Plastic Shopping Bags - A 21st Century Dilemma

Plastic bags have turned out to be the bane of modern society. We (and especially marine mammals) can’t live with them any longer but we can barely live without them . When you realize that a plastic bag could sit in the depths of a landfill for almost 1,000 years before finally decomposing, it leads everyone, not just a greenhorn graduate, to think plastic, that is, doing away with it. San Francisco has famously banned plastic bags and several states and cities are considering similar measures but you have to be careful what you legislate for.

Not all plastic bags sold as biodegradable are created equal. You have to ask under what conditions they decompose. In order to disintegrate within the promised 10 to 45 days, most bio degradable bags have to be composted (exposed to a combination of sun, oxygen, water, salt, etc,). To do this on a city-wide basis would require “turned” or “open” landfills. Presumably San Francisco has or will create such landfills. Hudson County does not appear to have any of those.

So what is a concerned Hoboken earth dweller to do? Until sugar cane- and corn-based polymer biodegradables are produced the next best thing to do is BYOB – bring your own bag.

Every time you go shopping stuff four or five of those crumpled up bags stashed in a bigger plastic bag in a closet or under the kitchen sink. A little-known fact is that Shop Rite here in Hoboken will reimburse you 2 cents for every one of their bags that you bring back in which to carry your new purchases (see the red arrowed alert on the bottom right side of a Shop Rite plastic bag).

Another alternative is a tote bag like the one your mother used when shopping back in the 60s and 70s . The Quality of Life Coalition will revisit the 70s by selling hemp/cotton totes for sale on “Green Street” (an entire block devoted to “green” organizations and products) at the Arts and Music Festival on Sunday September 30. Green Street will be on Newark Street between Hudson and Washington Streets. Look for the Quality of Life Coalition table.

Hope to see you there, tote or reusable plastic bags in hand.

Quality of Life Coalition