True, I should have stated that is what you do if you have a GM vehicle.

I take paper straws on vacation. The ones I got hold up all evening.

I've never drank wine through a straw. Guess the straw would hold up depending on how many glasses you drink-lol...

Where is the outcry defending the disabled folks that depend on plastic straws? Self appointed folks who believe pompously that a planet will fail without their superiority have disregarded completely the needs of people with disabilities- those that need a straw to drink liquids, Paper straws will become limp, sugar will dissolve. Pasta will become gummy. Some disabled people depend on plastic straws for drinking,

As the great comedian/ observer George Carlin once said- The planet has been in existence much longer than man. Unlike the dinosaurs, it is not going anywhere, but we are,

DK Haas - You do know that they make reusable silicone straws. Really no need for disposable plastic straws.

There is long lasting paper straws. The ones I got at Walmart in the party supply section lasts me. It is thick paper with a wax coating. One lasts me all afternoon on the beach/pool then when I go in to change for dinner I get a fresh one that will last all evening. I can't be bothered washing out straws to reuse.

Jennifer - Silicone straws are the same as plastic in that they too are not biodegradable, and are difficult to sanitize.

reductio ad absurdum. The city in which I live has a ban on plastic straws AND if you ASK for a plastic straw you can HAVE a plastic straw. Most people who don’t need one are not whiney enough to ask. My paper straw lasts more than long enough to finish my Diet Dr. Pepper but in the event it takes 3 days to drink a soda I have reusable straws at the ready.

We did an eco challenge last year at work. For 12 weeks we were asked to stop using disposable paper plates, plastic bags, straws, water bottles . . . It really was not all that difficult and became habit after 12 weeks. I don't miss using disposable stuff. I will use it for some nasty tasks (still carry a disposable plastic bag in my pocket when I walk my dog in case she goes #2 in a neighbor's yard) but I take reusable bags to the grocery store, have mostly eliminated using paper towels and paper plates. I just got reusable bags for Sous Vide, but I have not found a great alternative to the plastic bags for vacuum sealing foods before freezing.

California lawmakers use distraction tactics of Plastic Straws and Bags/landfill waste to avoid the discussion of the human waste on the sidewalks caused by their out of control homeless population figures. Corporations relocate to other business friendly states. Laid-off workers lose their homes and create a bigger demand for rental properties. Rents skyrocket due to the high demand for rental units. Those that cannot afford to move, stay and struggle.

Maybe if plastic bags were made available, human fecal waste would not be left on the sidewalks, but be disposed of by its creator?

The movie industry left for cheaper pastures decades ago. Watch the location credits at the end of a film, as most films are no longer made in the state.

I don’t know-my city government, and most people I know, are able to manage more than one thought and one issue at a time. The issues around homelessness are myriad and complex but addressing them does not prohibit ANYONE from also addressing the plastics pollution catastrophe that we are experiencing.

We are experiencing a "plastics pollution catastrophe" Dooms Day cult.

Decades ago, biodegradable paper grocery bags were replaced with reusable plastic bags.

Now plastic bags are judged to be bad as they were nonbiodegradeable, but so are some of the BYOB made of cloth.

https://www.greenchoices.org/green-living/clothes/environmental-impacts

Uh, yes we are. Are you aware of where plastics are being found and the projections for the spread of single use plastics garbage?! “Doomsday”=deflection/trivialization...

You don’t throw away 10 cloth reusable bags every week like you do grocery bags. You dont see cloth bags hung up on trees, bushes, fields, etc. You Can’t even compare the 2.

Why would you throw away plastic grocery bags?

If you are a member of the the Plastic Pollution Catastrophe Dooms Day Cult, why are you not recycling then? Many grocery stores have bag recycling bins for this purpose. If you are a member of the PPCDDC you should partake, as well as everyone else.

Infamous Woodsy the Owl said, "Give a Hoot; Don't pollute!"

Where I live, "single use" plastic bags have been banned, so you either pay for one of the sturdier plastic ones that lasts for months, or for a fabric one. And then recycle them along with the bags vegetables, etc come in, at the local supermarket. Maybe it's not much, but it's something.

I do use paper towels but the majority of them go into the composter. And I don't drink anything that needs a straw: a good pinot gris just doesn't taste right unless it's sipped from a wine glass :)

My plastic bags go to the garbage with garbage in them. They fit my kitchen trash trash can perfectly. Locally there is no law against plastics. I only occasionally see a plastic bag along the road. Mostly its it's those yuppy designer coffee shop cups. Really you can't wait till you get home to throw them out. One grocery store is voluntarily doing away with plastic bags. I don't think it is due to them helping the environment though as they claim. It is just corporate greed. They are the most expensive grocery store in the area. I think once their sales drop they will change their tune.

