Going for the Green

This is totally idiotic, as sports shoes and clothes depend on polymers!

The ban is not against polymers in the manufacture of the shoes, clothes, and other products; just the use of plastic bags for purchases and giveaways. I think this a good idea, as items can be put into re-usable canvas bags, which can also be SOLD to those attending. While I've never been to the Olympics, I've been to enough conventions and trade shows where everything was handed to you in a "logoed" plastic bag, most of which were later discarded. My local store gives 3cent discount if you bring a bag. They charge nothing extra for a bag, or even to double bag. Time to shift the savings and expenses to those that save or use, respectively, rather than the reverse m.o. we currently have.

So what are you replacing the bags with? Paper? Most of these bags used in this manner are not recycled and thus their destination is eventually a land fill or burning. Either way, plastics beats paper for cubic space required for disposal or for energy available for conversion. They need to think this one through before wasting the money on promotion to see a negative benefit! The only alternative is to use a reusable container which most of us do at times but certainly not across the board on everything. Plastic bags have their place.

We used to get plenty of plastic bags to pack the grocery and the likes at stores. Now, they want to charge us for them or treat them like gold to reduce the plastic in the environment.

I used to recycle those used grocery bags for my garbages disposal. Now, I have to buy new garbage bags that are thicker and use more plastic per KG of waste since volume was usually the limiting factor.

We now use some of the "fabricated" bags for grocery now. They are re-usable as long as we don't forget them at home (then you have to buy new ones and eventually throw them out because you have too many). Since they use much more plastic than the disposable bags, I am not convinced that they last longer than their multiple of plastic weight used. If you combine that with having to buy new garbage bags, the environment is probably at a loss on this one.

That may be another trend where the green way end up producing worst results.