On the Montreal local news tonight, there was a segment talking about our Mayor Denis Coderre wanting to make Montreal a green city, which will involve banning plastic bags. So when people go grocery shopping there will be no more plastic bags in which to put their groceries in. While I am all for protecting and bettering the environment and do see this side, I also see this: I reuse all plastic bags for garbage. They are saying that the plastic ends up in the landfill and stays in the environment permanently. However, even if the stores no longer give out plastic bags for groceries and other purchases, what then? Will we get paper bags? I mean, I fully understand that it is good and wise to recycle, and I do this myself as much as possible and consider myself to be a concerned citizen for both animals and people. However, people buy the large green or black plastic bags for the purpose of throwing out their garbage anyway, so what's the point? Let me make it clear that grocery stores stopped the paper bags here decades ago.
Now, if they opt for using paper bags instead, this is great, as this was done way before the plastic bags ever came out. However, I do see a problem with the paper. It cannot be reused for garbage when it is raining or snowing. If food has touched it, it cannot be recycled. I use one of those fabric shopping carts on wheels when I go to the grocery store, as it saves me from having to carry heavy and many things...and I take the bus and do not have a car. However, we must also be careful with these fabric shopping carts as well, as they cannot be washed, and if meat juices and other such foods get into it there can be health issues, which is why I still carry a couple of plastic bags inside of it where I can put my groceries.
Yes, I am a deep thinker, very detail oriented, and I have really thought this thing through before typing it and sharing it with you all. Another thing I am thinking...when you go to the grocery store and purchase fruit or vegetables, you need a plastic bag to put them into, or else all the apples, oranges or whatever else you buy, by the time you get to the cash will take a long time to put together and ready for the cashier to weigh and charge the adequate price.
One last thought: I think it would be more profitable if they (the plastic manufacturers) came out with plastic bags that disintegrate within a reasonable period of time, such as a few months, this way there would be less plastic in the landfill.
So, what are your thoughts on all this? Thanks so much for listening. :)
The videos I have chosen for this post are:
A Just for Laughs Gag/Juste pour Rire
Le Jardin - Kevin Kern (amazing new age music)
You Should Know - Honesty
Colour Therapy: Orange
For the following, I am providing the link sources beneath each photo. You just need to click on the images to see a larger view.
Thank you all so much for visiting me here. I always appreciate and enjoy reading your kind thoughts, which you are always welcome to share.
Belle journée à toi Linda et Merci pour tous tes posts.
ReplyDeleteFor lots of groceries, we don't like plastic bags. Because none of the jars or cans will stand up, they all dump over into a mess. Paper bags protect food better, and we then use them in the kitchen as trash bags. Plastic bags we use for used cat litter and they work well for that. So we reuse both kinds. For years, our grocery stores have been saying they are going to get rid of paper, but they never do.
ReplyDeleteHi Ginny, thanks for the mention of paper bags, because I edited my post to say that the stores here in the Montreal area have not used paper bags in decades. However, they may use them for deliveries but I have never seen them.
DeleteAll of ours have paper or plastic. Some ask which we want. Others we have to request paper. I like the paper better for the same reasons, things stand up better. Also, I can fit more in paper.
DeletePS: Orange is my most favorite colour.
Orange! It's the 15th Night of the new lunar year, Chap Goh Meh, the Chinese call it. Full moon and young single ladies will go to the river and throw Mandarin oranges...in the hope of finding a partner soon.
ReplyDeleteje passe te dire une bonne journée
ReplyDeletej'ai pas de mal de boulot cette fin de semaine :)
ici un ciel bleu pâle , frisquet ce matin mais on est encore que début mars ...
il annonce jusque 15° ce we ! on verra
bisous
*******************
Mars.
Il tombe encore des grêlons,
Mais on sait bien que c'est pour rire.
Quand les nuages se déchirent,
Le ciel écume de rayons.
Le vent caresse les bourgeons
Si longuement qu'il les fait luire.
Il tombe encore des grêlons,
Mais on s'est bien que c'est pour rire.
Les fauvettes et les pinsons
Ont tant de choses à se dire
Que dans les jardins en délire
On oublie les premiers bourdons.
Il tombe encore des grêlons…
Maurice Carême (1899-1978)
(•̃‿•̃)❀
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup Linda pour cette belle publication !!!
GROS BISOUS et bonne journée !!!
Hi Linda! Give me my plastic bags please! I don't think the cloth ones are sanitary, and rewashing them over and over uses water and power resources. Like you, I recycle every bag. I use them for packing shoes, etc., in my suitcase, then recycle. Funny, funny gag. The Anne Frank quote is one of my favorites, and I remember the powerful feeling I had when I visited her hiding place in Amsterdam and thought of those words. That visit, back in 1972, was one of the most powerful words. I've been smiling at you kind comment on my blog for hours! Have a great Thursday!
ReplyDeleteWe don't get any plastic bags anymore since several years. You just get nothing you have to bring your shopping bag as our Grandmother did. The garbage plastic bags are only of disintegrate material and there is the city logo on them you have to buy them of course. Most of the European countries do the same.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda.. Very nice post as always.. Lovely video and pictures.. Have a niuce day.. Cheers..
