Natural foods retailer Whole Foods has announced it will stop giving out plastic grocery bags by Earth Day due to the bags' ubiquity and associated environmental problems. The company is opting instead for bagging customers' groceries in 100 percent recycled paper bags and/or encouraging customers to bring their own reusable sacks. "More and more cities and countries are beginning to place serious restrictions on single-use plastic shopping bags since they don't break down in our landfills, can harm nature by clogging waterways and endangering wildlife, and litter our roadsides," said Whole Foods' A.C. Gallo. The grocery chain estimates that the plastic-bag ban at all its 270 stores in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. will eliminate the use of about 100 million plastic sacks between Earth Day and the end of 2008. All together, Americans throw away about 100 billion plastic bags each year.
Sack Your Bags
Whole Foods to stop giving out plastic grocery bags by Earth Day 18
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javaearth Posted 4:54 am
22 Jan 2008
It would be great to see a major retail store - doing give away of recycle bags for a limited period. This marketing idea would really help that company be popular and eco-encouraging. - Are you listening Wal-Mart?
p.s. congrates to the countries that have implemented 100% ban of plastic bags. Example Aus!
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Tasermons Partner Posted 8:36 am
22 Jan 2008
I heard that were decidin' between either a ban or a tax, did they make a final decision and go with a ban?
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PermieWriter Posted 8:59 am
22 Jan 2008
One hardly needs to be an environmentalist to see that they're a good idea: they don't split and spill your groceries, have handles that dig into your hands, etc.
If we could get rid of plastic bags, think of how much less litter would be blowing around our cities, and swirling around the Pacific. One less object for people to be irresponsible with (one jillion to go).
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Wolverine Posted 9:15 am
22 Jan 2008
Next, let's eliminate the packaging industry. Everything that needs to be sold can be sold in bulk. People should bring their own reusable containers to stores, not consume more natural resources just to package their purchases. Only societies that have too much money can afford to waste resources on things like bags and packaging.
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carbonneutral Posted 10:57 am
22 Jan 2008
a great way to for everyone to help keep down the trash heap
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Boyscientist Posted 11:04 am
22 Jan 2008
But Wolverine, we can't eliminate the packaging industry entirely because of sanitary reasons, and practical reason. Meat, Milk, frozen products, most liquids, pastry, cottage cheese, peanut butter, jelly.
Bread you can carry bare uncovered under your sweaty armpit just like the French.
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sherrieh Posted 3:04 am
23 Jan 2008
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srymmes Posted 4:01 am
23 Jan 2008
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usandthem Posted 4:37 am
23 Jan 2008
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norascats Posted 7:41 am
23 Jan 2008
I would like to shop in a store that had a service butcher,a bakery, and a greengrocer.
But alas, out side of the big city, I don't know where they are.
Nora
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bookerly Posted 10:29 am
23 Jan 2008
Will take effect on June 1st. There are already news stories interviewing people. A few think it will be inconvenient, but most people accept that it is worthwhile for the environment. Business accepts it (publicly) since everyone has to do it at the same time and thus the playing field and inconvience is level.
When I go to the market and refuse bags (now), people smile (I see some Chinese folks doing the same, the advanced wave!!).
There is a real advantage to having the government make this a law nationwide.
patrick in Beijing
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Wolverine Posted 12:00 pm
23 Jan 2008
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javaearth Posted 1:00 am
24 Jan 2008
America needs to too. It really sucks that we are behind on these simple things. Getting anything green done around here it is like pulling teeth!
The thinking: "if there is no money in it for me, then I do not care!"
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rong Posted 6:46 am
24 Jan 2008
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uma Posted 3:45 am
26 Jan 2008
Whole Foods already has milk bottles that can be returned to the store for a refund. These bottles are refilled rather than recycled. We hope they will start such return-refill juice bottles, yogurt-cans and such too.
Stopping plastic bags is not enough. They should have additional charge for the forgetful people instead of giving out free paper-bags (even if it is 100% recycled). That will hopefully force people to remember to carry their own bags.
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wiscidea Posted 3:55 am
26 Jan 2008
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OMG... I read the chapter about plastic last night. I will not try to provide details. Let just say: even "biodegradable" plastic bags don't break down once they end up in the water; the island of plastic in the Pacific weighs more than the phytoplankton living in the area and is growing; and as plastic enters the environment it simply fragments into smaller and smaller pieces, choking and killing smaller and smaller animals, right down to microscopic beasties. An examination of a certain bird found along an English coast -- I think -- revealed that 95% of the dead birds found had plastic blocking their digestive tracts. And plastic, especially buried stuff that might be exposed to the environment long long long after we are gone, will probably be killing animals for tens of thousands of years. Bacteria that can digest oil emerged quickly. No sign of bacteria that can digest plastic.
Depressing? Yes.
Sure makes it easier to answer the "paper or plastic" question. Very few organisms will be choking on paper bags tens of thousands of years from now!
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Hope no one is upset by the duplicate post!
Peace.
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bookerly Posted 4:23 pm
27 Jan 2008
I am not sure what will end up replacing plastic bags here, certainly a mixture of reusable things (historically, people carried baskets to go shopping, and I have heard some people advocating a return to those ways).
The bigger markets have started to put up posters near the cash registers telling people to reject plastic bags and to bring in their own reusable bags.
Usually, people have to check packages and bags when they enter big supermarkets (this checking is free, and actually is fairly convenient).
A couple of times lately, I have been waved through with my backpack, and thus able to fill it up at the register. I see a very few other people doing this. But it's early. Still January, and the ban takes effect in roughly five months.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out!
patrick in Beijing
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treehuggin Posted 10:45 am
10 Mar 2008
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