RE: paper vs plastic

Heidi Feldman (hfeldman@mrwmd.org)
Tue, 30 Mar 1999 10:00:40 -0800


The policy of charging for a bag (rather than rewarding for bringing your
own) is common place in Europe. There, you never expect to get a store bag,
you have to ask for one and pay for it as for any other purchase. People
there keep baskets in their cars (for the large shopping trips), and simply
transfer the groceries from the shopping cart into the baskets, and later
into the house. For small everyday shopping, without a car, they bring
their shopping nets or bags. You never leave the house without that bag!

My persona goal this year: to always bring my bag, even to the drug store,
etc. Success rate: about 80%!

HEIDI FELDMAN
PUBLIC EDUCATION COORDINATOR
MONTEREY REGIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
e-mail: hfeldman@mrwmd.org
Tel.: 831/384-5313 FAX: 831/384-3567

"Too many people today know the price of everything and the value of
nothing." Ann Landers

-----Original Message-----
From: Myra Nissen [mailto:myracycl@inreach.com]
Sent: Monday, March 29, 1999 8:22 PM
To: greenyes; crra
Cc: JudiGregry@aol.com
Subject: Re: paper vs plastic

I still like the store policy implemented by Community Foods in Santa
Cruz, CA in the late 1970's... You were charged 5 cents for every new
bag that you used from the store's supply. If you brought and used a
used bag, you were not charged.

Myra Nissen
myracycl@inreach.com
510-873-8777

____________________Reply Separator____________________
> Subject: paper vs plastic
> Author: JudiGregry@aol.com
> Date: 3/27/99 11:01 AM
>
> From: JudiGregry@aol.com
> Date: Sat, Mar 27, 1999 11:01 AM
> Subject: paper vs plastic
> To: crra; greenyes
> Dear members,
>
> I read an article last week that disturbed me and was hoping I could get
some
> help. It was regarding the usage of paper or plastic bags at the grocery
> store. Here's a quick summary of the article....
>
> basically, the article said that both were bad because paper bags are
made
> from virgin materials (trees) and plastic is made from petroleum sources
(also
> virgin materials). Then it went on to say that neither were recycled
after
> use. And finally it said that if one had to choose, that plastic would be
> better because even though the paper biodegrades in the landfill faster
than
> the plastc, that the plastic takes up less landfill space.
>
> This article has really disturbed me. I went and checked some paper bags
I
> had at home and found that Lucky bags show 50% post consumer content and
> Kinko's shows 20% post consumer, while my Lucky plastic bag showed no
recycled
> content. I also know that plastic bags have been extremely difficult to
> recycle with many people noticing the bags dropped off for recycling only
end
> up in trash cans. I have been under the assumption that paper bags are
widely
> made from recycled content and that they are also accepted for recycling
by
> most curbside recycling programs and processors. I'd like to think that
I'm
> doing the right thing by choosing paper over plasic, but would love to
hear
> what you think.
>
> Judi Gregory
> 626-339-9555
> judigregry@aol.com
>
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