Disposable hand towels in the guest bath, disposable swiffer pads, disposable toilet bowl cleaner scrubbies, disposable diapers, single use plastic water bottles, clorox wipes, make up remover sheets, dryer sheets, disposable baby changing pads..the list of convenient disposable products we have allowed ourselves to be hooked into is overwhelming. As far as product with irritating packaging I vote for the common band aid. All the paper that gets thrown and no way to deal with it with one hand...thinking pop up dispenser would be preferred.

Lol, this is from the person who had extreme angst over what color their dog would prefer the laundry room to be.

I think back to when I was a kid and Wild Horse Annie implored school children to write their congressmen and ask them to save the wild mustangs. Congress received almost as many letters to save the mustangs as they did to end the Vietnam War.

Smokey the Bear taught us that only we can prevent forest fires;

Then we learned that friends don't let friends drive drunk.

Bob Barker reminded people every day to spay and neuter your pets.

Society changes only when it becomes socially unacceptable to continue your behavior and usually only when our children and grandchildren question us on why we are doing something.

DK Haas, some day you will have to look into the eyes of your grandchild and explain why the inconvenience of reducing your use of single use plastic was worth the life of a sea animal or the destruction of the coral reefs or other damage to our Eco-system. Good luck with that.

I remember the environmental reason why stores went from paper bags to plastic bags "save the trees" campaign. So now they want to go back to paper because it is biodegradable. Lol. So a lot of the reusable bags are constructed of man made material. Wonder how long before they become a environmental hazard.

When I shopped in Morocco and no matter where I shopped in the entire country- city stores, towns or in the markets my purchases were always put into a fabric bag which I didn't have to pay for. They came in different colors and sizes. Those came home with me and I use them as not only are they sturdy but they are too pretty to toss.

I know live Christmas trees purchases are declining. Perhaps those farmers want to start planting trees for making bags and "save the tree" campaign won't be an issue this time around.

As to bags, they simply want a re use of the bag. So for the billion dogs on the planet? The grocery bag as poo bag is going away. Folks will simply buy the plastic poo bag in a BOX FULL of plastic poo bags.

A permanent set of reusable grocery bags has been in my roster forever. It's just so much easier and they hold far more. Fewer trips into the house, no rips, and even insulated. I will not go to the store without them. Same with my wine carrier.

As to forest fires up above? The lack of CONTROLLED cutting and fires has resulted in OUT of control fires taking wild life and homes with it. Smokey was only half right.

You just want to pray now, you don't have to bring your own box for a darn pizza carry out. Or go back to washing doody diapers. Be very careful what you wish for.

As to straws? Can't remember the last straw I used. Horrible for wine or coffee. More than that? In a country with clean water virtually everywhere, the idea you will die of thirst , or drop dead from exhaustion in a lack of caffeine - guzzling something, anything and everything all the darn day is just annoying. Most adults look like a toddler with a permanent sippy cup. lol

Bloody Mary's--Christmas--they were a necessity!! Keep a box of straws in the cupboard. One never knows. We break out and have malts on occasion too.

Haha, Jan, you are once again right on the money! I can't remember the last time I had the need to use a straw to drink anything. I grew up thinking that straws were for children who couldn't drink from a cup. Why adults need them is beyond me.

And yes, in just under 2 months, the state of NY will join Suffolk County in banning those miserable thin plastic grocery bags, and I say good riddance to them. I've been bringing my own reusable bags for quite a while now, and it is much better. It always kills me to see the cashier try to pack a ginormous laundry detergent container or 6-pack of soda in a thin plastic bag, which will break as soon as you pick it up!

I think they need straws, ( i am not referring to the ill or compromised in some way ) ) because nobody seems able to drive anywhere, walk anywhere, or do anything without some beverage in hand. Much like children who can't ride in a car for two miles without a car snack in a baggie.. I believe the entire gulping, chewing, chomp chomp , sucking mess began with the folks advocating for IRRIGATING your body and the "many small meals" concept. ............?

Take a stroll through any mall. No country has ever been fatter. But I guess they are well IRRIGATED. lol

because nobody seems able to walk anywhere, or do anything without some PHONE in their hand.

I moved from overly eco conscious Southern California back to Pennsylvania Dutch Country where it is not unusual to see people in horse and buggy.

I have taken to self checkout at the grocery store rather than teaching each bagger that they don't need to put my groceries in plastic bags and then drop the plastic bags into my reusable carriers.

There are compostable "plastic" bags that could easily replace dog "poo" bags now in use and many other uses, as well. My fish market uses them now; handled and unhandled styles. People just have to make the effort to find them and buy them and be committed to removing plastics from our bad habits. There are also biodegradable bags, but they don't break down as quickly as the compostable bags:

compostable bags

Jennifer,. LOL. You are too funny and dramatic. Cheers to you and Happy New Year!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7W33HRc1A6c

Thank you for that information, Olychick! I will definitely check them out.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC Right now I am using a straw to drink wine from a Tetra Pak. Single serving size is great, and I'm sure I could pass this off as a juice box in public. The straw is reusable.

Well good for you.

