HELPING TO STOP PLASTIC AND PAPER BAGS
The practice of individually packaging consumer products may not have originated in the 20th Century, but that’s certainly when it was perfected; our landfills are stacked with unconscionable mounds of plastic waste as a reminder. Fortunately, there are those among us working to buck the trend and put a dent in our masses of trash.
What follows is a round-up of our favorite innovations for reducing plastic consumer waste—some you’ve heard of, some you haven’t, but all of which could help this century be remembered as the time we learned to scale-back.
Although this program is generally accompanied by gripes, moans, and outcries of socialism, it’s undeniably effective. As you’ve seen in our ongoing coverage of the a controversial but effective implementation in Washington, D.C., a mere 5-cent fee for plastic bags has reduced bag consumption by 50 percent and looks to generate $3.5 million for the District. You can find similar efforts everywhere from Ireland to California (pdf).
From the city of San Francisco to the entire nation of China, bans on thin, single-use, store-provided plastic bags have been immensely successful. In the case of the latter, through June of last year, the use of 40 billion bags has been avoided, saving China 1.6 million tons of petroleum (per the NRDC).
GOOD 100 winner Bundanoon, Australia, was the first city anywhere to ban single-use plastic water bottles. As we wrote in GOOD 017, “Bundy’s ban won’t destroy the entire bottled-water industry, but it will reduce plastic trash, mobilize the city to develop its public-water resources, and—perhaps most important—spark communities around the world to follow suit.”
At London’s Unpackaged grocery store, food is sold without packaging. No ban or tax needed, the market, quite literally, changes behavior.
Take-out Without is an online campaign to get people to use their own plates or Tupperware when they order take-out and to inspire restaurants to accommodate the behavior. Like Unpackaged, the idea is simple and spot-on. That it’s an opt-in campaign (as opposed to a government mandate) should help with the live-free-or-die crowd.
The Wastefree Lunches site reminds us that an average child’s lunches will produce “67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school,” and offers simple solutions to cut back.
For its new Voodoo line of Laptops, HP hopes its sturdy, beautifully designed packaging will inspire consumers to save the boxes and use them again.
There are shining examples of artists using reclaimed materials all over the world, and the abundance of plastic waste makes this a no-brainer. With examples form Chris Jordan to Dianna Cohen to students at Carnegie Melon, there might be a movement afoot.
Pennsylvania State University professor James Garthe developed a prototype machine to convert waste into Plastofuel—dense, plastic nuggets intended eventually for co-firing with coal at a power plant. According to Garthe, “the burner takes the granulated plastic, sized in diameter between 2 and 10 millimeters, from a solid to a liquid to a gas immediately in the combustion chamber…the gas is actually producing the heat we need to transfer into the boiler system.” See also, Environ’s Oil Generator.
The architecture graduate student Henry Miller has found a way to transform plastic waste into concrete. Meanwhile, in India, Ahmed Khan’s company, K.K. Plastic Waste Management “is trying to solve two of the biggest problems in India: battered roads and overflowing landfills. His solution: streets made with recycled plastic.”
Source: good.is
Unpackaged was founded in 2006 by Catherine Conway in the belief that there is a better way to sell food. We want to make it easy for our customers to do the right thing – the right thing for themselves and for the environment. The market is located at:
42 Amwell Street
Unpackaged is a unique and brilliant concept that is so simple it hurts, especially considering the sheer amount of packaging waste that is ridiculously filling our planet’s landfill sites. Within the beautifully designed shop, organic whole foods, dried fruit, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, even refillable oils, vinegars and wines are all available to place straight into your own containers, that you will have brought along with you … if you haven’t then reusable bags are available.
1- Remember to bring your containers* from home
2- Come to Unpackaged and say hello
3 – Choose the product and amount you want
4 – Take your goods home in your own containers (if you forget, we have reusable bags)
5 – When you’ve run out, come back for a refill, simple as that!
Containers: bring anything you like, there’s nothing to date that we haven’t been able to refill (even our lovely friend who likes putting lentils in old water bottles!) Bring glass jars, tupperware, old takeaway cartons, brown paper bags, plastic bags, old packaging.. if it’s heavy, we’ll weigh it first, if it’s light then just refill and we’ll weigh at the end.
