Why do we have plastic/paper bags...

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Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
11
81
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
why are people so opposed to being even the slightest bit green?

I'll be green when it doesn't require a major change to the way I do things.

so just as long as you're not inconvenienced?

I guess you're trying to make me look bad by using an Al Gore buzzword, but yea...that's exactly what I said.

It's about cost vs benefit. If I can do something like turning off lights or using CFLs that does not require a major change in my day to day activities, sure. However, something that's a huge pain in the ass like carrying around a bunch of reusable bags, I will not do, because it doesn't really help much and it is a pain in the ass.

Honestly I have never seen An Inconvenient truth (nor do I care to), and was unaware that Al Gore had copyright on the word "Inconvenience"

Carrying around a few reusable bags is a "huge pain in the ass"? You have other problems then I guess.

:roll: Whatever, it IS a pain in the ass to carry them around, yes. You also have to remember to put them back in the car afterwards, and if you've forgotten to do that ahead of time, it rules out just stopping at the grocery store while you're already out and weren't planning on it. Not to mention it means I have to buy bags specifically for the purpose of picking up dog crap.

So, toolish as you might want to be on the subject, yes, carrying around reusable bags is a pain in the ass and I'm not going to do it. In fact, maybe I'll double or triple bag my groceries from now on...I'd hate for those thin plastic straps to break!
 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,859
4,976
126
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: Homerboy
I only watched a bit of #3 thus far. I love that P&T's main point is the jobs created by recycling are "dirty and shitty jobs". OH NOES!!!! Manual labor! That's awfully elitist of them. Right there and then the whole piece lost credibility to me.

Watch the whole thing. And don't forget to separate their opinions and comical comments from the facts. I see you're already having trouble with that, so try harder, okay?

Actually I wasn't. One of the digs they actually used and defended was that the jobs were shitty and dirty. "Who would want those!?"

And really... using a P&T show as your argument as fact? Next your going to point to some Michael Moore movie?

Look I'm not arguing that recycling is THE ANSWER and that is THE CURE ALL for the world. My previous comments were simply that turning off lights, tossing your cans and plastic jugs in the recycling bin is NOT HARD and certainly is helpful for the environment.

This is like a religious argument it seems. Even little things said by either side is taken and expounded, exaggerated and embellished upon by the opposing side.
 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,859
4,976
126
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
why are people so opposed to being even the slightest bit green?

I'll be green when it doesn't require a major change to the way I do things.

so just as long as you're not inconvenienced?

I guess you're trying to make me look bad by using an Al Gore buzzword, but yea...that's exactly what I said.

It's about cost vs benefit. If I can do something like turning off lights or using CFLs that does not require a major change in my day to day activities, sure. However, something that's a huge pain in the ass like carrying around a bunch of reusable bags, I will not do, because it doesn't really help much and it is a pain in the ass.

Honestly I have never seen An Inconvenient truth (nor do I care to), and was unaware that Al Gore had copyright on the word "Inconvenience"

Carrying around a few reusable bags is a "huge pain in the ass"? You have other problems then I guess.

:roll: Whatever, it IS a pain in the ass to carry them around, yes. You also have to remember to put them back in the car afterwards, and if you've forgotten to do that ahead of time, it rules out just stopping at the grocery store while you're already out and weren't planning on it. Not to mention it means I have to buy bags specifically for the purpose of picking up dog crap.

So, toolish as you might want to be on the subject, yes, carrying around reusable bags is a pain in the ass and I'm not going to do it. In fact, maybe I'll double or triple bag my groceries from now on...I'd hate for those thin plastic straps to break!

Go ahead... my wife does nearly every time. :)

Just keep fighting your fight.
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: Homerboy
why are people so opposed to being even the slightest bit green?

I'll be green when it doesn't require a major change to the way I do things.

so just as long as you're not inconvenienced?

I guess you're trying to make me look bad by using an Al Gore buzzword, but yea...that's exactly what I said.

