Since I started the quest I have also finally adopted reusable bags. I have 3 bags that I keep in my car, when I come home I immediately put them near the entrance to the garage to remind me to put them back in the car as soon as I get out. So far I have been pretty good at remembering to take them with me, but I have to say I did have some concerns about putting produce in the bags with no kind of external "protection" like at least a paper bag. So I was using the paper bags to separate produce and then I was putting them in the reusable bag. I now realize that that defeated the purpose of the reusable bag itself. It is true that paper bags at least are biodegradable and recyclable ( plus I love using them to store my home made bread for example ) but making them is still very expensive in terms of energy and of trees. So I will try keeping my produce "free to roam" in the bags from now on. The only downside is that I will have to start using some kind of bleach spray to clean the inside of the bags once I bring them home, since it seems like repeatedly using the same bags can foster the spread of bacteria and fungi.
According to Wikipedia, from the sheer number of reusable bags imported every year, each and every family in the States should already own enough bags for a lifetime, yet plastic bags are still being heavily used. Moreover it's interesting to note that most of the bags are imported from China, couldn't the U.S. produce their own bags ? Maybe out of recycled materials? I am referring to the bags commonly found at supermarkets like Jewel or Meijer or Walmart. I am sure that it is possible to find bags made in the US if I bought them online, but shouldn't they be readily and easily accessible? As usual California seems to be ahead on this kind of issue, and apparently Walmart there sells the bag for 15 cents ( instead of 1-3 $ like the rest of the country) and it is preparing to switch completely over to reusable bags. This is a perfect example of how the choices we make can influence even the biggest corporations. Evidently Walmart is trying to have a better image in California because there are more environmentally conscious customers over there. It is time for the whole country to change, but there is still a lot of work to do, even in such a small matter as reusable bags. First of all they shouldn't be another reason for large profits for supermarkets. A reusable bag costs between 15-25 cents to a store and they sell them at a minimum of 99 cents. Secondly the use of reusable bags should be promoted while the use of plastic bags should be discouraged.
In Ireland , plastic bags have been subject to an Environmental Levy since 2002, according to which the retailers have to pay a levy of 0.15 euro cents for every bag they give to customers. The funds thus raised go directly into an environmental fund used to finance a range of waste management initiatives.
This levy has resulted in a dramatic decrease in ‘single-use’ plastic bag consumption over the past
year and a substantial increase in reusable bags. The levy does not apply to paper bags, and many
retailers have switched to paper, but these have not replaced plastic shopping bags in supermarkets.
Since its introduction, the levy has raised 3.5 million euros for waste management and
environmental projects. It has been reported that the use of plastic bags has fallen by 90-95%. The
impact on the litter stream is being monitored by the Coast Watch.(Plastic shopping bags - analysis on levies and environmental impacts by the Department of Environment and Heritage of Australia)
Many other countries have adopted similar methods, with good result. From what I found, in the U.S. some states, like New Jersey, tax directly the companies producing such pollutants, but that doesn't impact the consumer to make him change his habits. I know some stores offer a minimal discount if customers bring their own bag, but I am sure that a levy on the use of plastic bags would definitely change the behavior of Americans that are very economically minded. Why is it that the U.S. always have to come last when it comes to this kind of issues? The more I read about environment the more I find that many other countries have found viable solutions to most of the problems, while the U.S. resists any kind of change. The reason is usually the excessive power of big corporations on the political power. My question at this point is: are the United States a democracy or a plutocracy? I am starting to think the second is most true.
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