The Kind Life


woman dressed in grocery bags

Grocery bags have been in the news quite a bit lately, for reasons both good and bad. Here's the information I've gathered about the ongoing effort to ban plastic bags, and the recent reports of lead in certain reusable grocery bags.

A Plastic Bag Ban

Earlier, I blogged about a bill that would have banned plastic bags throughout the state of California. Sadly, that bill did not pass, but recently, Los Angeles County took matters into its own hands!

LA has banned plastic bags in all unincorporated areas of the city - that covers about 1.1 million residents. Incorporated cities within Los Angeles County, like Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Pasadena, are not covered by the ban, but they can enact their own ordinances. The good news is that this ban is more stringent than the bill that was being debated on the state level, because it applies to all retailers, not just grocery stores. Also, shoppers who wish to use paper bags will need to pay 10 cents per paper bag, as opposed to the 5 cents per paper bag proposed in the state bill. Now we just need to lobby our city councils to pass similar ordinances in the cities within Los Angeles County! Your city should have a website with contact information – if you’re not sure where to find your city’s site, a simple Google search should do the trick!

Lead In Reusable Grocery Bags

Recently, the New York Times and the Huffington Post among others, have reported that lead has been found in certain reusable grocery bags. The Huffington Post reports:

"The Tampa Tribune tested more than a dozen bags from major grocers and found certain bags sold in Winn-Dixie and Publix stores had lead levels that concerned health officials. In a preview of a Sunday article, the newspaper's website reported that some bags had enough lead they could be considered hazardous waste if residents disposed of them in household trash."

Scary! My advice is to research your grocery bags before buying. There are many brands that are making sustainable tote bags – you don’t have to rely on those sold at the checkout counter of your local grocery store. Get Hip, Get Green makes a great bag that is made from 100% recyclable, non-woven polypropylene (NWPP), a material made from recycled water bottles - and the bag is also recyclable. I also blogged about some cute eco-shopping bags here. As you can see there are lots of eco-friendly choices!

What kind of grocery bag do you use?

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  • Categories: environment , current events

I have envirosax!  They're really great because they roll up and you can fit 5 HUGE bags into a little pouch that I always keep in my purse :)

I use reusable and honestly I don't know if they contain lead or not.

They are just simple fabric tote bags.

Plastic grocery bags are evil, they do so much damage to sea life and the environment. They should really have a higher price tag than 5c for those people who still choose to use them.

I often use plastic bags to put the dirty kitty litter in (I also use the grocery bags as garbage can liners in my home).  I live in Nova Scotia and here in the Annapolis Valley we have mandatory waste sorting.  Garbage has to be sorted (paper, plastic/recyclables, etc.) and displayed in specific (recycled) clear bags - with one old school dark garbage bag permitted per household.  it's a great idea as it allows the trash collectors to know what goes where for disposal.  The Valley Waste Resource Management website is a great tool as it guides those of us who are still somewhat unsure (http://www.vwrm.com/Recycling_SortingWaste.html).  Sure, it seems invasive at times but it's about doing everything we can for a greener earth. 

 

I also use reuseable bags, but I forget maybe once a month, but then I use the plastic bags for my trash can liners...what is a better alternative?? If there is one, please let me know! I compost and recycle, so the trash that goes in those plastic bags is very little, but still, it bothers me.

~Amy

 

Chico Bags are the best!  I keep 3 of them in my purse at all times, so I never forget them at home or in the car.  They are super light and compact.  You can get them in a variety of sizes and styles, and they also make bags that are 99% recycled - I recommend the Vita rePETE.

 

http://www.chicobag.com/

I live in Southern Ontario and most of our grocery stores have gone 'bring your own' here...it is 5 cents per plastic bag here if you don't have your own...so that's what I do...bring my own reuseable bags!! I am surprised that more stores in the U.S. are not following this practice as well?!  We were in Cambridge, England 2 summers ago and they were already doing it there in their grocery stores!  I wish more stores would go 'bag less' as well, it really does help cut down on the unnecessary waste!

In Canada we are starting to see Simple & Natural bags.  These are great because:

- they are made of 100% recycled cotton

- no addition of colours, bleaches or chemicals

- biodegradable

- easy to wash

Have a look at them at:  www.simplenatural.net

 

I will either reuse the same plastic bag or I have a rucksack which I carry around (usually keep my netbook in) that I will use while shopping.

The problem is that I feel guilty still when having to use binliners for garbage.. they must be a much better alternative and yet for Hygiene I can not think of much else.. wrapping it up in newspaper for instance means it's one less paper in the recycle Bin..  at a bit of a loss with it considering the plastics are becoming a major concern in the oceons right now...

If I could ban anything it's them horrible bottle caps that don't recycle & only end up in the oceon (garbage island is 4 times the size of Texas in the sea)  when the stuff grinds up it ends up about the same size particles as plankton as well...  I would vote again to first ban all plastics not recycleable.. especially them plastic caps.

 

Any inventive ideas to replace the binliner?

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