It’s hard to visit a landfill site without being struck by the craziness of taking very valuable minerals and resources out of the ground, using a lot of energy, turning them into short life products and then just dumping them back into the ground. It’s an absolutely monumental waste of energy and resources. As someone from the fashion industry might say, its just so last century.
(Michael Pawlyn, The Guardian, November 21 2005)
Whilst some packaging is necessary in our modern industrialised food chain, unnecessary packaging is a waste:
Cost: Unnecessary packaging increases the price of the goods you buy. It means you are charged twice; first when you buy over packaged goods and then through your council tax to dispose of your rubbish.
Waste: Unnecessary packaging is a waste of resources at every level: to produce, store and transport, remove and to dispose of.
Pollution: The two main methods of disposing of this packaging – landfill and incineration – are major pollutants for humans and the environment and release greenhouse gases.
What about recycling? While some packaging is recycled, most ends up in landfill sites and some packaging is just difficult and often impossible to recycle.
Source: beunpackaged.com
Matthew Yglesias is a Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University. His first book, Heads in the Sand, was published in May 2008 by Wiley. Matt has previously worked as an Associate Editor at The Atlantic, a Staff Writer at The American Prospect, and an Associate Editor at Talking Points Memo. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian, Slate, The Washington Monthly, and other publications. Matthew has appeared on Fox News and MSNBC, and been a guest on many radio shows.
There’s a supermarket on my block and I’m a terrible planner, so I go to the supermarket a lot. Consequently, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to gather anecdata on the impact of DC’s new initiative to impose a five cent tax on plastic grocery bags. My key observations are that I hear a ton of whining about how terrible this new tax is, and also a lot of people engaging in tax-avoiding behavior—canvass bags, cramming stuff into backpacks, carrying items by hand. In other words, it looks to be a stunning success! The five cent fee is actually very small but people really hate paying it. Apparently it’s led to something like a fifty percent reduction in bag usage.
Like Lydia DePillis I think the implications for broader environmental policy are pretty interesting. Evidently the difference between “zero” and “a very small amount” has a lot of psychological impact on people, so even a relatively modest carbon charge might have a big impact.
At the same time, I think you also see here how difficult it is to make a difference through moderate actions. Now that stores all must charge five cents for bags, everything is going fine. But you can tell from the volume of whining about it that were any one store in some other town to start charging for bags unilaterally, it would probably find itself burned down by angry customers. People are just very wedded to their habits—they cling to their free plastic bags even harder than guns and religion.
Source: yglesias.thinkprogress.org
Ross Mirkarimi (pronounced Meehr-kah-reem-e), was elected San Francisco District 5 Supervisor in 2004, and reelected in 2008. In 2009, he was appointed by the State Senate to the California Coastal Commission, one of the most powerful land-use bodies in the United States. Ross has lived in San Francisco for 25 years.
Supervisor Mirkarimi has authored more than 80 ordinances that have had both citywide and national impact. Apart from his reputation for sponsoring cutting-edge laws, he is also well known for his 24/7 focus on issues that chronically challenge his district and the City.
Today, local governments pay to have wind-blown bags plucked from trees and telephone wires; in San Francisco, cleanup efforts run as high as $8 million a year. Plus, more than a million sea birds and a hundred thousand marine mammals suffocate from plastic litter each year. “Long before I was elected,” Mirkarimi says, “I’ve thought the plastic bag was emblematic of what our country and planet have been suffering from.”
Last spring, Mirkarimi began efforts to make the bag a historical relic. The 45-year-old member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors authored legislation that bans plastic bags made of petroleum products from checkout counters at large supermarkets and pharmacies. “Banning a plastic bag is just a good first, small start,” says Mirkarimi, a co-founder of California’s Green Party. He estimates that the plastic prohibition will save 450,000 gallons of oil and prevent 1,400 tons of trash from ending up in a landfill annually.