Old threads revived. BUT since I am the original OP I get to comment! . Thread from "last year" was actually pre Covid. I am crankier than ever, now. I have ..........more.

Dunkin Donuts: WTH was wrong with the 2.5 lb foil bag ? Nothing . What possessed you to created this clumsy , impossible to grip plastic canister monstrosity that now must be recycled? I am done with DD. D.O.N.E.

Mask police: "Get that up over your nose please." As it slips a quarter inch or I let it down to de fog my glasses.

Folks in a stiff fifty mph breeze , in the middle of NOWHERE, WEARING A MASK.

MY NEW BIGGIE: The lack of an enclosed return slip and label in online orders. Requiring you to BACK to the site, and print. First, you need to enter your mothers maiden name, followed by your third grade mark in math and finally you can print the idiot LABEL.

Emails re that order. We have the order, we are preparing the order, we're shipping the order, the order has shipped, here is your tacking, it's coming......it came, IT IS delievered HOW DID YOU LIKE WHAT YOU BOUGHT, Dear GAWD in heaven, go the hell away.

Fitting rooms: Gone. You can take it home to your Covid ridden home, try it, and return it. You may not try on IN the store. Guess what? I strip. Right there i the middle of the store. A black bra is a black bra,, and you just get OVER yourself. Yesterday, I went into your LADIES ROOM. Why? To try on white jeans. No, they did not fit. Tooooo big. You may now get over yourself.

No salt and pepper on the table: I'm gonna get Covid from this? Really? Get a LIFE.

THE big one: Covid "improvements" for your safety. I refer to those places, restaurants especially, that have "improved "faucet infrastructure. Last week: A stop at a favorite. Use the ladies room there, and begin to wash hands. TEN minutes later, I am still attempting to rinse. What does this mean? It means your STAFF knows it is impossible to rinse via this idiot faucet that does NOT respond to hand beneath it, and therefore do not WASH. At ALL.

The Kohler "WAVE" TOILET. NO FOLKS, IT DOESN'T WORK ON A WAVE. No further discussion here is required. To the places that have installed this ridiculous item? Get rid of it. I am tired of "fixing" the problem in every stall........for you and your patrons. Nobody else has my patience level, or my disgust threshold.

Last: Lemons. Are they scarce? Are you CHEAP? You can not increase the price of your fish dish to include a half of a LEMON? I DO NOT WANT THE EENIE WEENIE LEMON CUTS FROM YOUR BAR. I DO NOT WANT THEM, NOT TEN AND NOT 100.

Give me a damn HALF OF A LEMON.

ps.........I don't have a cold. I am just cranky.

OH!!!!! Sorry. I left one out. " I need help finishing my kitchen" dilemma..........now nearing 10,000 comments. Take it off line ladies. I beg you. Take it off line. It's painful.

@Jan - Brava, hear hear, and amen!

Jan, thank you for the laugh.

Did you see the one where a person put masks on their car vents.

Honestly............. the day is just tanking, Like I can't get out of my own WAY. lol

I stopped using water bottles this year because I read an article that shocked me about plastic. Same goes for Starbucks cups, I simply stopped going there lol (it was only once in a while anyway). No more paper plates/cups/utensils unless I’m having a bbq or party. I used to use the plastic garbage bags for the dog, but after she passed I just started to bring them back to the store for them to recycle. I actually love my metal straw for my huge water cup I use every day. But there are no more plastic straws anywhere where I live, they’re banned. I also get irritated about having to print a return slip, because they give you a packing slip! Amazon doesn’t require any printing, I bring my returns to the UPS store or Kohl’s and they scan my phone so that’s nice.

LOL Jan on the " I need help finishing my kitchen", 18 thousand and some comments now and 2yrs! When I left here a minute ago, it was the first on the Dilemma list, when will that darn kitchen be DONE?

Oh, it's not even about the kitchen anymore. It's moved on to the bathroom, and other topics. It's an internet kaffee klatsch.

kaffee klatch ... love it!

They’ve graduated to the bookshelf.....

Hope that doesn't take as long as the TOILET PAPER holder.....................

Hope that doesn't take as much agony as the TP holder.........

LOL

I'm really hoping the phrase "glow up" doesn't catch on. I've seen 2 threads use this phrase, and it's just too "cutesy", lol.

I put it here because it's a bad design phrase.

GLOW UP? Am I under a rock?

Jan- you aren't the only one! I guess we are suppose to learn something new every day.

Glow Up

A Glow Up is a mental, physical, and an emotional transformation for the better. Glow Ups can be both natural or planned. As well as being gradual and permanent, or fast and temporary.

or glow up

To go from the bottom to the top to the point of disbelief. An incredible transformation.

Last rant, and I'm out. Lazy people. Intentionally stupid people. Sarcasm on my part ? Intentional.She's probably "GLOWING UP " the place. Who the hell knows?!

I should mention I despise accent walls. ...........

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6099004/liquid-wallpaper-or-venetian-plaster-professionals#26714542