Eco Lesbo Vego

Reduce: Plastic Bags

February 3, 2009 at 12:09 am 10 comments

Plastic bags. Everyone loves to hate them. Me too. But I’ll let you in on a secret.

I still use them.

Plastic bags are the devil... right?

OMG OMG OMG! I know. Don’t scream at me, I know it’s bad and I want to change my ways. I mean, I used to use green bags really consistently so I know I can do it. But first, don’t you want to know why a staunch environmentalist doesn’t already always use green bags (which, mind you, are made from plastic anyway). I don’t always use calico bags either. C’mon… wanna know why?

I use plastic shopping bags for my rubbish bin. We make such a small amount of waste that the big bin with the big bags wasn’t working out for us. We switched to a much smaller bin, and why buy bags (with all the additional packaging) when I can get shopping bags for free?

I also use the bags as poo pick-up bags. We don’t walk Loodle much anymore; he’s old and his hips tend to protest if he walks around too much. When we do walk him though, the plastic bags are a definite must. There is, always, poo.

The last thing I regularly use the bags for is to carry my lunch to work. I pack my lunch in old takeaway containers and sometimes they leak. The plastic bags prevent my laptop bag from getting curry or stir-fry sauce all through it.

I must say though – I feel really uncomfortable getting plastic shopping bags at the grocery store, like I’m a bad environmentalist. Aside from the fact that everyone can see me being a bad environmentalist, I also know full well that plastic bags, even the biodegradable ones, don’t really biodegrade properly because landfill is too anaerobic to allow for proper decomposition. But I have these dilemmas, listed above… so what should I do? Here’s my thinking.

Avoid using bin bags altogether. I don’t use bin bags for my recycling bin, or any bin except the kitchen bin. With the introduction of a compost bin/worm farm (no, I don’t have one yet – we’re in a rental house on a very low budget, but it’s in the works) I should be able to prevent food scraps from being dumped. Then all I have to do is manage the plastic waste (pretty much everything else is biodegradable). At the very least, I can dramatically minimse the number of plastic bags we use in the bin.

Poo-pick up bags. I don’t know how this will work for everyone else, but Loodle is just about over going out walking anymore, so this isn’t a huge issue for us. He mostly poos in the backyard, which we clean up by doing a big poo-pick up every few weeks. The poo goes into one of his empty food bags and then into the wheelie bin. I wonder if you can compost dog poo… and if that would be nasty. Maybe nasty. Or maybe good like manure. I must research this. For people with dogs who are young and go for walks lots, you could try:

• Taking a small bucket or container with a lid (and a little shovel?)
• Getting a pooper-scooper
• Going to dog parks (they have biodegradable bags available there, at least in Brisbane)
• Using paper bags (not sure how well this would work – there may be seepage)
• Using empty bags or packaging from other products.

The final thing I regularly use plastic bags for is to protect my bag from food leakage. I think this wouldn’t be an issue if I used proper lunch containers and lunch bag/box. There are lots of different kinds, but my current favourite is Harold the lunch monster!

Harold the Lunch Monster from Ones and Zeros Fashion

A bit expensive, especially with the exchange rate, but awesomely cool. I’d still need to use lunch containers though… maybe that could be another use for jars, if I have something that might leak! Jars are pretty air/water-tight. I like that idea.

So I’m really going to make an effort to reduce my plastic bag usage. Before too long, we won’t have a choice anyway – shopping bags will be phased out as of 2011 or sooner here in Australia.

I just have to remember to take my reusable shopping bags with me!

Entry filed under: Reduce. Tags: alternative usage, biodegradable, food packaging, land use, landfill, pets, plastic, plastic bags, poo, rubbish.