Please unfreep this poll on CT banning plastic grocery bags

[NewJeffCT]

http://www.wtic.com/

The poll is in the middle of the page. There is a bill before the legislature that proposes banning plastic grocery bags.

[Ian David]

1. Done! n/t

[Junkdrawer]

2. Strangely enough...

:popcorn:

BTW: Done

[El Pinko]

3. You do realize that there is no unanimity here on that issue, right?

There was a big contentious thread on how it impacts the poor just last week, I think...

I'm personally rather ambivalent on the matter since I use them for trash can liners.

But I do think people who litter the ground with those bags ought to be drawn and quartered.

Despite their supposed beauty alluded to in "American Beauty" they have a real propensity to strangle and otherwise harm animals...

[CTyankee]

10. I missed that thread. Would you happen to have the link?

I guess I don't understand how banning plastic bags impacts the poor more than everyone else. I am trying to use the reusable green bags as much as possible. I also use paper bags for recycling paper/cardboard. If the plastic were to be banned it would force me to remember the green bags (which I sometimes forget out of force of habit). There is really no excuse for not banning IMHO.

[El Pinko]

11. I don't have search capability yet (no star) , but if you search threads by "bobbolink"...

...you should find it in short order...

[CTyankee]

12. No star here either. I should get one. But do you remember what the argument

was about the poor, just in general? I've never heard of it...

[NewJeffCT]

13. well, if they had to pay for their own cloth bags

it would cost them even more to get by...

I bought 3 cloth bags at my local Stop & Shop not long ago for 99 cents each, though.

[CTyankee]

16. Wouldn't paper bags be an alternative?

That's what I don't understand...

[Lorien]

23. There are so many places to find cheap ( and even free) reusable bags

these days that there's really no excuse for not bringing ones own.

[CTyankee]

26. I've had to purchase my cloth bags. Are you speaking about the cloth ones

or recycled plastic bags?

[grace0418]

43. Not to mention that you can sew a tote back in about 10 minutes, maybe 45

minutes if you do it by hand. You can make them out of old clothes. And I'm sure plenty of places will start giving away reusable bags to people if plastic ones got banned.

[Lorien]

21. The thing is that we ALREADY pay for plastic bags; the price is factored

into retail prices. If retailers didn't have to buy the damned things they could cut prices a bit (roughly 4.5 cents per bag). Over time, such cuts would benefit everyone-most of all the very poor.


Geez-you'd think that humanity could figure out a way to survive without a product that was invented only 40 or so years ago!

[El Pinko]

14. Not to be contrary, but there's a star by your name.

That means you have search capability.

[CTyankee]

17. I had forgotten that someone gave me a star during the last fundraiser.

So I admit I am not a donor; some good soul was kind to me. Now I HAVE to donate!!!

[El Pinko]

15. Yahoo let me search, here's the thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2891374

[CTyankee]

25. You are very kind. Thank you for going to the trouble of searching for me.

I just read the thread. Very interesting stuff and I learned a lot.

I guess paper bags are out because they are not reuseable enough. But there should be a way that the cloth bags are provided. It would be good if a store's recycling area could redeem plastic bags and give cloth bags in return. Perhaps the state lege could help with that fiscally (thru a state tax).

Reuse of plastic bags just prolongs the process IMO...

[Matariki]

34. I think the contention was more over charging for the bags as a means to discourage their use

not ban them outright. but I could be wrong. you never know around here ;-)

[El Pinko]

40. You're right. But my assumption was that those in that camp would also oppose a ban.

Personally, I always preferred the paper bags, but I eventually got into the habit of using the plastic for bin liners.

Seems like a good way of reusing them to me...

[zanne]

4. Done...

But I think it qualifies as a push poll. Check NO for "Aren't there more important things to worry about"? Doesn't pass the smell test.

[NewJeffCT]

7. the guy that put it up

is the host of the morning show and is a regular poster on Free Republic... (I once asked folks to DU the poll here, and somebody from here later caught on that he then posted on Free Republic asking help in un-DUing it)

[zanne]

32. I love it when we find out about these things.

Now only if we could find the freepers on this website!

[NewJeffCT]

35. well

not long after I posted asking folks to DU/unfreep the poll, it went from 40-60 to 52-48.

However, it is now swamped with "no" and it's like 35-65 no.

[0007]

36. I hope Agent Mike has this information.

[KarenS]

5. Done,,,,,

jeez I hate polls that just show a percentage result without the number of votes,,,, :eyes:

[Harry Monroe]

6. There is a better alternative

A tax on each plastic grocery bag, which the Irish recently passed.



Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: February 2, 2008

DUBLIN — There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape. There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is talking into a cellphone. But there are no plastic shopping bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life.

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable — on a par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.

“When my roommate brings one in the flat it annoys the hell out of me,” said Edel Egan, a photographer, carrying groceries last week in a red backpack.

More at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/europe/02bags.html

[NewJeffCT]

8. I saw that a few weeks back

Not sure if you were the one that originally posted it, but I thought that was a great idea.

[catgirl]

9. Done! N/T

[NoPasaran]

18. You can have my plastic bag when you pry it out of my cold, dead fingers

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

19. Done, K&R

This is a more important issue than the freepers might think. I've read on various sites that it can take decades upon decades for a plastic bag to decompose, but only a few short months for a paper bag. There are fewer chemicals in the paper, so it's not as likely to pollute. I've seen a lot more people in my area who are using the cloth bags, and even that certain superbehemothcenter chain (you know the one) is selling them now.

I reuse and recycle the plastic bags whenever I can...for everything from cleaning the cat box, to dragging wet clothes home from the pool, to packing things needing to be moved or shipped.

[dysfunctional press]

20. thanks for the heads up- thankfully, the NO votes are winning!!

i LOVE the plastic grocery bags, they're very handy and i use them for LOTS of things.

[NewJeffCT]

27. it's terrible for the environment, though

[dysfunctional press]

29. so are cars- should we ban them?

:shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

31. No, but we can make incentives

for improving gas mileage, upgrading public transportation, and investing in alternative energy & fuel.

there already are alternatives to plastic bags out there.

[dysfunctional press]

33. there are plenty of alternatives to cars as well.

and since one of the many uses i have for the plastic grocery bags is to use them as garbage bags, the alternative would be to buy plastic garbage bags- how is anything being saved there?

[NewJeffCT]

37. there are not always plenty of alternatives to cars

public transportation is not readily available everywhere. Buses & trains don't run to every town & city.

[dysfunctional press]

41. ever hear of bicycles?

lots of people use them year-round, especially for shorter trips/errands under 10 miles that most people still choose to do in their cars.

if people balk at using alternatives to cars, why should i or anyone else listen to them say that i should give up plastic grocery bags...?:shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

42. yes

but, riding bikes in an upper Midwest or New England winter or in the South on those brutally hot summer days is not something people with young children can easily do, especially when it involves buying a week's supply of groceries. Biking home 10 miles from a grocery store in 90+ degree heat with a young child in tow isn't exactly good for the child, the parent and any sort of food that needs to be frozen or refrigerated.

Most people commute an average of 16 miles each way to work, which is also not practical on a bicycle in many weather conditions.

Switching from plastic bags to cloth or paper bags is something that is easily done by everybody.

Until we make a large investment in public transportation in this country, we cannot easily change from a nation of car drivers to a nation that bikes or takes public transportation.

[dysfunctional press]

44. if i switch to cloth or PAPER???

you do realize that paper bages create more pollution than the plastic ones, due to the production process, right?

but if i switch, then i have to buy plastic bags to put garbage, cat litter, dog shit, etc. into, just to throw away- so what is being gained, except for more profits for the man from glad...?:shrug:

[Mugu]

22. Done. n/t

[Lorien]

24. Done. It's a push poll though

The "No" answer is followed by "there are more important issues". Well, hell, OF COURSE there are more important issues! A better answer would have been "No, I'm lazy and don't give a shit about the environment or our use of foreign oil".

[NewJeffCT]

28. the poll has been majorly freeped with "no" answers

obviously, the war in Iraq is more important... but, even something like this can have a major long-term impact.

[Lorien]

45. Personally I feel that the environment is the top issue, but this certainly

isn't a top solution by any means-every little bit helps, though. Not hard to see where the paper stands on the issue.

Sadly, I feel that the wars to come over dwindling resources will make Iraq look puny by comparison. :-(

[Iwillnevergiveup]

30. Done & sent to 2 Washington Depot friends

K&Rec #4

[0007]

38. An update on the poll

Should Connecticut Ban Plastic Grocery Bags?

Yes. They're Wasteful And They Pollute
35%

No. Aren't There More Important Issues To Deal With?
65%

[NewJeffCT]

39. it's been on a roller-coaster

it was 40% yes -60% no when I asked folks to unfreep the poll this morning.

It then went up to 52%-48%

but, later on it went to where it is now.