Despite having (almost) weaned himself from plastic bags, the city legislator admits they can come in handy on walks with his dog. For those particular occasions, Mirkarimi is eagerly awaiting the introduction of durable, biodegradable alternatives at grocery stores in October, when the law takes effect. The law, signed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on the eve of Earth Day, also promotes using recycled paper and cloth bags.
Mirkarimi was elected in 2004 to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors as the representative of District 5, which includes the country’s oldest Japantown and the famously curvaceous Lombard Street, and his work has repercussions that extend far beyond the boundaries of his district. In our consumptive society, he says, too often we don’t think about the consequences of our choices, whether it be toting shopping bags or filling up at the gas station. “We need to make our economy more soulful,” says Mirkarimi, who holds master’s degrees in both environmental science and economics.
San Francisco is the first city in the country to ban plastic bags, but officials in New York, Texas, Iowa, and elsewhere in California are quickly following in Mirkarimi’s footsteps. He hopes plastic bags are just the beginning. “We can make great change at the municipal level, but we have to be bold about it. We cannot wilt in the face of criticism that we’re out of our jurisdiction,” he says. “These are such critical times, we can’t wait for our federal and state leaders to do the right thing. We’re all on the clock.”
Source: good.is
Washington D.C. instituted a 5-cent tax on disposable bags—both paper and plastic—on New Year’s Day. Now, when you go to the grocery store in the District, you pay a little extra if you get a new tree- or oil-based bag rather than bring your own.
There seems to be lots of grumbling from the locals about what a hassle/expense the tax is, but the thing is: It’s been wildly successful as a waste-cutting measure. Store managers are reporting that the number of bags they buy and use has dropped by around 50 percent. They should be happy about that because it cuts their costs. The tax will also generate an estimated $3.6 million in revenue for the District.
Many commenters are taking this as an example of how the difference between a free bag and a 5-cent bag can be huge, psychologically speaking. It’s also interesting to contrast this with the proposed 20-cent bag tax that was rejected by voters in Seattle (would a smaller tax have passed?) and the plastic bag ban in San Francisco, which did more to reduce bag use, but generated no revenue and may have increased grocery prices for everyone.
I’m glad it’s working, but I’m still slightly baffled that so many people need a tax to prompt them to rethink whether getting a disposable bag with every little purchase makes sense. Using a plastic bag means unnecessary production and waste. I get that economics tells us we’re all supposed to be utility-maximizing rational choosers, but for me being generally resource smart and taking care of the planet actually feels better than not caring.
Source: good.is
I’ve heard that both paper and plastic shopping bags are pretty dreadful for the environment—the former because they require so many trees, the latter because they suffocate animals and last for centuries. I remember a lot of talk in the late 1990s about biodegradable bags composed of vegetable matter—whatever happened to those?
There’s been a torrent of information and opinion recently about how you should transport your groceries. To us it seems pretty clear: reusable canvas bags are best for minimizing waste and pollution. But if you forget your canvas tote (and we sometimes-to-most-of-the-time do), you’re stuck choosing between paper and plastic.
An essay at Slate touts biodegradable, corn-based bioplastic bags as a better alternative. They require a lot less fossil fuel to make, and wouldn’t fill up our oceans. But Slate concludes that, because bioplastic bags cost about $.05 more than paper or plastic, “the bottom line…is that they’re not going to show up in mainstream supermarkets until prices come down significantly.” Yeah, but that’s only a problem if the grocery stores have to foot that bill. What about giving people the option of bioplastic at checkout for an extra $1? Grocery stores in eco-conscious cities might be able to make money on that.
Source: good.is
This flyer by the fashion illustrator Julia Durgee offers tongue-in-cheek responses you can employ when a store clerk tries to give you a plastic bag that you don’t want, and which will contribute to the planet’s ruin.
Source: good.is
Photo: juliadurgee.com
In the late 1850/60s, many scientists and inventors were focused on a new field of research: the creation of the modern day paper bag. It was such a hot topic that the original designer is unknown. The three possible inventors are Margaret Knight, William Goodale, and Francis Wolle.