ReplyDeleteThere has been talk of removing plastic bags here too, although so far all that has happened has been the introduction of a charge for their use, and an upgrading to biodegradable plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am ecologically conscious and always reuse my bags for garbage. I have begun using fabric shopping bags, but if plastic bags are phased out altogether, what will we use to dispose of out waste in?
It really isn't easy, is it?!
Another wonderful collection today, Linda...the first video really made me laugh! :D xoxoxo
I have not used plastic shopping bags in many years. I think the idea of banning plastic bags is that making plastic, in generally, takes lot of energy(oil), lots of them ends up in the Nature and seas where they are very harmful and that we should learn ourselves out of the idea of using things only once or twice.
ReplyDeleteYou have some good points on the plastic bags. I re-use them for garabage bags as well.
ReplyDeletei reuse my plastic bags for disposing of trash too, and while i wouldn't mind switching to paper bags, i guess that there are times when plastic bags are more suitable for holding certain types of trash :)
ReplyDeleteHello Linda!:) Plastic bags are going to be replaced by paper bags in my country too. We have become so dependent on them, that I wonder how I will manage without them, although I do know they are harmful to the envirament.
ReplyDeleteThe gag was amusing, what a shock for the onlookers trying to help.:) I loved the music vídeo clip, and such lovely pictures too. I never lie,... I've got a bad memory!:) I love the colour orange and wear it a lot in all seasons, but I love green and blue the most. Thank you for all the quotes you post, they are always uplifting Linda.
Warm Regards.
Bonjour Linda,
ReplyDeleteJe te remercie pour tout ces beaux partages ❀
Je t'embrasse et bonne journée
Manon
We are encouraged to use less plastic bags and to bring our own shopping bags. For a start, some malls are not providing free plastic bags on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteHere in Tasmania plastic bags are banned. The supermarkets have shopping bags we can buy for a small price and reuse them. It's simple and easy. If we forget to take our bags we can buy another type of bag for a few cents. For the garbage we buy bags that will break down in a short time, so these are used to put the household rubbish in. Also we have recycling, where by we put paper products, plastic bottles and containers that are marked with a number in the recycle bin. Both bins are emptied, the rubbish one, one week, the next week they rubbish and recycle bin.
ReplyDeleteIt's no hassle.
d'une manière générale, les sacs en plastique sont défendus chez nous Linda..
ReplyDeleteon a pris l'habitude d'acheter des sacs à réuitiliser...
la vidéo, " le jardin" me plaît beaucoup
greetings
Over here they charge you for the use of plastic bags with your shopping. Not all supermarkets do, though. It comes down to choice.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Hi Linda, Here in Seattle the City Council passed a regulation 2 or 3 years ago which did away with plastic bags at grocery stores. You can still get a paper bag but it cost 5 cents. So, a double bag will add 10 cents to your bill. The reason for charging, they said, was to encourage us to make use of re-useable bags. I tried it for a while with a reusable bag but, like you mentioned, those bags can be easily contaminated. So, I've ended up just accepting that most of my grocery purchases will have 10 cents added for a double bag and then I use those bags to help avoid using the plastic bags for garbage and recycle. John
ReplyDeleteOur supermarkets stopped the plastic bags a few years ago, they offer for sale bigger fabric bags with their name on them OR you can buy plastic bags................
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Thank you Linda, for another great post... The quotes you always leave here are food for thought, and very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day,
Penny
Linda, the lighter bags for fruit are more biodegradable, and they can be reused. I'm for composting food waste, and our city has a truck that comes weekly to dump our garbage containers. It also provides a recycle center for cans, paper, other plastics, etc. Our local groceries accept used bags for recycling at the moment, as we have not yet gone to "no plastic'. I do use cloth bags to take home my groceries.
ReplyDeleteThere's a charge on plastic bags here- for the most part when I'm buying groceries I can put them in a fabric bag or in my backpack without a problem.
ReplyDeleteWe have twenty or thirty grocery sized bags we made from a heavy cotton, duck like cloth. They wash beautifully. We take them grocery shopping. I have one in my purse for things like a stop at the drug store. As a new system of shopping it took some getting used to, but it's been working for us about ten years now.
ReplyDeleteThe plastic bags we do get, and there still are many, go to the recycle bin at the grocery story, when they collect and recycle used plastic bags. I understand carpeting is a big use for them. I'm talking all our plastic bags: bread wrappers, the thin ones for fruit and veggies, and the odd grocery type bag.
Great post. Enjoyed what you wrote about plastic and paper bags. The choice of videos were great and so were the quotes. Have a blessed day. Madeline
ReplyDeleteAnother enjoyable post Linda and thank you for leaving such a sweet message for Anni. She will appreciate your kindness. As for the plastic issue. I try to cut down on plastic as much as I can and I think that going to the manufacturer and asking them to come up with one that will disintegrate is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteWonderful musik of Kevin Kern and I've enjoyed the others troo.
