Thread: Con job or real

"Reusable" bags pulled out of Balcome Creek, Mt Martha Vic.
I regularly fill the yak with this crap.

Now convince me that the new reusable bags have helped saved the environment.

Mjs

Originally Posted by PhilipA

It's maybe not a con job but certainly Virtue Signalling by the supermarkets and by the responsible government.

I can recall reading a study some time ago that the majority of plastic bags in the Pacific Gyre and elsewhere originate from a few rivers in Asia and Africa.

In countries with good municipal garbage collection it is not really a problem.

In Asia and Africa in rural areas there is no garbage collection so often villagers just stack their garbage in plastic bags and/or chuck them in the river.

I can recall in about 1985 The Malaysian Government was going to have a conference in KL so decided to put a boom across the river and they intercepted 16 tonnes of garbage a day.

I have visited many villages in Malaysia and Thailand and seen first hand the mess. Also drinks are sold in plastic bags which adds to the volume.

Way back in the 80s you could tell that you were approaching a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan by the increasing levels of plastic bags adorning every fence line. I doubt this has changed in regards to refugee camps.
Regards PhilipA

From my touring of Israel, Egypt and East Africa in the 90's i can tell you nothing has changed. Looking out the rear window of our Cairo hotel and there were mountains of garbage 2 stories high with a lot of it being plastic bags and drink bottles.

Have the reusable Coles shopping bags they sell at the cash register posted over here as they are better quality than the ones the local supermarkets are selling and even including postage cheaper

More bad news for bunny loving, tree huggers, is that the most common micro plastic in the ocean is from textiles, and some of these fabrics are even made from recycled plastic materials.

"The most common microplastic found in the ocean is microfibers from

textiles

, which enters the ocean through domestic and industrial waste water systems. The study suggests that microplastics are ending up in biodiversity hotspots in the ocean, where they can easily enter and disrupt the marine ecosystem."

In ocean biodiversity hotspots, microplastics come with the currents

You don't have to use home delivery.
You don't have to buy fresh bags at the checkout.
You don't have to buy/use the Supermarket cloth bags.
You can use your own bags over and over again.
You can make your own shopping bags.
They can be of washable, repairable, identifiable cloth.
The F&V supplied bags are usable for the under-bench bins.
These bags degrade more easily.
The old bags broke down eventually, but not totally.
The "checkout" plastic bags are stronger than the old ones.
Some places are reverting to supplying paper sacks.
Some places freely supply boxes.

Organise yourselves and you can get away without any extra cost other than fuel.
Doing the shopping yourself gets you the item you want, not what the 'hand thinks what you may like.
This way you can take advantage of specials and brand options.

Originally Posted by rovers4

This way you can take advantage of specials and brand options.

And use buy dates.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

From my touring of Israel, Egypt and East Africa in the 90's i can tell you nothing has changed. Looking out the rear window of our Cairo hotel and there were mountains of garbage 2 stories high with a lot of it being plastic bags and drink bottles.

Cairo hasn't changed since then either. Was there less than 12 month ago, plastic waste filth everywhere clogging streets, gutters and water ways. In certain parts of town is like your driving through a garbage tip, not a residential area.