It's about cost vs benefit. If I can do something like turning off lights or using CFLs that does not require a major change in my day to day activities, sure. However, something that's a huge pain in the ass like carrying around a bunch of reusable bags, I will not do, because it doesn't really help much and it is a pain in the ass.

Honestly I have never seen An Inconvenient truth (nor do I care to), and was unaware that Al Gore had copyright on the word "Inconvenience"

Carrying around a few reusable bags is a "huge pain in the ass"? You have other problems then I guess.

:roll: Whatever, it IS a pain in the ass to carry them around, yes. You also have to remember to put them back in the car afterwards, and if you've forgotten to do that ahead of time, it rules out just stopping at the grocery store while you're already out and weren't planning on it.
Not to mention it means I have to buy bags specifically for the purpose of picking up dog crap.

So, toolish as you might want to be on the subject, yes, carrying around reusable bags is a pain in the ass and I'm not going to do it. In fact, maybe I'll double or triple bag my groceries from now on...I'd hate for those thin plastic straps to break!

toolish? really...? You can purchase cheap biodegradable dog bags that are TINY so you do not look like the cheapass carrying around HUGE plastic bags for a small dog shit...I can get 200 little bio degradable bags for what...4 $? They are small, work perfect for my dogs poop and I look normal. (since that seems to be what you are trying to do..stay in the norm).

as for that bolded part...it just makes you sound lazy...I never 'forgot' when I first got one a year or so ago...you just remember...
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
11
81
Yes, you are being toolish if you're going to be uppity and whine and cry about people that don't see it your way. And again - I'd have to buy dog bags specifically for that purpose. Inconvenient. My dog is not small, so a "tiny" bag isn't going to do the job, either.

You call it lazy, I call it I'm forgetful of things like that, so you are now even more toolish by mocking my memory issues. So we've got you pegged as being a hippy, now being a tool....three strikes and you're out!
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: Deeko
three strikes and you're out!

Really..3 strikes and I am out of ... what?

Originally posted by: Deeko
Yes, you are being toolish if you're going to be uppity and whine and cry about people that don't see it your way.

so that makes you toolish for not changing your ways, because your memory, or lack of, seems to be set in one mode of thought...one day-to-day operations, any change blows your mind???

It is NOT that hard.
 

skywhr

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2000
3,866
1
0
because we live in a disposable time...its cheaper to replace broken crap than it is to fix you can apply the same principle to this scenario....
i have like 3 55 gallon bags full of shopping bags and no where to recycle them
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
56,515
16,238
146
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: Homerboy
I only watched a bit of #3 thus far. I love that P&T's main point is the jobs created by recycling are "dirty and shitty jobs". OH NOES!!!! Manual labor! That's awfully elitist of them. Right there and then the whole piece lost credibility to me.

Watch the whole thing. And don't forget to separate their opinions and comical comments from the facts. I see you're already having trouble with that, so try harder, okay?

Actually I wasn't. One of the digs they actually used and defended was that the jobs were shitty and dirty. "Who would want those!?"

And really... using a P&T show as your argument as fact? Next your going to point to some Michael Moore movie?

Look I'm not arguing that recycling is THE ANSWER and that is THE CURE ALL for the world. My previous comments were simply that turning off lights, tossing your cans and plastic jugs in the recycling bin is NOT HARD and certainly is helpful for the environment.

This is like a religious argument it seems. Even little things said by either side is taken and expounded, exaggerated and embellished upon by the opposing side.

I used Penn and Teller because he got his ideas from a kids movie. I figured infotainment would be a perfect venue to help explain the facts to him.

And you can poison the wells all you like, but the facts presented in this episode are irrefutable.

And finally, please watch the episode and do your own research if you like. Plastic recycling is NOT good for the environment. It's unprofitable and creates more pollution than simply throwing away the bags and bottles and making new ones.

And landfill space is far from an issue. 1000 years of all US trash would occupy an area 35 miles square and 200 feet deep. It's minuscule compared to the land mass we occupy.

