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Grocery stores do charge for bags. The price of the bags, as well as the employee's salary and every other cost of doing business, is included in the price of every item you buy at a grocery store.
If you are noting that it is harmful to the environment, why are you not pointing the finger where it should be directed. The manufacturers.
They should be held accountable and made to pay for the environmental degradation that their products are causing. Is it not surprising that even as we speak millions of tons of the bags are being churned out?
[2 points]3 years ago by IntinvageReplyEdited 3 years ago by Intinvage
the finger pointing should be aimed the the consumers, in my opinion. We are the ones creating a demand for the plastic bags. if nobody used them, the manufacturers would stop supplying them. Having to pay extra for the bags would reduce demand.
This a flimsy argument. Modern society has reached a point where plastic containers have become a necessity but there is no economically-priced alternative. I bet if there were, many people will opt for the environmentally friendly ones.
If you buy stake it is wrapped in paper and then wrapped in plastic . Then at the counter it is placed in a plastic container. How many times are you going to go round complaining about every single item.
Meanwhile the stress of modern living have you multitasking at every onetime and preventing you from adding plastic hassles to your list.
If companies had not been banned from using asbestos, it would be the cheapest insulator and people will still be using them in their building.
Consumers know what is bad for them; junk food,contaminated water, bottled water, contaminated meat etc but they are helpless. That is why they elect Governments to make FDA and the AtoZs to look after their interests.
You seem to be environmentally aware but why should the populace be expected to research every item and drug and on their own, start a boycott . It is asking too much from a consumer who is trying to make a living.
Yes, that was often even funny. They surprised me with their reaction as well. So we all had a big laugh.
Happy to say some customers bring their own bags / baskets now and no one seems to be surprised anymore. Some groceries offered: "Bring your own bag and you could win ...". In smaller stores they have even thanked me that I refused a bag. It shows that more and more people are getting the point. And exactly that is the point. :)
I wasn't saying the populace should be expected to research every item, nor do anything actively. I agree that the environment hardly comes into every day worries of the average person, which is why I think that either the government or the stores should force consumers to make the right choice. A majority will not do so otherwise.
"I think that either the government or the stores should force consumers to make the right choice."
Please tell me you don't mean that.
Grocery stores (where I live) offer reusable bags. I have bought several of them and I don't use plastic any more. But that was MY choice. I paid extra for those bags, and I still gladly pay the "hidden" cost for others to use plastic bags. I've done my part to support the environment in this case, and if other people CHOOSE to do the same, then plastic bags will be a thing of the past.
Education and offering feasible choices is the way to accomplish something like this, and you don't have to have the government infringing on your liberty to do it.
You forget that you are making my life more difficult and expensive to support your agenda. I am handicapped and find it difficult to transport non bagged items. Are you going to give me an exemption? Am I going to apply for the exemption with my driver's license? Am I going to need a doctor's note?
Then there is the fact that you are willing to charge me 50 times the cost of an item for your agenda. What's wrong with this picture?
At over 200 times the cost of plastic bags, (including reusability) I can probably afford it, even if I have to make a 20 mile trip to Wal-mart to get large enough bags that are not too large to handle. I can probably find a system that allows me to have 5-15 bags in my car at all times and to keep them all clean enough to carry food without having to wrap it in plastic.
That seems like an awfully inefficient solution though, to a problem that could be solved by more recycling.
[1 point]3 years ago by JWBrothersReplyEdited 3 years ago by JWBrothers
I reuse all the plastic bags, the better ones again for shopping and the others in my garbage bins. Specially in summer they seem to keep the smell down. I do compost, but the package the meat comes in stinks after a day out of the fridge.
I don't know what all the fuss is about. In all of the stores that I shop, you find canvass bags that can be purchased for use. You bring them in and have the clerk deposit all your goods in the bag. If your so darn concerned about the plastic situation, why don't you purchase the canvass bags. In addition, almost every city has recycle stations to drop off plastic, glass, cans, and want-not so that those items do not end up in the land fills. Stop complaining and make use of them.
The question is not about consumer choice the question is whether a company is marketing something that is harmful to the environment. Why are drug companies not allowed to market dangerous drugs, or additives. It is like saying let them add anything to food or cars or toys but the consumer must decide.
