Plastic bags going up to 44c

Fulton Crown wrote: »

Of course if your one of those lazy gimps who can't be arshed..(I.E you are like the majority of students) and wander into the supermarket like a badly dressed scarecrow then hey great ! Your making a good contribution to the environment.

Thank you ...sucker

I don't see how I'm contributing to the environment, whenever I'm made pay for a plastic bag, once I'm done with it I throw it into the local river/lake out of pure spite.

44c..meh...wake me up when its €2

Grimes wrote: »

Has anyone stopped to think about the people who work in the plastic bag manufacturing plant? I thought not.

Who ?? this bloke ?

http://api.ning.com/files/GMwqwIqQauLwJr3oPxqx6DLKHFz5Fn56A9H4SbkpeiSWjhRrNy*61KiKzf6zRn4mQikXQOKGdSmLJ7lsLyKNhRFx58Fr2yhJ/1.jpg

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

I for one wlecome our 2€ per bag overlords taxes. Hell, they can make it 10€ if they want - I don't pay it one way or the other.

I agree to a certain extent but there should be a reasonable limit for those times when you didn't plan going to shops but end up poppping in to pick up a bit of stuff. Or would it be better to go home and then drive back down with your Bag for lifes. Don't know why they didn't just round to 50c mind.

Lawson Old Scene wrote: »

Paper bags will end up in the same place as plastic bags if they are free.

recycling

sunnyside wrote: »

You have used the exact same bag for 6 years:eek:

She must be the crazy old bag lady who lives at the end of your road

sorry Miss M

Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic, Right?



Summary: The answer to the "paper or plastic?" dilemma is: Neither. They're roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution. Get basic design benefits of a paper and plastic bag with our award-winning replacements - the ACME Bags Workhorse (the plastic bag replacement) and the EarthTote (the paper bag replacement). Same brilliant basic design as their wasteful relatives, but designed to be used thousands of times.
__________________



Issue 1: Energy and natural resources
It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.

ENERGY TO PRODUCE BAG ORIGINALLY (BTUs)
Safeway Plastic Bags: 594 BTUs
Safeway Paper Bags: 2511 BTUs
(Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry.)

Of course, most paper comes from tree pulp, so the impact of paper bag production on forests is enormous. In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases.

Issue 2: Pollution
The majority of kraft paper is made by heating wood chips under pressure at high temperatures in a chemical solution. As evidenced by the unmistakable stench commonly associated with paper mills, the use of these toxic chemicals contributes to both air pollution, such as acid rain, and water pollution. Millions of gallons of these chemicals pour into our waterways each year; the toxicity of the chemicals is long-term and settles into the sediments, working its way through the food chain. Further toxicity is generated as both plastic and paper bags degrade.

POLLUTANTS PAPER V.S. PLASTIC
Paper sacks generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
Source: "Comparison of the Effects on the Environment of Polyethylene and Paper Carrier Bags," Federal Office of the Environment, August 1988

Issue 3: Recycling
It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low, with only 10 to 15% of paper bags and 1 to 3% of plastic bags being recycled, according to the Wall Street Journal.

ENERGY TO RECYCLE PACKAGE ONCE (BTUs)
Safeway Plastic Bags: 17 BTUs
Safeway Paper Bags: 1444 BTUs
Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry.

Although paper bags have a higher recycling rate than plastic, each new paper grocery bag you use is made from mostly virgin pulp for better strength and elasticity.

Issue 4: Degradability
Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills because of the lack of water, light, oxygen and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed. A paper bags takes up more space than a plastic bag in a landfill, but because paper is recycled at a higher rate, saving space in landfills is less of an issue.

At the end of the day using reusable shopping bags is the real answer



At the end of the day raising the levy on plastic bags is only increasing the amount of paper bags and giving the manufactures of recycled or fibre bags the oppertunity to put those prices up. Think about it. You would have done it in economics.

If the govt wants to tax plastic bags to help the environment that tax should be offset by supplying fibre bags to everyone. You know, fibre bags that are eco frendly and contain no harful inks that damage nature.

Believe what you want. Oh and for the "smart" person that takes the box from the supermarket. Believe it or not you are paying to dispose this in your green bin and if you dont dispose of it properly you are diverting cardboard from recycling.

they should ban the plastic bag production as the Chinese decided to do so.

If the government cared so much about the enviroment they would tax chewing gum.

Kernel wrote: »

When you have a shower of knobheads like the greens in power, you get this. And spunking your money on bicycles for everyone. And closing Dame street to traffic. And higher fuel costs. And water rates on the way. Etc.

...and we need more smoke factories too, let's not forget.

Very apt signature by the way.