Margaret Knight was an employee in a paper bag factory when she invented a new machine part that would automatically fold and glue paper bags to create square bottoms for paper bags. Paper bags had been more like envelopes before. Workmen reportedly refused her advice when first installing the equipment because they mistakenly thought, “what does a woman know about machines?” Margaret Knight can be considered the mother of the grocery bag, she founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870.
Margaret Knight (Mattie) was born in 1838. She received her first patent at the age of 30, but inventing was always part of her life. Margaret or ‘Mattie’ as she was called in her childhood, made sleds and kites for her brothers while growing up in Maine. When she was just 12 years old, she had an idea for a stop-motion device that could be used in textile mills to shut down machinery, preventing workers from being injured.
Margaret Knight is considered one of “the female Edison,” and received some 26 patents for such diverse items as a window frame and sash, machinery for cutting shoe soles, and improvements to internal combustion engines. Margaret Knight’s paper bag machine made flat-bottomed paper bags that are still in use to this very day!
In the late 1850/60s, many scientists and inventors were focused on a new field of research: the creation of the modern day paper bag. It was such a hot topic that the original designer is unknown. The three possible inventors are Margaret Knight, William Goodale, and Francis Wolle.
Francis Wolle born in Jacobsburg, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1817 invented the paper bag making machine in 1852 in the United States. In 1852 he patented in the United States, and later in France and England, a machine that he devised for making paper bags. It was the first of its kind, and covers the fundamental principle of the many similar machines that are now used. Further advancements during the 1870s included glued paper sacks and the gusset design, producing the types of paper bags used today.
In 1869, Wolle and his brother and other leading paper bag makers founded the Union Paper Bag Machine Company. Union Bag and Paper Co.’s decision to open a plant in Savannah was great news to depressed Savannah in 1935. The company, founded by paper bag machine inventor Francis Wolle, opened its $4 million plant with 500 workers the next year. Savannah citizens streamed through the plant on opening day to ooh and ahh at the production of a thousand feet of paper per minute. The plant is still in operation today and is owned by International Paper.
Milestones:
–1852 Francis Wolle invents and patents paper bag machine.
–1869 Wolle and his brother and other paper bag makers found Union Paper Bag Machine Company.
–1870 Margret Knight invents a device to cut, fold and paste paper bag bottoms
–1871 Charles Annon files patent application similar to Knight’s design
–1871 Knight, filed a patent interference suit against Annan.and the court rules in her favor
–1872 132,890 (US) issued November 12, 1872 to Charles Annan for paper bag machine
–1883 Charles Stilwell awarded patent for making Square-Bottom Paper Bag w/ pleated sides
–1890 William Purvis awarded a patent for an improved paper bag machine
–1891 Purvis sells patent license to Union Paper Bag Machine Co., now part of International Paper
–1893 Death of Francis Wolle
Source: ideafinder.com
In the late 1850/60s, many scientists and inventors were focused on a new field of research: the creation of the modern day paper bag. It was such a hot topic that the original designer is unknown. The three possible inventors are Margaret Knight, William Goodale, and Francis Wolle.
UNION PAPER-BAG MACHINE COMPANY v. MURPHY.
The Union Paper-Bag Machine Company, assignee of William Goodale, to whom letters-patent No. 24,734, for an improvement in machines for making paper-bags, were issued July 12, 1859, and subsequently extended, brought this suit to restrain Merrick Murphy and R. W. Murphy from infringing said letters. The respondents justified under letters-patent No. 146,774, issued Jan. 27, 1874, to Merrick Murphy.
Letters-patent No. 24,734, bearing date July 12, 1859, were granted to William Goodale, for new and useful improvements in machinery for making paper-bags, as more fully described in the specification. Patents at that date were granted for the period only of fourteen years; but the record shows that the same was duly extended for the further term of seven years from the expiration of the original term, and that the patentee, on the 14th of July, two days subsequent to the extension of the patent, by an instrument in writing, sold and assigned all his right, title, and interest in the patent to the complainants, who instituted the present suit. What they charge is that the respondents are making and using the patented improvement, the title to which they acquired by virtue of the aforesaid written assignment.
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