ReplyDeleteHere in Germany we have very thin bags for fruits and vegetables, it is little material for a necessary purpose ... larger stable plastic bags cost 20 to 50 cents in the market - the animated the people, to bring old bags or cloth bags or baskets from home and use it again and again. I am also doing this.
(The markets have big stable bags for one euro, pretty design, for long use, too.)
Without it does not work, it's also a handy invention. But you can limit damage in this way.
Greetings from far away :-)
Bonjour Linda, je suis bien de ton avis... Bise et bonne soirée!
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with you about the plastic bags. I do NOT put them in the garbage but reuse them also. Plenty of people DO reuse them. And as you said, if I didn't have them I would buy plastic ONE USE bags to that would be thrown away. So really, which is more green?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comment on my blog.
Nice, Linda, the gag !
ReplyDeleteI live as green as possible.
Hi Linda.
ReplyDeleteBefore we came to Canada I know we got containers for the garbage. A green and a grey one. No bags were used. And in the stores you can just take your own fabric bags. I do that here too. And what I remember, in the store they have a area where they put the empty boxes, so everyone is allowed to take what they need to take the groceries home. At home you put old paper in it and the recycling truck will take it from your place. We do that here to,in MB.
Wilma
Great post!
ReplyDeletewww.alessandrastyle.com
Hola Linda, tienes mucha razón, lo mejor para todos sería las bolsas que se desintegraran, porque si se vuelve a utilizar el papel también habrán de talar más árboles. Gracias por tu visita.
ReplyDeleteSaludos.
linda - i´m totally with you about that. i think that not the plastic bag itself is the problem. the problem is how people use them. thoughtful and sustainable or without thinking how much and what to do with.
ReplyDeletethank you for your lovely comment on my post!!!
xxx
Thank you for visiting.
ReplyDeleteI suppose to always shopping plastic bags with what we already have. It would be important if plastic in the world is less, because not only prepares the disposal effort, but also the production is harmful to the environment.
Greetings
Julia
me and Princess Sassy are twins today...LOL
ReplyDeleteHappiness and cookies would be pretty fabulous right now. I am up to my eyelashes in doing my business taxes this week and don't plan to stop, save for quick meals and sleeping, until they're done (case in point, I've been up for 27 hours so far on the current stretch and will probably keep going quite a bit longer - thankfully I've always been good at staying away unusually long). After it's finally done though, I shall sleep, put my feet up and grab a cookie or two for sure! :)
ReplyDeleteMany hugs & happy Thursday wishes coming your way,
♥ Jessica
No compromise, ban plastic. Period.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if you compost? I find that because we compost, generally our trash is not messy, so we're able to dump our waste directly into the garbage bin without using any plastic bags. I wonder if that would work for your area?
ReplyDeleteWe started using plastic shopping bags for trash when we started traveling full time, and since we moved back into a house, we still use a small trash container designed for these bags and never have to use the big trash bags that most everyone uses. I venture to say, besides not having to look at large trash containers in the house, we probably use less plastic than those who use the big plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteI rarely ever waste the bags myself. I use them as lunch bags and garbage bags for small trash cans.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll just be happy today! GOOD ONE! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI too will use them for garbage-especially things like bones or skin, tie em up in a double bag before putting it into the garbage.
ReplyDeleteWe reuse our plastic bags, too, but I try to remember to take my cloth bags to use. I don't always remember. There are some places that do not provide plastic bags at all and you have to buy the paper bags if you didn't remember to bring your own bags (not in my home town, but near). Nice and thought provoking post. Thank you. blessings ~ tanna
ReplyDeleteIn my part of the world, decision is up to supermarkets. I usually carry my clothbag and a few small transparent polyethylene bags with me to the nearby supermarket, but we have a choice. With our own bag, we get 2 yen of cash back, without our own bag, we are given a plastic bag. At some of the supermarket, plastic bags are not free. In some cities like Kyoto and Kobe, people have to use plastic bags with city office logo for dumping garbage. Because of a little expensive price, people’s efforts to reduce trash has gotten serious.
ReplyDeleteI’m marveled at how you always find such nice videos and photos with inspiring words. Thanks for sharing.
Yoko
Hi Linda, I just wanted to thank you for leaving such nice posts on mt Cats in Clothes Blog. I was having issues with them publishing in case you don't see yours there. I think they are working now. Thanks again and good luck with your blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and have loved reading all the subsequent comments from all over the world. I don't use plastic bags myself for years for groceries but rather have re-suable ones.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a point there , Linda. Yes, when I go to the market to buy meat, I would still need to use plastic bags so that the water/blood wont drip. Yes, sometimes the meat seller would wrap it with newspaper but yet the blood will drip.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a big problem if using public transport coz sometimes I buy pork and there will definately be a big problem due to religion matter in my country. Some supermarket even provide different cart for those who buy pork and alcohol to use...so if to have pigs blood dripping in a public transport...gosh...I'll be inviting big trouble.
It is a good idea for the plastic suppliers to come up with biodegradable plastic. Quite a few supermarket and hypermarket over here are using these. I think it is a better option than totally bann plastics