There's a little pizza place near where I work that is staffed by mostly Mexicans as is very common around here. They make a lunch special that is a burrito with corn ships, salsa, sour cream and fries. Used to be $5 for years but has steadily crept up over the past 2 years to something like $7.95

It's still a pretty good deal considering so we still get them from time to time and I noticed that the foam take-out container it used to come in became that stiff brown paper thing right after Christmas. Then today I see a notice up at the counter about a township ban on single-use plastic bags, foam containers and straws on 1 Jan 2024. And on 1 July 2024, no more plastic spoons, knives and forks.

I ask the guy how does this work when someone orders a salad or soup and he shrugs and says "I guess they have to get their own now" and told me they were threatened with a $600 fine if caught using any of these products.

So how does this work then? They just stop giving out forks and expect people to figure it out? Charge an extra dollar or two and give a wooden spork out?

Has this happened in your area? How did they handle it? There's a whole lot of little restaurants and takeout places around here that this is going to hurt I think.

5c per plastic bag ordinance's another tax that the $ only goes into their coffers, they were so gleeful when passed in my area, we are saving the planet! But the tax $ goes into the general fund.
It is simply extortion.

Make room on the belt for one of these I guess.

https://www.amazon.com/Orblue-...7255715&sr=8-10&th=1

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:


Has this happened in your area? How did they handle it? There's a whole lot of little restaurants and takeout places around here that this is going to hurt I think.

Compostable "plastic" forks are a thing, as well as flatware made from bamboo fibers and the like. They're a little more expensive in bulk, but not $1-2 more per order.

My work place has a cafeteria/cafe and they use bulk compostable utensils. They are indistinguishable from plastic utensils.

You have a hospital in that town? Supplies they use, including the syringes themselves, are single use plastic.

Years ago in biotech manufacturing we used stainless tanks and lines. We cleaned them and steam sterilized them. Nowadays FDA frowns on cleaning and steam in place in favor of single use. Our drugs are manufactured in plastic gamma irradiated bags along with all single use silicone tubing. The amount of waste is incredible.

But I can’t get a plastic fork in the cafeteria.

When I was LAX-based for a time and commuted from Houston to live in a crashpad while out there on Reserve, it was a TOTALLY new concept for me to be asked, "Do you need a bag?" when I was at the self checkout in the Ralph's grocery store with about 15 items. It was a further new concept to be charged like $0.10 a pop for said bags. Don't remember if they were plastic or paper...

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
When I was LAX-based for a time and commuted from Houston to live in a crashpad while out there on Reserve, it was a TOTALLY new concept for me to be asked, "Do you need a bag?" when I was at the self checkout in the Ralph's grocery store with about 15 items. It was a further new concept to be charged like $0.10 a pop for said bags. Don't remember if they were plastic or paper...

Here's the thing about the $0.10; it is mandated by the state (by vote no less) and it costs about 1/10 to 1/5 of a penny to make the bags.

The "sell" was how this would clean up the environment beause hte single use bags won't overload our landfill(s) and won't blow around the landscape if someone loses a grip. Oh and the money will also help clean up the environment.

Sooooo, some bags have been retained and prevented from floating around the landscape.

Hep-C cases among the homeless skyrocketed because guess what the homeless crapped in - the single use bags. RESULT: more tax payer dollars to treat the homeless for Hep-C.

Savings of space in the landfills - about a total of one (1) pickup truck bed full, spread out amongst all landfills statewide.

And the kicker... remember the new bags cost less than a penny each to make? The other $0.09+ cents - goes into the grocery stores' pocket - the reason which unions are pitching a bitch cause their members are not realizing that new revenue stream.

This problem could be easily and better solved in the marketplace by the business and consumer. Government gets involved, does not solve any problems and creates new ones and adds a tax or fine or a fee to make everything "green"

much like plastic straws

lets ban 'em

the solution?

single use straws made of cellulose

wrapped in plastic...

versus plastic straws wrapped in paper

Rhodes Scholars were hard at work on this one

Who says plastic utensils are one-time use?

