by I feel for him having to walk around in this get-up, although it’s for a good cause.
From the website explaining what he’s doing: “The Bag Monster® is a costume worn by your volunteer to visually show the impact single-use plastic bags have on our environment. These flighty bags end up in trees, along roadsides and washed up on sea shores. Each costume is decked out with 500 plastic bags, the average amount an American uses in one year.”
When I walked by he was filling the parking meter. I feel guilty because I always take bags at the supermarket — I use them to dispose of kitty litter. I don’t know what else to use.
I have found a product called Fresh Sacks which is used to dispose of used diapers. It’s made out of recycled materials and, supposedly, breaks down really fast. I use that for the kitty litter stuff. Maybe that could work for you?
I don’t know if it’s law in my province/city but most major retailers here in Ottawa now charge a nickel per plastic bag. Do you have to pay for them in NYC yet?
You are REUSING them, not merely stuffing them into the trash, empty. We reuse ours, too, or else stuff them in the recycling bin on future trips if they are not salvable or if we have overflow.
I also give some to the flea market shop on occasion AND I’ve started using reusable bags for many of my trips.
Well, there’s that, it’s true.
Nora, no, they haven’t started charging yet, but I’m guessing it’s just a matter of time.
Karen, I will look into that, thank you!
You’re doing the best that you can in your situation by re-using the bags. It used to be called “adaptive re-use” (feel free to use that term if you can impress someone with it).
We don’t yet get charged extra – but we get a 5 cent discount per re-usable cloth fabric bag used at Giant and Safeway. Yeah – big help, huh, you probably don’t have those. However, some recent studies have found that the re-usable fabric bags grow bacteria inside if they are not washed periodically.