Yes, recycling and environmentalism IS an emotional issue it seems. But all the emotional factless based screaming is coming from the "greenies" and not the side that looks at it objectively.
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: skywhr
because we live in a disposable time...its cheaper to replace broken crap than it is to fix you can apply the same principle to this scenario....
i have like 3 55 gallon bags full of shopping bags and no where to recycle them

Cant re-use them? donate them to the goodwill/savers or whatever ... they use re-used plastic bags all the time...if I recall.
 

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
We have bags for convenience. Not everyone is a super-green hippie in this country. Many people save and reuse the bags for things anyway.
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
We have bags for convenience. Not everyone is a super-green hippie in this country. Many people save and reuse the bags for things anyway.

Why would they do that..they may end up being called a super-green hippie...
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
11
81
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: Deeko
three strikes and you're out!

Really..3 strikes and I am out of ... what?

Originally posted by: Deeko
Yes, you are being toolish if you're going to be uppity and whine and cry about people that don't see it your way.

so that makes you toolish for not changing your ways, because your memory, or lack of, seems to be set in one mode of thought...one day-to-day operations, any change blows your mind???

It is NOT that hard.

Nope. People that whine and bitch and moan that people don't see their point of view = tools. I don't give a shit if you recycle or not, or if you use reusable bags. Do whatever you want. When you try to push your agenda on me, that's when you become the tool.

I already explained above, it's about cost v benefit. The benefit of doing this is very small....and really, 0 to me. The cost is higher - not the monetary cost, but the pain in the ass of having to drag bags with me everywhere I go. It's not worth it, and you sitting here and crying about it will only make me less inclined to do it.
 

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
We have bags for convenience. Not everyone is a super-green hippie in this country. Many people save and reuse the bags for things anyway.

Why would they do that..they may end up being called a super-green hippie...

:p

My point is why complain about some plastic and paper bags when people already reuse them for stuff?
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
59,208
13,801
136
Originally posted by: skywhr
because we live in a disposable time...its cheaper to replace broken crap than it is to fix you can apply the same principle to this scenario....
i have like 3 55 gallon bags full of shopping bags and no where to recycle them

Both Wal-Mart and No Frills (regional chain) near me have hoppers at the front where you can put your used shopping bags for recycling. A word to the manager might be able to make one appear near you.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
59,208
13,801
136
Originally posted by: Deeko
I already explained above, it's about cost v benefit. The benefit of doing this is very small....and really, 0 to me. The cost is higher - not the monetary cost, but the pain in the ass of having to drag bags with me everywhere I go. It's not worth it, and you sitting here and crying about it will only make me less inclined to do it.

Yeah, on average, my weekly family grocery trip probably ends up being 15-20 bags.
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: Deeko
three strikes and you're out!

Really..3 strikes and I am out of ... what?

Originally posted by: Deeko
Yes, you are being toolish if you're going to be uppity and whine and cry about people that don't see it your way.

so that makes you toolish for not changing your ways, because your memory, or lack of, seems to be set in one mode of thought...one day-to-day operations, any change blows your mind???

It is NOT that hard.

Nope. People that whine and bitch and moan that people don't see their point of view = tools. I don't give a shit if you recycle or not, or if you use reusable bags. Do whatever you want. When you try to push your agenda on me, that's when you become the tool.

I already explained above, it's about cost v benefit. The benefit of doing this is very small....and really, 0 to me. The cost is higher - not the monetary cost, but the pain in the ass of having to drag bags with me everywhere I go. It's not worth it, and you sitting here and crying about it will only make me less inclined to do it.

You need to get laid...this seems like it is stressing you out...

I do not go around preaching this, and you do not have to accept the idea, but you have to accept that fact that years later (could be a lot longer then projected) but shit will change so much that carrying a reusable bag around will be pretty common.

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Originally posted by: Deeko
I already explained above, it's about cost v benefit. The benefit of doing this is very small....and really, 0 to me. The cost is higher - not the monetary cost, but the pain in the ass of having to drag bags with me everywhere I go. It's not worth it, and you sitting here and crying about it will only make me less inclined to do it.