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Who says plastic utensils are one-time use?

The manufacturers and Health Department.

Although we use reusable bags, any other bags we get are always dual-use - groceries then for used kitty litter. This includes the bags used to put your onions and tomatoes in while grocery shopping in the vegetable and fruit isles.

Link

As we try to end our reliance on single-use plastics, many shoppers and brands have turned to reusable grocery bags. But just how sustainable are these reusable alternatives?

Plastic vs. reusable bags
It’s no secret that the flimsy plastic bags many grocery store chains use aren’t good for the environment. After one use, many of them end up in landfills, where they can take 1,000 years to degrade. Those that don’t end up in landfills often get clogged in our waterways or snagged in tree branches, posing a threat to local wildlife.

To cut down on waste, some grocery store chains even offer shoppers reusable bags instead of plastic bags. But these reusable bags have a cost of their own.

How reusable bags affect the environment
Though they reduce waste, reusable bags have, by some assessments, a higher carbon footprint than single-use plastic bags. Many reusable shopping bags are simply made of thicker plastic than their single-use counterparts, so they can be more harmful to the environment if they’re not reused.

Unfortunately, many shoppers also aren’t reusing their reusable bags. Instead of offering single-use plastic bags, some supermarkets now sell cheap reusable bags for their shoppers. Greenpeace reported that, in 2019, the average U.K. household purchased more than one reusable bag a week instead of using the reusable bags they already owned.

Reusable cotton bags pose their own problems. The cotton industry uses a lot of water, pesticides, and fertilizer. Though cotton bags don’t cause plastic pollution the same way single-use bags do, the chemicals required to grow cotton conventionally can pollute soil and water and cause harmful air pollution.

“There will always be cases where we forget our [reusable] bags at home. We should try not [to] do that but when we do, we need to buy a bag. And if we then have already too many durable bags at home, it would be better from a climate perspective, at least, to buy a single-use paper or plastic bag,” said Tomas Ekvall, one of the authors of the United Nations Environmental Programme’s 2020 report on single-use plastic bags and their alternatives.

How often should you use reusable bags?
Reusable bags are a relatively sustainable choice as long as you do just that: reuse them. The more you reuse your bags, the better for the environment they are. Thicker reusable bags made of polypropylene must be used an estimated 10 to 20 times for them to be more sustainable than single-use plastic bags, while thinner reusable bags made of polyethylene only need to be used five to 10 times. Cotton bags, meanwhile, must be used 50 to 150 times.

The bottom line is that, instead of buying new bags, you should reuse whatever reusable bags you have as often as possible. That way, you keep single-use plastic bags out of our landfills and ecosystems without clogging up your closet with yet another reusable bag that took resources to make.

Almost every food is packaged in plastic, but we can't take it home in plastic bags.

quote:

Originally posted by MoosehornMan:
Make room on the belt for one of these I guess.

https://www.amazon.com/Orblue-...7255715&sr=8-10&th=1

Maybe they will make one of those gizmos in a shoulder holster configuration to keep it away from the IWB / OWB interference.

My town invented this nonsense. Everything moved to more expensive compostable stuff that costs the restaurant a lot more and is of course passed on to me. It makes the hippies feel smug so there we be. It’s funny because I live where two counties and many cities meet so there are different rules within a few mile stretch. I just pay my money and get my food in whatever package it comes in.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Almost every food is packaged in plastic, but we can't take it home in plastic bags.

^^^THIS!!!

Virtually EVERYTHING in the Supermarket (as well as most every other store!) is wrapped in 'Single-Use' plastic packaging!

Thankfully I don't live in leftist utopia, environmentalist wacko commie state!

Everything circled in this otherwise simple meal is plastic.



Enjoy your breakfast.

wife carries a hard plastic Spork in her purse, most times,

I have a Stainless Steel Spork in my computer bag,


I have used mine many times when no silverware was available