Australian plastic bag ban sparks abuse and violence from angry shoppers

[Judi Lynn]

'I work at Woolies and have already been abused countless times; it's not our fault'

Jane Dalton
@JournoJane
43 minutes ago

Supermarket staff in Australia have faced abuse and violence from shoppers angry at the removal of plastic bags as a ban comes into force.

Customers rebelling against the end of free single-use bags have taken out their frustration on staff, prompting warnings to them to be considerate.

In Western Australia, a shopper put his hands around the throat of an employee at Woolworths, which had stopped giving out free plastic bags days before the ban came into force.

It was one of dozens of cases of shop staff being abused as Australia moves to reduce the amount of non-decomposing synthetic materials going into rivers and seas.

More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australia-plastic-bag-ban-angry-shoppers-customers-abuse-violence-a8425836.html

[braddy]

1. Are Reusable Bags Really Better For the Planet? This article takes another look at reusable bags.

https://earther.com/are-reusable-bags-really-better-for-the-planet-1826567287

[progree]

3. And those reusable cloth tote bags don't last that long

At least the ones I bought -- I'm wearing holes in them and some seams are opening -- both I duct tape -- but geez, it's like that happened after maybe 15 uses.

[Squinch]

4. OK, now think. If they wear out, are they better for the planet than a plastic bag? Think hard.

[progree]

5. There's more to "think hard" about than just the disposal

Last edited Sun Jul 1, 2018, 10:02 PM - Edit history (3)

as very important as that is.

One recent LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, which compared 14 types of bags and analyzed their impact in 14 categories, concluded that the most sustainable choice was to use LDPE bags, and reuse them as trash bags. To match LDPE bags in climate impact, cotton bags would have to be reused 52 times—149 times if it’s organic cotton. (That may sound strange, but organic crops can require more land and resources to grow.) To compete with plastic in every LCA category, regular cotton bags would need to be reused 7,100 times, and 20,000 times for organic cotton. Paper bags would’ve needed to be used 43 times to compete.

The staggeringly high number of times cotton needs to be reused is attributable in part to the fact that its lifecycle can create ozone-depleting byproducts, according to that Danish study. But even ignoring ozone, organic cotton bags may need to be reused up to 3,800 times to match LDPE.

https://earther.com/are-reusable-bags-really-better-for-the-planet-1826567287

I mostly use the store's free plastic bags, and I bring them on subsequent shopping trips for however long they last, then recycle them at the store when they are too "holey" to be usable. And I use them as trash bags too.

But obviously a lot of people aren't that way.

ON EDIT - to highlight paper bags:

To compete with plastic in every LCA category, ... Paper bags would’ve needed to be used 43 times to compete.

Hmmm, so if one pays 10 cents for a paper bag that lasts maybe 6 trips (plastic bags last me about 2-3 trips, say 2.5 trips on average), then I've paid 10 cents for something that lasts 6/2.5 = 2.4 times longer but is 43 times worse for the environment in whatever ways the Danish study looked at. i.e. paying 10 cents for something that is 43/2.4 = 17.9 times worse for the environment when the number of reuses is factored in, again if the Danish study is to be believed. But if it makes some people feel better and "greener", that's all that really matters I guess.

[hatrack]

10. There's plastic at the bottom of Challenger Deep, and filling the stomachs of innumberable birds . .

But by all means, let's take the scenic route to Mt. Distraction.

[progree]

2. Not free, but can they be bought for like 5 cents or whatever? Article doesn't say

Doesn't sound like it after a brief Google search. So do they get paper bags instead?

[madaboutharry]

6. FYI

Woolworths in Australia was never associated with F.W. Woolworths. It's an entirely different company.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Wondered about that! It crossed my mind "Woolies" might have something to do with sheep!

Glad to see your comment.

Was nearly "Woolworthed" to death as a child!

Can still remember the smell of their candy counter, all that cheap chocolate.

[hunter]

8. They've been banned a few years in our California county.

Shoppers pay ten cents for paper bags.

It's no big deal.

These brown paper bags claim to be 100% recycled paper and they usually last me at least five or six return trips to the grocery store before I use them for trash.

I suppose I could add paper bags to our compost, but I'm not sure I'd trust recycled paper compost to grow food. We do compost brown paper coffee filters.

I once had such an accumulation of plastic bags I was able to melt and mold them into a heavy solid plastic ball, about the size of a softball.

My kids and their friends invented suitably dangerous bruising sports to play with it.

[Kaleva]

9. I reuse the plastic shopping bags as garbage bags

for the small garbage cans in the office and three bathrooms.