San Jose bans plastic bags and will charge 10 cents for paper bags

[Teresa]

This just seems crazy to me. I can understand banning plastic bags but not charging $.10 for recycled paper bags.

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE AMENDING CHAPTER 9.10 OF TITLE 9 OF THE SAN JOSE MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADD A NEW PART 13 TO BAN SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAGS, AND PROHIBIT THE FREE DISTRIBUTION OF RECYCLED PAPER BAGS, BY RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS, TO BE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2012

WHEREAS, on November 17, 2010, the Planning Commission of the City of San José, pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970, together with guidelines promulgated pursuant thereto and Title 21 of the San José Municipal Code, all as amended to date, certified that certain environmental impact report prepared for a Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance, under File No. PP-09-193 (the “EIR”); and

WHEREAS, on December 14, 2010, the City Council of the City of San Jose conducted an administrative hearing on an Appeal of the Planning Commission’s certification of the EIR for the Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance, under File No. PP-09-193, to add Part 13 to Chapter 9.10 of Title 9 of the San Jose Municipal Code to ban single-use carryout bags, and prohibit the free distribution of recycled paper bags by retail establishments; and

I think it's wrong for San Jose to pass this with so many people out of work and underemployed. It's just one more thing that we all have to pay for and when you don't have a lot of money it creats a burden.

 

[Muxel]

Of course it's crazy, that's why we call the ones who come up with these ideas "psychopaths".

They make it impossibly hard for us to obtain things that were once ubiquitous and "free": paper bags, grass-fed meats, clean water, saturated fats, seafood... All the while using "global warming" or "overpopulation" scams to justify their actions, when really they are the ones responsible for the scarcity of such things.

 

[Hildegarda]

For a different prospective, I grew up in the former USSR, and haven't even seen a single use shopping bag for half of my life.

We used large cloth or net bags to carry groceries, walking home or using public transportation.

Plastic bags were available for purchase to wrap small items, and costed 4-5 kopeek, the same as a small bun which cost about $1 here. We washed them, dried them and reused them.

We didn't have carry-all paper bags at all. Seeing a paper bag in movies or later in real life, with an obligatory fancy french baguette sticking out of one, was weird. It didn't look strong enough to actually carry a sizable load of groceries. A bag tearing midway between home and store, and being stranded with spilling potatoes or broken eggs, now that was a familiar experience. I imagine it would have been a much more often occuring one, were the paper bags in use.

Presently, there are shopping bags available in the supermarkets back home, but they do charge a small amount, analogous to the same 10 cents each, for using them. Same may be true for Europe.

My point is, plastic and paper bags is not something "we" "always" had, and it's not something we "have to" to buy or even have, no matter how poor we are. It was, in many ways, for me the first visit card of western civilization, but I can't say that it made life much easier or simpler after the novelty wore off.

That floating Pacific island of human-made waste, mostly consisting of used plastic and plastic bags, is real, even though global warming may not be. One can say, it's a creation of psychopathic consumerist approach that we have towards our environment.

fwiw

 

[ocean59]

Of course it's crazy, that's why we call the ones who come up with these ideas "psychopaths".

They make it impossibly hard for us to obtain things that were once ubiquitous and "free": paper bags,

I agree with Hildegarda's view on this. Paper grocery bags are a fairly recent (and totally wasteful/unnecessary) invention, partially responsible for raising the price of food at grocery stores. You think those bags were ever free? No sir, they cost money and must be ordered just like any other product. The price of this supply is then worked into the items for sale (like with any other similar commodity at the store that they provide 'for free'). No free lunch there! ;)

Durable, reusable bags can be hand made from scratch, or purchased, and are truly a better option altogether in my opinion.

 

[Yozilla]

We used large cloth or net bags to carry groceries, walking home or using public transportation.

Same situation was in Ex-YU some 30 years ago ... Wen I was sent to grocery store my mama always reminded me not to forget shopping bag.. ...i am quite nostalgic about that - especially when I see all used PVC bags thrown around.
So i have a strategy of mi own: I refuse to accept a new plastic bag (free here?!) and I offer used one to salesperson; often so I manage to use same bag a number of times. Jet there is one pretty "awkward" sensation when, sometimes, I don't succeed in my "environment friendly" deed: I get angry when somebody quickly push a new bag even when a used one is offered by me...

At first salespeople were surprised/angry that somebody is free to be so strangely daring, but after a while they got it and now,it seems to me, some off them appreciate my eco behavior

 

[Guardian]

I think this is a WONDERFUL ordinance, and I'd like to see such a law passed nationwide. We need to reverse the whole "disposable" concept and shopping bags may be a small drop in the bucket, but they're a start.

I used to get LAUGHED AT for bringing by own bags, and at one point was called "The Bag Lady" at my neighborhood grocery store.
I have a special knitted bag my roommate made me for when I rent DVD's and you'd think I'd grown a second head when I refused a plastic sack and pulled out my own special bag...which is soft and cuddly and will probably last me a lifetime.

A .50 cloth bag lasts us for 2-3 years of grocery shopping, then when a strap goes, it goes to the garden for use picking beans, digging 'taters, etc. When the bottom finally wears out, we tie them in knots and use them as dog toys.

ALL packaging of commercial products in the US needs to change too! We generate wayyyyyyy too much trash that isn't degradable....it's a gross insult to Nature!

 

[Teresa]

Thank you all for your different perspectives. Yes you are right, our society really does produce a lot of waste. I was so used to reusing the bags to save money that I didn't even think about the waste aspect. I'm still annoyed that I have to purchase reusable bags, though.

 

[Guardian]

I'm still annoyed that I have to purchase reusable bags, though.

Why?

 

[ocean59]

I'm still annoyed that I have to purchase reusable bags, though.

You don't have to. You could choose instead to make your own bag, with a needle and thread, for example. I once dated a girl who did this (still does) and sells them on Etsy for very reasonable prices. They really look wonderful, and my understanding is they are not very difficult to create.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

I'm still annoyed that I have to purchase reusable bags, though.

You don't have to. You could choose instead to make your own bag, with a needle and thread, for example. I once dated a girl who did this (still does) and sells them on Etsy for very reasonable prices. They really look wonderful, and my understanding is they are not very difficult to create.

I'm not good as sewing stuff by any means... and I used to get reusable bags from stores until I read about the health risks involved in led being used to produce some of them. Any chance you can share the address for where your friends bags can be purchased?

Thanks!

 

[Teresa]

I'm still annoyed that I have to purchase reusable bags, though.

Why?

Because for the last 3 years my financial situation has been difficult due to lack of employment opportunities. It's not just me, a lot of people are in the same position.

 

[Guardian]

Because for the last 3 years my financial situation has been difficult due to lack of employment opportunities. It's not just me, a lot of people are in the same position.

Yeah, I hear that :(

I would be happy to send you some that I have. They're really kewl in that they fold up into tiny little sacks and fit on a key ring. Maybe I could send them to a Mod ready to be reshipped to you, for safety purposes?

I'm also wondering if this isn't an opportunity for SOTT or EE totes?

_http://www.customgrocerybags.com/?gclid=CJXGpoaHzawCFYt-5QodrkkusA

 

[Foxx]

At the food coop near where I live, they have a section of cloth handled bags that are "need a bag take a bag, have a bag leave a bag" kind of a setup. It seems mostly populated with their own bags which I imagine they primarily stock there, but the idea certainly has promise and seeing it progress through time (it's still fairly new), I've seen some other bags end up there.

One of the functional problems with reusable cloth bags, at least in america, is that most individuals are trained from birth to expect bags to be there and so even those who seek to use reusable bags, at times, forget to bring them along. This solves that problem in that one can temporarily borrow a bag and return it next time, when one brings one's own reusable bags. The idea though, of course, is certainly subject to imbalances.

A city ordinance that reduces waste certainly actually seems like a people-benefiting one, though I do wonder where all the $.10 charges for paper bags are going. Ideally, they'd use that money to mass produce and make mass available reusable bags, perhaps in a similar form to the coop's idea above.

 

[ocean59]

Any chance you can share the address for where your friends bags can be purchased?

_http://www.etsy.com/shop/elimakes is the shopfront, though it appears to be closed at the moment (I think she is on honeymoon). I'm sure there are a ton of other options and shops there also, it is a 'handmade only' site, and the prices are usually pretty reasonable across the board.

They're really kewl in that they fold up into tiny little sacks and fit on a key ring.

A friend gave me one of these as a gift last year. It's really great for those of us raised on disposables who have a hard time remembering.

[quote author=Guardian]
I'm also wondering if this isn't an opportunity for SOTT or EE totes?
[/quote]

That would be cool!!

 

[Teresa]

Because for the last 3 years my financial situation has been difficult due to lack of employment opportunities. It's not just me, a lot of people are in the same position.

Yeah, I hear that :(

I would be happy to send you some that I have. They're really kewl in that they fold up into tiny little sacks and fit on a key ring. Maybe I could send them to a Mod ready to be reshipped to you, for safety purposes?

I'm also wondering if this isn't an opportunity for SOTT or EE totes?

_http://www.customgrocerybags.com/?gclid=CJXGpoaHzawCFYt-5QodrkkusA

That is so sweet of you, your offer is much appreciated. Also, your idea of SOTT and EE totes is fabulous.