Subject: Plastic Bags - Thoughts
Posted by: supersal1
Date: Oct 08 15
An odd week and exciting week this week for plastic bags.
Apparently, they are evil incarnate when it comes to the environment. England has just caught up with the rest of the UK and supermarkets by law now have to charge 5p for each single use plastic bag.
Meanwhile, in Daventry, Northamptonshire, after 1st December Dogwalkers can be fined £100.00 for not carrying a plastic bag with them. No matter that you are 20 yards from reaching your home and you started your walk with a pocketful of bags, you can be fined.
Thoughts anyone?
Posted by: supersal1
Date: Oct 08 15
An odd week and exciting week this week for plastic bags.
Apparently, they are evil incarnate when it comes to the environment. England has just caught up with the rest of the UK and supermarkets by law now have to charge 5p for each single use plastic bag.
Meanwhile, in Daventry, Northamptonshire, after 1st December Dogwalkers can be fined £100.00 for not carrying a plastic bag with them. No matter that you are 20 yards from reaching your home and you started your walk with a pocketful of bags, you can be fined.
Thoughts anyone?
22 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
13LuckyLady 
|
Single use plastic bags? Only if they are poorly made. Not having to use plastic would be great. Unfortunately, I can no longer carry cloth bags which are often over packed. Requesting those who MUST do the sacking not place 20 cans in one bag is a waste of time. A solution is needed before the public is fined. Dog bag fines....totally unfair to those who do clean up after their animals. The ones who do not clean up will continue as usual. If feces are discovered, will those who issue these fines be able to determine if the dog owner is present before issuing a fine? It's weird how those who do dirty deeds are rarely held accountable. Reply #1. Oct 08 15, 11:02 AM |
MiraJane
|
In new York state, all plastic bags are recyclable. Or when you take them to a store to be reused, you get a two cents credit for each bag you use. Unfortunately, most people still simply throw them out to leach chemicals into our water supply. Reply #2. Oct 08 15, 11:31 AM |
| 13LuckyLady
|
We use them as packing materials, reuse them for shopping, trash can liners and more. Places in Colorado charge you for the bags. Some bags are so poorly made, they don't make it from the buggy to the car without splitting. The convenience, I believe, is what causes people to like the bags so much. However, they do NOT belong in trees, lakes, ponds, or fan blades. Reply #3. Oct 08 15, 11:36 AM |
supersal1
|
The fine for dogwalking is not just if your dog fouls and you don't clean it up, it's for not carrying a bag in the first place, whih I believe is quite unique, can't think of any other instance in the UK where you'd be fined for not carrying something. So theoretically, if I'm 10 yards from my home with my 2 greyhounds, having been out for an hour with them and used up between 6-8 bags (Darcy doesn't like to waste a walk), I can then be fined if I've run out of bags. Since the 5p charge came in the plastic bags the supermarkets provide have improved in quality. The so-called single use ones weren't that great, but we always managed to re-use most of ours. Mostly I take my own bags with me when I shop. I got an online shop last week and as usual, specified no bags. Also as usual, my shopping came wrapped in 8 different carrier bags, goodness knows how many they'd have given if I'd not asked for a bagless shop! I understand that plastic bags have an impact on the environment. However, so does the plastic on a pack of beer, polystyrene takaway cartons, etc, etc., so I just think it's odd to single out plastic bags. Very much tinkering around the edges I feel. Reply #4. Oct 08 15, 11:50 AM |
Mommakat
|
A good number of years ago I purchased a dozen carry bags (stiffened cloth type) from my local supermarket and have used them ever since. I rarely receive a plastic bag these days and when I do it is put to some other use. One of our big department store chains here does not provide any bags and you are obliged to provide your own. I recall when in California years ago that large paper bags were provided and these fitted into a frame in the kitchen into which one could put refuse for consigning to the garbage container. Reply #5. Oct 08 15, 6:30 PM |
Creedy
|
Yes, Mommakat - and they last for ages those cloth bags. They're excellent. Our grandparents etc did without plastic bags. We should be able to as well. They're a horror when they (inevitably) make their way into the water systems. What we need is a government with a bit of intestinal fortitude to make their manufacture illegal instead of just pontificating about the environment. People would then do their shopping with reusable containers as they did before. It's no use saying we shouldn't use plastic bags. While they're so readily available, people will continues to use them. Reply #6. Oct 10 15, 4:32 AM |
| 13LuckyLady
|
