What is Digg?Sponsored by Travelzoo
Take Advantage of Ridiculously Low Holiday Airfares view!
travelzoo.com - Flights $52 and up for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year. But move on it now.
79 Comments
- lhbaker, on 11/14/2007, -8/+47If you want to make London greener, why not just give out green plastic bags?
- inactive, on 11/14/2007, -5/+35"capital"
- gordonf238, on 11/13/2007, -1/+17Energy required for manufacture of alternative bags is greater? Funny, my grandmother in Slovakia has been using the same cloth shopping bag for her groceries since I was a kid. It wasn't until I arrived in the US 10 years ago that I saw first-hand how much people here waste. It's actually a shame it's taken you this long to realize it.
- monkeyrun, on 11/13/2007, -5/+13That's actually not a bad idea.
- ArrakisDune, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6Two facts:
1. Most "facts" on Digg do not include links
2. In general, these "facts" are stupidly obvious to a 5 year old
Probable truths
1. These users will never leave Digg or the interwibble
2. The "Greenhouse" effect caused by these people sitting in front of their computer preaching 'facts' to everyone else probably has a greater impact than plastic bags. - cmezak, on 11/13/2007, -3/+9proven by whom? where? what kind of "finding" is necessary when paper, cloth, and non-disposable plastic bags are already available?
- ahhell, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6Why don't people just recycle the damn plastic bags??
Most grocery stores have a drop box for old plastic bags. - ingoldsby, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6Or people could stop being lazy and use reusable containers. But that would require gathering them up to bring with you shopping.. it might be too hard of a concept for us lazy bastards.
- forgeflow, on 11/13/2007, -2/+6Paper bags are made of dead trees. Why do you hate the earth?
- Ouze, on 11/13/2007, -0/+41.) Paper bags are much, much heavier then plastic bags. Guess how bags get to stores? Trucks. Trucks use gas. More bags on the truck = less trips = less fossil fuels used. Combine this by the millions of bags used and this is quite substantial.
2.) Paper bags require logging, and lots of it, to make bags. This has enormous environmental impact and tons of water used, chemicals addeded, etc. Making paper bags largely only requires electricity, since it's made mostly from byproducts of oil used for other things.
3.) Biodegrading - not likely. Paper doesn't break down any better then plastic where it largely ends up - landfills. Landfills are devoid of the light and heat and moisture required to break things down. You can dig a 50 year old newspaper out of a landfill and it would be readable.
4.) Recyclability - it takes 90 times more energy to recycle paper then it does plastic, and recycling paper ends up with dangerous chemical byproducts.
You want to do it right? Bring your own bags like Trickiwoo. Too many "green" initiates are meaningless, fell good gestures that do nothing to solve our very real issues. - Gizza, on 11/13/2007, -0/+4And then you have to buy plastic bin bags which come in a plastic bag. I've never thrown out a plastic bag that wasn't full of rubbish, so to me a ban of plastic bags would only result in plastic garbage bags being thrown out along with the plastic bag that you buy them in.
- StephenCIreland, on 11/13/2007, -1/+5Ireland started it, its working great...
- DesertFlyer, on 11/14/2007, -0/+4So why not use reusable bags? It's not that hard.
- Writher, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3I really hope this is tongue in cheek.
- kinerry, on 11/13/2007, -1/+4false, recycling paper is more harmful than just using fresh supplies. not only that, but increased paper supply = more trees planted.
- Gir53457, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3In the US, Safeway grocery stores are beginning to stop using plastic bags and it's working. Instead you ask for paper ones made out of recycled cardboard or you can buy a $3 reusable nylon tote bag at the front of the store. Otherwise your food is just placed back into the cart without a bag. They're actually saving money doing this.
- dacheetah, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3I think he's saying that every single plastic bag he gets from his shopping is used to line a garbage bin at home, and isn't thrown out until it's full of rubbish, and is then obviously used to contain the rubbish. If he were to stop getting plastic bags from shopping, he'd have to buy a packet of bags specifically designed for lining bins, which would not only cost money, but the packet they come in needs to be thrown out.
Personally I find I only re-use about a third of the plastic shopping bags I get, but the rest I bring back to the store, since they have a plastic bag recycling thing there. (I also use the nylon bags when I can, but I often do my shopping to spontaneously, and don't have the bags, and don't want to buy more since I have plenty already...) - Cannon49, on 11/13/2007, -8/+11Great initiative. Other cites of the world should take notice.
- azra3l, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3which dont take 400 years to biodegrade..... 95% of every plastic bag, peice of saran wrap, whatever, EVER MADE still exists.. most of it in landfill...
- selrahc, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3I reuse plastic bags. They make good small garbage bags and are also pretty good for converting a regular pair of shoes into rain/mud boots.
- TrickiWoo, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3banning plastic bags also promotes the use of reusable bags which are more environmentally friendly. I bought a few string mesh bags for shopping and I was amazed at the amount of plastic bags I saved.
- PeppermintPig, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Banning isn't the solution. If these durable re-usable bags are truly more worthwhile, the grocers and other stores should be in the habit of offering their customers a bag for free. They can even print their store logo on it. That's a good promotion if I ever heard one. I wouldn't rely on government because they are the biggest polluters. If a store hasn't converted, then you need more people to be vocal about it to the store, not the government. Or just bring your own bags.
- PeppermintPig, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Where the hell is pro-environmentalist movement? You know, the people that go door to door and provide alternative solutions, versus lobbying government for restrictions? The only time you SHOULD lobby government is to remove restrictions, such as US allowing hemp growing on a mass scale. Hemp bags would last a good while.
