Heard something about it on tv.

As we reuse plastic bags for various things including disposing of dogpoop I'm not sure I want them to disappear entirely. I don't like the calico ones, they don't look sturdy and they're not organic so I'm not convinced they're really better. We sometimes get bags marked biodegradeable at various stores but I have a suspicion that they are regular plastic that hasn't been cured properly so that it will break down faster, which I suppose is technically biodegradeable, but they smell awful. I saw some biodegradeable bags at a retailers supplies shop once, they didn't smell and I think they were made of cornstarch. I think they were supposed to dissolve very quickly. Years ago when the first biodegradeable bags appeared letters would appear in the paper saying "I've had one pegged to my clothesline for months and it's still intact ".

Some Australian towns banned plastic bags a while back. Coles Bay in Tasmania was the first. Not sure exactly what they allow instead. The story on tv said San Francisco is the first major city to do it. I applaud the good intentions but I wish somebody would do a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of the alternatives. For instance it has been suggested that the reusable plastic bags will eventually wear out and be a bigger problem than the flimsy ones. At least people are moving in the right direction, even if some of the details might have to be changed as we learn more.

I just heard this yesterday! Actually, this post reminded me that I wanted to come home and check this story out.

I stopped off at a small locery grocery store, and when I pulled out my reusable canvas bag, the teenaged cashier said, "Oh, you're all set, aren't you? Hey, did you hear that San Francisco banned the used of plastic bags?". And that was how I heard about it.

I for one am happy about this, and hope other places catch on. Yes, there probably should be an analysis of the pros and cons, but I can't help but get a sick feeling when I walk down the front of the supermarket, with its 20+ checkout aisles, and see all the little racks of plastic bags. Add to that the fact that cashiers give you four bags for five items, not to mention double-bagging because they put all your heavy cans in one bag (and all the toilet paper in the other), and when I think of how many bags get used just in one hour across the country, it really disturbs me.

Actually, I think it would be a step in the right ecological direction just to better train cashiers and baggers in how to bag groceries. That alone would result in less usage of plastic.

I have heard arguments that it takes more energy and resources to make paper bags than plastic, but I still think it's better to use paper because of their biodegradeability. So I think this is a step in the right direction, and I'm hoping it catches on in other places.

:)
Dee

Baggers. As in people who stand at the end of the checkout and pack your bags? You still have them? I agree with your comment about better training.

Hi Macbirch. Yes, we do still have baggers. It depends on the store, and how busy it is, but sometimes you can still get a bagger. Some bigger stores hire mentally-challenged people to work as baggers and cart-retrievers, so they often have employees dedicated just to these jobs.

I personally prefer to bag my own groceries, (both because I use reusable bags, and because I like my bread on *top* of my gallon of milk, not underneath it, thank you!) and now often go to the self-checkout lane so I can bag my own. Often even if I go to a line that has no bagger, I have to rush to beat the cashier. They start checking you out so quickly, sometimes without even speaking to you or acknowleding you, and they have the plastic bag rack set up so they scan an item and put it directly into the plastic bag. I often have to call out to the cashier as the person in front of me is still closing their wallet, which makes me feel rude, lol, but what can ya do? Gotta beat the cashier to the plastic bag, lol!

:)
Dee

Gotta beat the cashier to the plastic bag, lol!

I hear ya. Most of my shopping is done at my co-op, but when there is a bagger there, I still need to give them my bags right away or they start filling paper-or-plastic. And whatever happened to the notion of packing like items together? When I bag groceries, the frozen stays with frozen, refrigerated with refrigerated. That way it all stays colder and drier, and I know what has to hit the fridge as soon as I get home. And what is with the discount supermarket that the conveyer belt is moving non-stop until my groceries are on it, and then they all stay by the cashier, where I can't reach them to bag them? :-o

carol from NY - as a Floridian who has spent many a day on the water both inland and off shore, I understand San Francisco's concern about plastic bags' effect on marine life. More than once, I've seen pelicans and other birds dead from being trapped in or by plastic bait and store bags. I once wresteled a bag with a dead mullet in it away from a pelican determined to swallow both. And don't even get me started on fishing line and 6-pack loops! I ALWAYS cut the plastic loops so that nothing can be caught in them, ergo: one cut on the outside of each loop and one cut down the middle on each end to the center flap that holds it all in one piece. Such a simple way to save a birds life. cora

The checkout-chicks in Australia do the bagging while they scan the goods. We haven't had baggers for 20 or 30 years.

In South Australia they are going to ban plastic bags from 1 Jan 2009. A lot of people are using reusable bags already.
Not sure if the other slower states are keeping up. LOL

Marshall