One more thing for the government to decree. They do so well with everything else. We are given options. My grandparents lived less than a block from the store. Groceries were often purchased on a daily basis. Much is different from the times of our grandparents. Shopping for a family can mean 10 bags or more. Cloth bags don't always work. Paper bags are difficult to manage and if you use them, someone brings up the killing of trees. Bottom line...fossil fuels are limited. Unfortunately, plastic is popular. People demand convenience. Reply #7. Oct 10 15, 5:41 AM |
satguru
|
I use mine till they fall apart, I've no idea why everyone doesn't. If you buy a bag you don't use it once and throw it away, so why do people with free ones? The cost is just another tax under a false excuse to take more money. Reply #8. Oct 29 15, 3:26 PM |
| MiraJane
|
No, if people have to pay to use the plastic it is not another tax. It is a way to discourage using them. The government doesn't get the money. The store does. One of the biggest uses of plastic in recent years is for CD covers & the plastic wrap over them. Plastic is made using fossil fuels, a finite resource. Reply #9. Oct 29 15, 3:59 PM |
| supersal1
|
I agree that resources are finite, and steps should be taken to conserve our resources. It just puzzles me as to why carrier bags have been singled out. The plastic rings on a six-pack are bad for the environment, and pretty much unnecessary. Our soft drinks and cordials come in plastic bottles. In the UK we are blessed with safe and palatable drinking water, yet plastic bottles of water fill our supermarket shelves. Meat in the supermarkets is sold in plastic containers, as is some fruit. I could go on... It just seems like the charge for plastic bags is fiddling while Rome burns. Getting back to the poo bags - in my opinion, this is a really stupid piece of legislation. If a dog warden asks if I'm carrying a bag, I can just say yes, I am. They have no power to search me. If I were taken to court, the onus is on them to prove that I wasn't carrying a bag. It's intrusive and unnecessary. Reply #10. Oct 29 15, 4:31 PM |
| Mommakat
|
Regarding the comment on paper bags and trees. That is a thought that crosses my mind when the usual weekly free newspaper is tossed on my lawn to be consigned immediately to the recycle bin. Waste of time, money and resources. Unfortunately it is a fact of life that man fouls up his own environment - we could take a few lessons from animals on the subject. Reply #11. Oct 29 15, 6:03 PM |
daver852
|
I don't understand. The dog poop is biodegradable and the plastic bags are not. They should be encouraging people NOT to clean up after their dogs. Reply #12. Oct 29 15, 6:41 PM |
| MiraJane
|
Except poop of all kinds biodegrades into our water supply in America. It then contaminates the water supply. But if you want to drink water with dissolved dog poo in it, go ahead daver. Reply #13. Nov 01 15, 11:27 AM |
| daver852
|
Well, no more so than all the wild animals who are out there pooping away without supervision! Reply #14. Nov 01 15, 12:55 PM |
| satguru
|
In some places the bags are free and you are paid the same to bring them back. That's a far better way of doing things and no one has to spend more. Reply #15. Nov 01 15, 3:05 PM |
| MiraJane
|
You mean when herd of buffalo and packs of wolves roamed freely on the American continent and humans hadn't started living in high density cities and towns, daver? Yes, I'm sure water supplies were contaminated. And people drank from those water supplies that were chock full of e. coli bacteria. And people died from that or were seriously ill. If we still lived in a wide open country, then it wouldn't be such a problem. But when your water supply is from groundwater sources, letting animal waste simply wash away into the drainage system or seep into the ground gets people sick. But hey, go for it if you want it. Reply #16. Nov 01 15, 3:56 PM |
| Creedy
|
Eewww Reply #17. Nov 04 15, 4:32 PM |
Mixamatosis
|
Dog poop can contain parasites that can cause blindness. It's a particular hazard for young children who may come into contact with it by playing on grass etc and are too young to realise the risks or are unaware that they've been contaminated. That's why we are encouraged to dispose of it safely. Besides there's nothing worse that stepping in it without noticing until you've walked it into your house. Unlike wild animals, dogs poop in cities and on pavements (sidewalks) shared by people. Reply #18. Jul 27 16, 2:41 AM |
| Mommakat
|
It is the law here that when out walking your dog you have to carry a bag to scoop any "calling cards" it may deposit. In our town it has been known for the Ranger to stop and issue a ticket (fine) to anyone who does not have the necessary bag with them. Our town has the bags attached to street garbage cans for just that purpose so there is no excuse for dog owners to be without them. Reply #19. Jul 27 16, 4:07 AM |
| supersal1
|
Don't you find that hugely intrusive though, that you can be fined for not carrying something? Don't they have to prove that you're not carrying a bag? I don't have a problem clearing up poo, and have been known to loudly offer a spare bag to people who just let their dogs go and then walk off. It's just the principal of it, being fined for not carrying something. Reply #20. Jul 27 16, 5:35 AM |
22 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
Legal / Conditions of Use
|
|
: