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Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

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Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#391

Post by SllX »

viggity wrote: post #242
okreallywtf wrote: post #225

Just to play devils advocate on this, this isn't very free market. How is this not clearly choosing winners and losers? What about the plastic bag producing companies and their shareholders? The government is choosing multi-use bag makers over single use bag makers. I feel like this is "common sense" enough that people don't fight it, but if it is a more complex (and more important) issue like climate change and bann…

what is the environmental cost of staying in the hospital? Coliform bacteria are found in half of reusable bags and E. Coli are found in 12%. Reusable bags weigh 40-50 grams, one time use bags are 6 grams. I'm for finding bio-degradable plastic replacements, not because they take up landfill space (who cares, landfills are very safe), but more for the bags/plastics that don't find their way to the landfill.

I have a few cloth bags I cycle through. A few small ones that I carry around in my pocket, and a few larger ones that I use if I need to make a large run to the supermarket, which honestly is pretty rare nowadays because I tend to just pickup a few items at a time as needed.

Every week, whatever bags I've used get thrown in with the rest of the laundry that I would still be doing anyway, and they don't push my loads so high that I find myself doing more laundry than I otherwise would.

One time use bags get maybe two or three uses tops whether paper or plastic, but I've been using the same cloth bags for about 10 years, and I'll probably still be using the same set of bags or close to it in 10 more years. Maybe by then I'll be married to someone that knows her way around a sewing needle and/or machine to deal with any potential wear and tear.

So I don't know mate, what's the environmental cost of tossing your bags in the laundry with the rest? It's not nothing, but its probably better than the mass manufacturing, shipping, distributing, disposing of and/or recycling (in a best case scenario) of "one-time" use bags, and certainly better than staying in the hospital because you don't bother to wash your bags.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#392

Post by qplex »

kelnos wrote: post #338
deepvibrations wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ideal scenario is to reward customers for being environmentally conscious as oppose to penalising those who aren't. eg. A 5p-off your shopping incentive for every re-used bag. However, sadly I don't think this would work as well currently.

A bubble tea place near me gives out glass bottles, and offers a 10% discount if you bring back the bottle for a refill. I have... quite a few bottles in my cupboard now. It doesn't work, for me, at least. An extra charge to 'buy' the bottle would likely be a more effective incentive for me.

The convenience of cheap disposable one-time-use containers is simply too great.

The only real solution is to have this stuff made from biodegradable materials.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#393

Post by M_Bakhtiari »

goda90 wrote: post #70
M_Bakhtiari wrote: post #63

Has nobody thought of marketing straw straws?

Looks like they have: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strawstraws/straw-straw... http://www.harveststraws.com/ http://www.strawbystraw.com/

Neat, but none of those seem to ever be able to scale enough to be able to completely replace plastic straws.

I wonder if a cutting bar and reel system can be made that can cut and bundle the straw on the fly as the grain is harvested.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#394

Post by qplex »

dasv wrote: post #255
cimmanom wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's dumb for light items, absolutely. But New Yorkers tend to carry their groceries home in their hands for as far as a mile, instead of wheeling them out in carts to a car trunk and then carrying them 20 feet to the door of the house. Heavy items (liquids and canned goods and stuff like potatoes) WILL tear through plastic bags if not double bagged. The worst offenders are half gallons of milk/juice, which have shar…

At least in Europe, since the introduction of the bag surcharge, the new plastic bags are thicker and much stronger. At most, they get punctured, but I have never had one break open on me.

In Finland there are small biodegradable plastic bags available in grocery stores. Free of charge. They're mainly for vegetables, fruit etc.

Downside is that they are weak enough to break if mishandled.

Bigger bags to hold all your purchases - made from recycled plastic - are available from the cashiers for 20 cents.

Edit: Regular small bags are also available free of charge.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#395

Post by cimmanom »

prawn wrote: post #351
cimmanom wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's dumb for light items, absolutely. But New Yorkers tend to carry their groceries home in their hands for as far as a mile, instead of wheeling them out in carts to a car trunk and then carrying them 20 feet to the door of the house. Heavy items (liquids and canned goods and stuff like potatoes) WILL tear through plastic bags if not double bagged. The worst offenders are half gallons of milk/juice, which have shar…

Almost everyone in South Australia uses reusable grocery bags, like this: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=reusable+bag&tbm=isch&sou... We keep them in the car or carry a collapsible one in a backpack, handbag, laptop bag, etc.

Right. A lot of us have started carrying those, but not everyone. And even the slimmest ones have some bulk. I wouldn't carry more than one in a handbag unless I were leaving the house explicitly to shop for groceries. But sometimes you stop by the store for one thing on the way home and end up leaving with a lot more.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#396

Post by walshemj »

TylerE wrote: post #381
walshemj wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

27 gallons is over 120 L that's over a tenth of a ton of water I don't believe that figure

Wait until you figure out how much even a low flow shower uses.

Yes I could I have a Btech in thermo fluids :-) but this is doing the dishes by hand after a large meal no way do you use that much.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#397

Post by grasshopperpurp »

jpttsn wrote: post #282
grasshopperpurp wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fort Worth and Albuquerque give them jobs to clean up streets. In Fort Worth, they pay $10 per hour and provide housing. This would be similar - and a good idea, I think.

Would you personally pay this, or is it only a good idea if it’s someone else’s money?

As maym86 said, I'd be happy to contribute to the pool of resources that would allow something like this to be sustainable. Would you not?

>The city pays for it. The shelter runs it.

"It is a win-win," said Presbyterian Night Shelter CEO Toby Owen. "We want a clean neighborhood that speaks hope, that speaks dignity to our homeless guests. And it also provides income for these individuals so they can move out and be successful without living in a homeless shelter."

Last year, Clean Slate put 40 homeless people to work, Owen said. Approximately 3,856 tons of trash was collected by Clean Slate workers. And they don't just clean up trash on the street -- they also work as janitors for businesses.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-Pays-Homeless-P...

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#398

Post by walshemj »

emodendroket wrote: post #360
walshemj wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

27 gallons is over 120 L that's over a tenth of a ton of water I don't believe that figure

Plug the sink next time you're washing dishes.

Why do you think I don't? And use a washing up bowl

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#399

Post by chopin »

shaki-dora wrote: post #278
hangonhn wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm one of those idiots who always forgets to bring reusable bags but since they passed similar laws in my city, I've cut down on bag use, sometimes just carrying all my items. Laws like that help because groceries no longer assume you want bags. Now you have to make a decision. So even when I do forget and have to buy a bag, I ask for the bare minimum and the clerk just stack my bag as full as possible. In the past,…

I often just take one of the empty cartons some products are shelved in.

This easily gets you cockroaches, that's why I avoid this.

Re: Taiwan ban single-use plastic straws, plastic bags, disposable utensils by 2030

#400

Post by philliphaydon »

HumanDrivenDev wrote: post #389
philliphaydon wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never, ever, been asked to pay more for a receipt.

have you ever asked for a receipt where one hasn't been offered?

Yes. And never heard of any additional cost.
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