Yeah, on average, my weekly family grocery trip probably ends up being 15-20 bags.

woofta...weekly is 15 bags? Get 2-3 reusable ones and that should cover it.

We used to get 6 or so plastic bags before we started using reusable bags and it all fit in the one...or two we had...only one trip from the car, as opposed to 2-3.
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
81
Plastic bags are recyclable. It makes more sense to use plastic, as opposed to paper, which has limited recycling capabilities.
 

panipoori

Senior member
Aug 18, 2005
460
0
0
People who are anti-green apparently see the world in black and white. Being eco friendly does not mean you are a hippy
 

dainthomas

Lifer
Dec 7, 2004
14,635
3,507
136
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
We have bags for convenience. Not everyone is a super-green hippie in this country. Many people save and reuse the bags for things anyway.

Why would they do that..they may end up being called a super-green hippie...

:p

My point is why complain about some plastic and paper bags when people already reuse them for stuff?

But people who re-use them are by definition being super-green hippies. We're talking about normal Americans who chuck everything after using it once.
 

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
11
81
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
You need to get laid...this seems like it is stressing you out...

I do not go around preaching this, and you do not have to accept the idea, but you have to accept that fact that years later (could be a lot longer then projected) but shit will change so much that carrying a reusable bag around will be pretty common.

I'd say you and your hippy buddies are more stressed about this than I am. I'm just stating the facts. If it comes down to me having no choice but to carry the bag, obviously I will (I ignored that question earlier because it's seriously the stupidest question that's ever been asked), until then I won't.
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: panipoori
People who are anti-green apparently see the world in black and white. Being eco friendly does not mean you are a hippy

read the thread, it DOES mean you are a super-hippy.


--sarcasm

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Plastic bags are recyclable. It makes more sense to use plastic, as opposed to paper, which has limited recycling capabilities.

but most people do not recycle them, they toss them away. That is what irk'd me about my trip to the grocery store.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
452
126
Um... I'm pretty sure paper is recyclable as well. In fact I know it is, because they have huge recycle bins that say "paper only" all over the place. Paper can't really be reused multiple times by the same person, but can indeed be recycled.

Either way, I use plastic because it's easier and I don't give a shit. Polymers (plastics) are pretty new and we can only extrapolate how long they'd take to fully degrade. The ways we calculate that are solid for what we know thus far, but we're still not 100% certain.
 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,859
4,976
126
Originally posted by: dainthomas
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
We have bags for convenience. Not everyone is a super-green hippie in this country. Many people save and reuse the bags for things anyway.

Why would they do that..they may end up being called a super-green hippie...

:p

My point is why complain about some plastic and paper bags when people already reuse them for stuff?

But people who re-use them are by definition being super-green hippies. We're talking about normal Americans who chuck everything after using it once.

So you're saying Deeko and Amused are, in turn, themselves being "super green hippies" if they reuse their plastic bags?
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
Originally posted by: Deeko
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
You need to get laid...this seems like it is stressing you out...

I do not go around preaching this, and you do not have to accept the idea, but you have to accept that fact that years later (could be a lot longer then projected) but shit will change so much that carrying a reusable bag around will be pretty common.

I'd say you and your hippy buddies are more stressed about this than I am. I'm just stating the facts. If it comes down to me having no choice but to carry the bag, obviously I will (I ignored that question earlier because it's seriously the stupidest question that's ever been asked), until then I won't.

my hippy buddies? Why are you assuming everyone I know thinks like this?

I get that you do not want to change, unless it is cost effective, but it COULD help the environment, if you started, then maybe you tell 3 of your friends, etc and it trickles down..no more need for plastic bags/paper bags.

Originally posted by: dainthomas
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
We have bags for convenience. Not everyone is a super-green hippie in this country. Many people save and reuse the bags for things anyway.

Why would they do that..they may end up being called a super-green hippie...

:p

My point is why complain about some plastic and paper bags when people already reuse them for stuff?

But people who re-use them are by definition being super-green hippies. We're talking about normal Americans who chuck everything after using it once.

super duper batty insane hippies.

normal Americans do not like change.