Italians ban plastic bags

[Totally Scrambled]

Such recycling is not just about necessity it is also about economics, which is also the reason it does not happen here.
In the third world it wouldn't happen either if it wasn't economical to do it. It just so happens that the cost of living is low, wages low etc which then makes it possible for these dump scavengers to make money from their activity as there is a market for what they find at a price that can be afforded.
The cost of producing new things makes it cheaper to do so here than recycling things.
Only when it becomes as cheap or cheaper to recycle materials will there be the will to do it as a matter of course.
There is only so far most people would be willing to go in changing their lifestyle and most so called Green initiatives thought up by Government seem to make things more expensive by adding duty to things which only adds to the Government coffers with not much obvious benefit to the tax payers.
I need to go and lie down in a darkened room for a bit now.
Dom

[saint-spoon]

I took this photo just outside of Mombasa, they are that poor that they have had to use old bits of shopping bags as curtains.
The shop in the next photo is selling old oil drums and detergent containers, the locals buy them as water container and hike miles to fill them (often from contaminated puddles by the side of the road. Recycling things is a way of life for them out of necessity.

[p.penn]

I too have pics like that SS - and the amazing thing is they don't complain and whinge like we do here. They don't have that luxury, they just get on with it.

[saint-spoon]

There was a thing on the telly while back about orphaned children in Manila making shopping bags out of plastic that they had scavenged from a rubbish dump, with the proceeds they where making a better life for themselves through schooling etc. it was all organised via a charity. I was thinking of this as there was a similar article in a magazine I was reading recently. Although, as Richard says, it will ultimately end up as land fill again it was constructive use of what was unusable before hand. Making something out of nothing so to speak and doing it out of necessity.

[newto]

Just stumbled on this...

Not good

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... ic-bag-use

[p.penn]

Where I work, quite a few customers, in fact I would say a lot bring there own bags.

On many occasions someone who I know usually has their own bags has popped in to shop unexpectedly or has genuinely forgotton them......BUT the other day I had a customer who said they didn't need any, they would manage, then asked if they were free. When I said yes, he said he would have them then.

The customer is always right...the customer is alwyas right............

[newto]

[demonchilli]

Just seen this thread.Here in Rep Ireland,plastic bags have been charged for,for a few years now,started at 12c ,now 15c per bag.Its worked very well,the huge majority of people bring their own reusable bags shopping.

[roddelmae]

Helen, the full ruling is as follows:-
Rule # 1 The customer is always right.
Rule # 2 In the event of the customer being idiocally wrong, they must be persuaded that the right way is the way they were going to do it all along.
Rule # 3 If they cannot be persuaded thus, then they must be doing something dishonest, so call the police and have them arrested.
Does that help?

[p.penn]

Yes, thank you.

[Richard]

I guess in that respect, there was 'no harm' in the customer having the plastic bag - it's what they do with it afterwards.

Something else which springs to mind.....Are we giving up on Bin Bags?

[Lillia]

)t'

I know a chap who must have used about 1,000 plastic bags to make a rope, quite a good idea I thought, plastic is very strong and used in that way will last a long time.

Still not recycling though, just a good idea for another use of something, so frugal if you see what I mean, he'll have to throw it away some time or other.

What this is, is upcycling, as opposed to recycling~

[Americanlady]

A few months ago, I heard that California was considering passing a law banning all plastic bags, but I forgot about it and don't know if it was passed. I must admit that, over a year ago, I bought 4 or 5 reusable fabric shopping bags. Unfortunately, I always forget to take them with me. Like that's doing any good! I think it will have to come down to the governments of each state legally banning their use before people (including myself) do what they know is right and quit filling up our landfills with this product that practically lives forever!

[Orfy]

Plastic bags are still used and available in Italy.
Some of the shops didn't charge for them so I'm not sure how effective it is.

On thing I can say is that if bags are available free then I will take them because I reuse them many times until I am no longer able to use them. I struggle when I run out.

If I shop at Lidl then I never buy one.

I think sensible usage is the key.

[LittleBrownFrog]

I notice that when Tesco first started trying to reduce bag use, they stopped putting them on the checkouts, meaning that you had to ask. That seems to have gone by the wayside now, and they are freely available. That said, the quality seems to have deteriorated - I needed a carrier bag the other day (had split a bag of cat food getting it out of the trolley & needed to wrap it until we got home) - the first four ripped as I took them off the dispenser