If there is evidence that plastic bags are harming the environment they must be banned. the consumer is not a policeman. The consumer just wants to lead his life.
i agree. We are just too greedy to buy the more expensive reusable bags... but if the reusable bags would eventually be a better deal than plastic bags.... then i can see a lot of people switching.
Nope. That is NOT the question. Literally anything can be harmful to the environment if you define "harm" as whatever changes the environment from a natural state. Anything made changes the environment. Therefore, the question really is...
What are we, as a society willing to pay to minimize environmental impact? That leads to the question, "What, about plastic grocery bags is harmful to the environment in terms of long term harm to humans?" and "Is there a substitute that serves the same purpose at an acceptable price?" Until you can answer those two questions, you are just pushing your agenda at my expense.
According to the advice from Intinvage, we need the government to step in and solve ALL our problems. As if the government doesn't have enough "Irons in the Fire" as it is. Regulations, Regulations, Regulations. While harmful or additive drugs is a valid concern and should be regulated, there are issues that can be dealt with by the consumer. You can effect change by your own actions and not just sit on the sideline waiting for someone else to address your concerns.
[2 points]3 years ago by bobaleeReplyEdited 3 years ago by bobalee
The meat issue is valid, as is any product that may be consumed by the customer. We should expect that the products that we consume or place in or on our bodies are in fact safe. In those cases I agree that we need regulations, however, the plastic bag issue can be eliminated by the demand for them. And that takes coordination and cooperation between the consumer and the stores using those items. Your part in this is to reduce the need for plastic bags.
[2 points]3 years ago by bobaleeReplyEdited 3 years ago by bobalee
United States
Grocery stores do charge for bags. The price of the bags, as well as the employee's salary and every other cost of doing business, is included in the price of every item you buy at a grocery store.
but it is not overt or obvious to the average shopper.
I really don't want an itemized receipt for all the ancillary charges that would be included in the price of my groceries.
-cost of bags
-cost of lighting
-cost of air conditioning
-cost of heating
-cost of water
-cost of salary
-cost of rent
-cost of delivery
-cost of janitorial services
Think of all the wasted paper to print out that receipt. My phone bill is bad enough.
EXACTLY!!!! (Agreeing wholeheartedly with bakerbug)
Perhaps shoppers should wake up.
If you are noting that it is harmful to the environment, why are you not pointing the finger where it should be directed. The manufacturers.
They should be held accountable and made to pay for the environmental degradation that their products are causing. Is it not surprising that even as we speak millions of tons of the bags are being churned out?
the finger pointing should be aimed the the consumers, in my opinion. We are the ones creating a demand for the plastic bags. if nobody used them, the manufacturers would stop supplying them. Having to pay extra for the bags would reduce demand.
This a flimsy argument. Modern society has reached a point where plastic containers have become a necessity but there is no economically-priced alternative. I bet if there were, many people will opt for the environmentally friendly ones.
If you buy stake it is wrapped in paper and then wrapped in plastic . Then at the counter it is placed in a plastic container. How many times are you going to go round complaining about every single item.
Meanwhile the stress of modern living have you multitasking at every onetime and preventing you from adding plastic hassles to your list.
If companies had not been banned from using asbestos, it would be the cheapest insulator and people will still be using them in their building.
Consumers know what is bad for them; junk food,contaminated water, bottled water, contaminated meat etc but they are helpless. That is why they elect Governments to make FDA and the AtoZs to look after their interests.
You seem to be environmentally aware but why should the populace be expected to research every item and drug and on their own, start a boycott . It is asking too much from a consumer who is trying to make a living.
Lol, you should see the faces sometimes when I tell them not to put it in a bag. It's like I offended them :(
Yes, that was often even funny. They surprised me with their reaction as well. So we all had a big laugh.
Happy to say some customers bring their own bags / baskets now and no one seems to be surprised anymore. Some groceries offered: "Bring your own bag and you could win ...". In smaller stores they have even thanked me that I refused a bag. It shows that more and more people are getting the point. And exactly that is the point. :)
I wasn't saying the populace should be expected to research every item, nor do anything actively. I agree that the environment hardly comes into every day worries of the average person, which is why I think that either the government or the stores should force consumers to make the right choice. A majority will not do so otherwise.
