Green Bags

Re:Green Bags

The Green Bag is a reusable canvas bag that will help you say NO to ugly plastic bags, be kind to the environment, and go green.

I re-use grocery bags as liners in our trash cans. We also have several of the eco-bags made out of hemp to use. The large garbage can in the garage uses 30 gal. bags from a roll of them with twist ties. It costs $10 to take three of them to the pickup station for the dump(on the way to work or the store). We are far inland so there is no chance they could end up in the 6 huge oceanic trash gyres. The idea is to really reduce our trash output and burn what is burnable in our wood stove. Our family of three puts out 3 bags every 2 months, when most are putting two bags out by their road for garbage truck pickup per week (for $28/month). So we save a lot per month compared to others, and put out a lot less trash by conscious effort. It seems so many don't make that conscious effort.
Look at what happened to the capital of Zimbabwe when trash service was disrupted. There was 4 feet deep of trash with paths through it. People in islands and along coasts in extremely overpopulated areas just don't care and thus the 6 huge trash gyres in our oceans. The Earth is their toilet to many millions and excess petro chemicals from industry and industrial agriculture combines with the sewage to form over 100 estuary dead zones in the world. World fisheries are headed toward collapse between 2035 and 2050 with the major protein source for 3 billion gone. The acidifying oceans have their shelled creatures and corals dying, while birds and mammals die of eating the plastic or having it kill them in other ways like asphyxiation.
In properly managed dumps/landfills, the plastic bags and cartons may take many thousands of years to break down. PVC is one of the worst with a 50K year breakdown and toxic even then. Running out of landfill space is a global problem from overpopulation. Trash not buried and around people spreads numerous diseases, along with the rivers with sewage in them. In many poor countries many thousands live at the dumps, scavenging for half rotten food and for items they can recycle and sell. 300K people live at the Mexico City dump.
Even with re-using grocery bags for trash can liners, I still have to periodically wash out the sturdy poly trash receptacles.

I love green/reusable bags! They're so convenient and environment friendly. My most favorite reusable bag folds into a cute animal design.

Originally Posted by Val

I re-use grocery bags as liners in our trash cans. We also have several of the eco-bags made out of hemp to use. The large garbage can in the garage uses 30 gal. bags from a roll of them with twist ties. It costs $10 to take three of them to the pickup station for the dump(on the way to work or the store). We are far inland so there is no chance they could end up in the 6 huge oceanic trash gyres. The idea is to really reduce our trash output and burn what is burnable in our wood stove. Our family of three puts out 3 bags every 2 months, when most are putting two bags out by their road for garbage truck pickup per week (for $28/month). So we save a lot per month compared to others, and put out a lot less trash by conscious effort. It seems so many don't make that conscious effort.
Look at what happened to the capital of Zimbabwe when trash service was disrupted. There was 4 feet deep of trash with paths through it. People in islands and along coasts in extremely overpopulated areas just don't care and thus the 6 huge trash gyres in our oceans. The Earth is their toilet to many millions and excess petro chemicals from industry and industrial agriculture combines with the sewage to form over 100 estuary dead zones in the world. World fisheries are headed toward collapse between 2035 and 2050 with the major protein source for 3 billion gone. The acidifying oceans have their shelled creatures and corals dying, while birds and mammals die of eating the plastic or having it kill them in other ways like asphyxiation.
In properly managed dumps/landfills, the plastic bags and cartons may take many thousands of years to break down. PVC is one of the worst with a 50K year breakdown and toxic even then. Running out of landfill space is a global problem from overpopulation. Trash not buried and around people spreads numerous diseases, along with the rivers with sewage in them. In many poor countries many thousands live at the dumps, scavenging for half rotten food and for items they can recycle and sell. 300K people live at the Mexico City dump.
Even with re-using grocery bags for trash can liners, I still have to periodically wash out the sturdy poly trash receptacles.

The nice hemp or canvas shopping bags reduce the amount of plastic or paper bags used, but can't be re-used for trash. Still, in weight, they are a drop in the bucket of the huge amount of trash produced by overpopulation. The major effect of reducing trash would be to reduce population rapidly to sustainable, which at a poor level is 3 billion and at a good standard, 1 billion or less. To do so before running out of landfill space for garbage produced is problematical, so people have to produce less trash per capita, now. Everyone would have to do it out of conscious efforts to reduce, re-use, and recycle, while there is a near moratorium on having kids, and the world economy changes over to steady state environmental economics.

Originally Posted by Val

The nice hemp or canvas shopping bags reduce the amount of plastic or paper bags used, but can't be re-used for trash. Still, in weight, they are a drop in the bucket of the huge amount of trash produced by overpopulation. The major effect of reducing trash would be to reduce population rapidly to sustainable, which at a poor level is 3 billion and at a good standard, 1 billion or less. To do so before running out of landfill space for garbage produced is problematical, so people have to produce less trash per capita, now. Everyone would have to do it out of conscious efforts to reduce, re-use, and recycle, while there is a near moratorium on having kids, and the world economy changes over to steady state environmental economics.

Off-Topic:
I completely agree with you Val. Maybe we should implement population control for the greater good of the nation. I say nation because we cannot do anything about other parts of the world. However, they need it more than the USA.

On-Topic:
Using green bags is easier for me at the store. I just did some shopping today and used the bags to put my items in while I shopped. My wife thought I was crazy and that it would slow me down, but I found it very convenient. Before I opened my eyes, I would ask for paper bags at the grocery store so I could start fires in my wood stove in the wintertime.