Hi Neighbor!
Confession: I developed a bad plastic bag habit during Covid. Pre-pandemic, I dutifully brought my reusable bags to the grocery store. Things changed once Covid hit, however. Cashiers initially didn’t accept reusable bags, and after several months we entered this murky area where they were permitted but not preferred? I could never really tell. And as you know, once you get out of a habit, it’s realllly hard to get back in. Starting in January, however, I won’t have a choice.
Haverford, Easttown and Radnor Townships all passed ordinances banning single-use plastic bags. (Tredyffrin will host a public hearing on September 19). Philadelphia, Media, Narberth and West Chester already have bans in place, and Narberth’s ordinance—passed in 2019—outlaws plastic straws too. Customers who forget their reusable bags will be able to purchase paper bags at most establishments for around ten cents. Businesses that don’t comply could face fines of up to $500.
The average American family takes home a whopping 1,500 plastic bags a year, the majority of which end up in landfills or oceans. When we lived in Maryland, our county passed a plastic bag ban, and the impact was immediate. Reusable bags were suddenly all the rage, and I never left home without them. Paying a few cents for a bag felt like a crushing blow.
Interestingly enough, New Jersey, which banned plastic bags statewide in May, is grappling with another problem—too many reusable bags. Online grocery orders, which skyrocketed during the pandemic, are now being delivered in reusable bags that are piling up in customers’ homes. One resident told the New York Times that he’s considering sewing them into blackout curtains for his daughter’s room, while another wants to start a Little Free Reusable Bag Library in her front yard. Yikes! For now I’m happy to dust off my reusable bag stash and kiss those plastic bags goodbye.
PS Wegmans plans to eliminate plastic bags completely by the end of 2022!
Happy Fall!
Kate
I am working down my stash of plastic bags which I use to line my kitchen trash can. Yes the CVS bags were too thin and small to be reused for much but nearly all of my grocery store plastic got an extended life. And when I got my news delivered in paper form I reused those bags too (they were great for disposing of poison ivy). There may have been too many plastic bags distributed but a
View moreI am working down my stash of plastic bags which I use to line my kitchen trash can. Yes the CVS bags were too thin and small to be reused for much but nearly all of my grocery store plastic got an extended life. And when I got my news delivered in paper form I reused those bags too (they were great for disposing of poison ivy). There may have been too many plastic bags distributed but a complete ban isn’t workable either. Once I run out of my stash I will have to BUY plastic bags for my trash can. Remember you want to wash those reusable bags onto which your grocery store chicken package leaks — and that uses water and energy resources. How do you wash those reusable nonwoven cloth bags? And that “reuseable” bag I used to double bag the steamed lobsters I got as a treat this summer? Not reusable by any stretch of the imagination unless you’ve permanently lost your sense of smell due to Covid. Life is full of trade-offs. Everything in moderation. Let’s be a little sensible. I’m more concerned about all that rigid plastic into which we’re packaging salad greens, hummus, olives, tofu ….
View lessCouldn’t agree with you more. I reuse those plastic bags at home and at our preschool.
Couldn’t agree with you more. I reuse those plastic bags at home and at our preschool.
View less