"I think that either the government or the stores should force consumers to make the right choice."
Please tell me you don't mean that.
Grocery stores (where I live) offer reusable bags. I have bought several of them and I don't use plastic any more. But that was MY choice. I paid extra for those bags, and I still gladly pay the "hidden" cost for others to use plastic bags. I've done my part to support the environment in this case, and if other people CHOOSE to do the same, then plastic bags will be a thing of the past.
Education and offering feasible choices is the way to accomplish something like this, and you don't have to have the government infringing on your liberty to do it.
i meant force as in persuade by charging something like 10cents extra per plastic bag.
You forget that you are making my life more difficult and expensive to support your agenda. I am handicapped and find it difficult to transport non bagged items. Are you going to give me an exemption? Am I going to apply for the exemption with my driver's license? Am I going to need a doctor's note?
Then there is the fact that you are willing to charge me 50 times the cost of an item for your agenda. What's wrong with this picture?
reusable bags are not an option?
At over 200 times the cost of plastic bags, (including reusability) I can probably afford it, even if I have to make a 20 mile trip to Wal-mart to get large enough bags that are not too large to handle. I can probably find a system that allows me to have 5-15 bags in my car at all times and to keep them all clean enough to carry food without having to wrap it in plastic.
That seems like an awfully inefficient solution though, to a problem that could be solved by more recycling.
I reuse all the plastic bags, the better ones again for shopping and the others in my garbage bins. Specially in summer they seem to keep the smell down. I do compost, but the package the meat comes in stinks after a day out of the fridge.
I don't know what all the fuss is about. In all of the stores that I shop, you find canvass bags that can be purchased for use. You bring them in and have the clerk deposit all your goods in the bag. If your so darn concerned about the plastic situation, why don't you purchase the canvass bags. In addition, almost every city has recycle stations to drop off plastic, glass, cans, and want-not so that those items do not end up in the land fills. Stop complaining and make use of them.
The question is not about consumer choice the question is whether a company is marketing something that is harmful to the environment. Why are drug companies not allowed to market dangerous drugs, or additives. It is like saying let them add anything to food or cars or toys but the consumer must decide.
If there is evidence that plastic bags are harming the environment they must be banned. the consumer is not a policeman. The consumer just wants to lead his life.
i agree. We are just too greedy to buy the more expensive reusable bags... but if the reusable bags would eventually be a better deal than plastic bags.... then i can see a lot of people switching.
Nope. That is NOT the question. Literally anything can be harmful to the environment if you define "harm" as whatever changes the environment from a natural state. Anything made changes the environment. Therefore, the question really is...
What are we, as a society willing to pay to minimize environmental impact? That leads to the question, "What, about plastic grocery bags is harmful to the environment in terms of long term harm to humans?" and "Is there a substitute that serves the same purpose at an acceptable price?" Until you can answer those two questions, you are just pushing your agenda at my expense.
According to the advice from Intinvage, we need the government to step in and solve ALL our problems. As if the government doesn't have enough "Irons in the Fire" as it is. Regulations, Regulations, Regulations. While harmful or additive drugs is a valid concern and should be regulated, there are issues that can be dealt with by the consumer. You can effect change by your own actions and not just sit on the sideline waiting for someone else to address your concerns.
regulations, regulations, regulations.
You make it seem as if regulations are bad.
I personally like knowing that the meat I buy from the store will not contain human.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair may change one's view on regulations.
plus, I don't see one person being able to make a big difference. it would take an organization with power.
The meat issue is valid, as is any product that may be consumed by the customer. We should expect that the products that we consume or place in or on our bodies are in fact safe. In those cases I agree that we need regulations, however, the plastic bag issue can be eliminated by the demand for them. And that takes coordination and cooperation between the consumer and the stores using those items. Your part in this is to reduce the need for plastic bags.
I often buy chanel and other bags from http://www.buybestchanel.com and
http://www.buy-chanel-handbags.com
they're very comfirtable and Environmental.