie the other day, George Rule. It opened with a beautiful shot of breathtaking scenery. In the very first minute the character played by Lindsay Lohan threw her carryout soda cup over the hill. Didn't even watch it after that. We just send so many awful messages unconsciously. JerriJane MacRoss <highfield1 wrote: I don't know about where you live Jerri, but here in Melbourne all the plastic bags used by supermarkets are biodegradable and breakdown quite quickly - even so we are all being encouraged to use other means of transporting our shopping - the supermarkets all offer either cheap insulated bags for customers cold foods or other cheaper bags that can all be used again and again - but then these are an income for the supermarkets and these do not breakdown at all! So I tend to use the plastic bags and then re-use them when I throw out my non-recyclable rubbish Jane - Jerri Schlenker No Plastic Pleaseby ChrisJerri S. | edit | delete http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977174377This phrase has been my battle cry for several years now as I cart my dilapidated paper bags until they can be used no more into department stores on the rare occasion I visit as well as grocery stores. I also am gathering quite an assortment of cloth as well as hand-crocheted bags my mother-in-law as been so kind to make. This has been my small effort at helping life continue to exist on this planet. Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make your homepage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 The health of the planet and the environment is of concern to us all tho - disposal of rubbish is a big problem but in reality the rubbish is at the other end of the problem and only indicative of how we live - we can each do our best in the situations in which we find ourselves but plastic is everywhere around us - a huge mountain of plastic is what confronts us everyday. Growing our own food in our land is an answer which not everyone can fulfil. Jane karthik ramanathan (To the Moderator, Since this topic is not directly related to the interest of the group, please feel free not to approve this message). Being in India, I can completely relate to what you say. However, bio-degradable plastics are NOT a solution. I know Australia have adopted these and they have review reports (I have read those) on how they have performed. From these reports as well as other sources, I compiled some information on biodegradable plastics and have it here: http://naikutti.blogspot.com/2006/12/biodegradable-plastics-reality-check.html. I have tried to address the issue of biodegradable plastics from a broader viewpoint. I feel that each and every product/facility should be looked from an "Life Cycle Analysis" view point to analyze where the raw material comes from TO what happens to the product once it is used. Each and every stage of the product (raw material, manufacture, shipping and transportation to consumer, disposal, etc) should be analyzed and the environmental cost for each and every stage should be added up. Take for example plastics - It is dirt cheap. Plastic covers for example, is given at will in every supermarket (except for some countries in Europe where they are charged). People use them like crazy in everything. But if you take the life cycle analysis of plastics - it takes in a lot of fossil fuel to get these products, the shipping to the consumers burns more fuels, and the disposal of the plastic is a BIG problem - it ends up in oceans affecting marine life, and end up in landfills leaching chemicals into the soil and theyby polluting it, and I could go on. So factor in ALL the cost and am sure consumers would think twice, thrice before taking it up. But since there are no incentives to do this for any corporates/governments, this would be a hard sell. It all boils down to "Convenience vs Conscience" and unfortunately most people prefer the former to the latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Jerri - once or twice a year i remove all sorts of garbage from the front of my property. Mainly plastic bags and wrappers that people have thrown out of their cars in this stretch of country road that looks a bit derelict because it is natural and untouched bush. Why they do it is of course the lack of care, of accountability and responsibility and their lack of thoughtfulness. When we talk of "throw away society" we have to include the garbage! I saw a phone number today before I entered a freeway - "Litter reporting" and I know you can report people for throwing litter of their cars - but I do not see taking their money as an answer to this problem. You get people to care by caring for them - and who really cares much for people these days? Today at work I had a performance review. I was surprised that I had high marks - and a slight criticism was that I become too emotionally involved with my patients. I realised then that I care very much about my patients and this may be more than most people care about them at all - doesn't mean tho that I fail to leave them when I leave their homes, and i pointed this out to the boss .......... None of us really expect to be cared for or cared about, and to be able to accept this we have to be able to do it ourselves, to others. And then we have to remember always to care about the environment as an extension of our caring. Jane - Jerri Schlenker Tuesday, November 20, 2007 12:41 AM Re: [HealthyIndia] No Plastic Please Jane, we live in a very small town in eastern KY. There is no recycling here, unless we drive out of town somewhere to take it. Right now my husband and I are working on cleaning out a creek that was used for a dump.Is Wal-Mart using biodegradable bags now? In our area, it seems as if people have no trouble at all throwing out their garbage. A few years ago I helped clean up the side of a road, a stretch right off the interstate. It's amazing what people throw out and how much is thrown out. In a weeks time it was all back out there. It's just one of the many things I don't understand. There is no way to totally avoid plastic. It's a good thing in lots of ways. We just got carried away with it.I saw the very beginning of a movie the other day, George Rule. It opened with a beautiful shot of breathtaking scenery. In the very first minute the character played by Lindsay Lohan threw her carryout soda cup over the hill. Didn't even watch it after that. We just send so many awful messages unconsciously.Jerri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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