- jj101, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2No its not!! Thats reactionary and laughable. If they were banning bags in general then I'd be with you but they're not. I think we need to put this in perspective. Having TV's everywhere - in cabs/planes/buses/every room of the house - being spoon fed opinions by broadcasters under the guise of news - being attacked by one group of people and using it as an excuse to flatten the country of a completely separate group - using torture to extract information - being spoon fed opinions by broadcasters under the guise of news - teaching creationism in schools - being caught on CCTV over 300 times a day in london - GPS in mobile phones etc etc -- Those things are wildly reminiscent of 1984. Banning plastic bags because they only get used once and pollute the environment. Surely thats just commen sense.
- Ouze, on 11/13/2007, -4/+6This makes no sense, when paper is far worse environmentally then plastic. Paper bags being "greener" is a common and easily debunked misperception.
- PeppermintPig, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2I'm guessing you're still consuming to survive...
- DiggerT, on 11/13/2007, -2/+4it'd take decades to exhaust the current stock pile of plastic bags.
- Gir53457, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2I'm a little confused by what you're saying, but I think you're saying that your garbage bags come in another plastic bag?
- kinerry, on 11/14/2007, -4/+6Banning plastic bags makes no sense.
For one, what do you do when it rains? Plastic bags are cheaper to make, and leave less of an environmental footprint.
This idea is ***** RETARDED! - shasty55, on 11/13/2007, -3/+5Actually, the creation of paper bags releases more pollutants in to the environment, and destroys trees. Plastic bags release only a fraction of the pollutants, and though they bio-degrade at a slower rate, actually have less of an environmental impact.
- jj101, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3I see what you're saying about regression but the plastic bag arguments is not just about the energy expended in production but about how long they take to degrade.
- ArrakisDune, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3"For one, what do you do when it rains?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella - ArrakisDune, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3"plastic is not biodegradable"
There is plenty of plastics that are biodegradable. Not all plastic comes from oil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioplastic - BennWith2Ns, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1That's crap because you still throw it out! Don't pat yourself on the back for preventing a plastic bag from going to the dump once and then sending it to the dump!
- BennWith2Ns, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1No person or business is entitled to the freedom to damage public health. Plastic bags break down in the ocean, act as sponges for toxic waste, work their way up the food chain through sea food and get into our bodies. How about granting the freedom to prevent harm?
- TrickiWoo, on 11/14/2007, -3/+4Using reusable bags for shopping isn't nearly the hassle most people think it is. I bought a great set of string mesh bags that stuff into a little pouch. I leave it in my glove compartment. The bags hold much more than plastic, are easier to carry and I don't have to worry about them ripping. They're also handy for the beach.
I think it's great that a huge city like London is considering banning plastic bags, they could really be an example to other large cities. - StephenCIreland, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2In ireland we dont have plastic bags because theres a 22 cent levy on them, everyone buys cloth or nylon bags and re-uses them, i actually thought it was weird when i went to germany and got a free plastic bag, i havent seen any plastic bags littered anywhere since, its great
- computershack, on 11/14/2007, -1/+2In the UK, ALL local authorities collect paper as part of their mandate on recycling. This paper can then be used to make paper bags. There's no need to go chopping down trees to do this as we have a mountain of paper waiting for recycling and nobody to use it.
Driving down the motorways/major roads in this country, the verges are littered with plastic bags. At least if they were paper, they'd have rotted down by now. - patflex, on 11/13/2007, -9/+10About time!
- Krumm, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Most places don't. Tesco now make you buy their 'bag for life' which is overpriced, so you either fork over more money, or bring your own bags.
Not a bad idea though - but I use last weeks shopping bags as this weeks bin liners, so I'll now have to pay for bags to carry shopping in, and pay again for bags to throw out!
{FYI for those not in the UK, the government are now planning to charge everyone for how much rubbish (trash / garbage?) you throw out - basically it will lead to everyone sneaking out in the night and filling other peoples bins up}.
We nag at the government to be environmentally friendly, and every time they find a way to make us pay more money for it.
/rant over, I can go to bed now... - davegreene, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Misleading title - FTA "One option the councils are considering is having a tax of 10p to 15p per bag". Thats hardly a "ban".
Similar tax introduced here in Ireland back in 2002 which resulted in 95% reduction is use of plastic bags. I think you'd be hard pushed to find anyone here who doesn't think its a good idea. - bradtacs, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Better paper than plastic. Plastic will never breakdown whereas paper will biodegrade in a months outside. Also I think most people are trying to suggest reusable cloth bags as opposed to plastic OR paper. That way nothing is having to go in the garbage
- BennWith2Ns, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1Humans are part of the environment. We can't survive without a productive ecological infrastructure to do things like purify air and water and provide food.
- joel182, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1You're an idiot.
Lots of places in the U.K. have, at very least, reasonable recycling systems. - shedtroll, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Indeed, I'd be hard pressed to find paper bags at say, tesco, yet they have it that their 'Fresh n' Easy' stores apparently....
- jamesburton1, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Overcharged at 10p?
Wow. - lizard_king, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1my bad, didn't mean to dig ye down, meant to give ya a +1. I was just over in Dublin, and I went to the store and bought an armload of stuff, and I stood there waiting for the clerk to give me a bag to put all my stuff in. He just stared at me until I asked him for one. When he wanted 30p or whatever it was for the bag, I looked at him like, you gotta be kidding me... I was brutally hungover and didn't think about it at the time. But someone explained the angle later and it made sense.
- norman619, on 11/13/2007, -2/+2So the plastic bags will be replaced by paper bags.
- FixToTheMax, on 11/13/2007, -5/+5Good incentives, I suppose. Will it actually have any effect, though? I'd like to see what improved in those other towns, as far as becoming a greener city.
-
Show 51 - 80 of 80 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is