Bloomberg 2020

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/how-p...-ocean-turtles

Plastic straws are one of the top 10 items found every year during Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Plastic is not biodegradable — instead, the material eventually breaks down into tiny particles known as microplastics that are 5 millimeters or smaller in length, making them difficult to clean or filter from the ocean. Plastic is polluting oceans all over the planet, interfering with underwater ecosystems, killing sea animals, and more.

Similarly, when sea animals see floating plastic straws (or other plastic items) in their underwater habitat, they often think they are food, and eat them. Besides the choking hazard, this sends animals a false sense of having a full stomach, leading them to die of starvation.

Additionally, there have been many recent cases of whales and dolphins washing up dead or dying on beaches with stomachs full of plastic — and that plastic is often cited as the animal’s cause of death.

The more you know.

Now that right there is an actual market based solution. But be mindful of where your trash and recyclables end up.

I have to say that if i'm to be compared to a liberal in one sense, I don't like to waste things. And straws are one thing. I don't accept them on take out items, in restaurants with meals and I avoid them on take out coffee for stirring.
I find myself trying to eliminate using anything that is used once and thrown out (disposable cups, lids to cups, plasticware, styrofoam takeout plates, etc.) Originally Posted by Precious_b

Now that right there is an actual market based solution. But be mindful of where your trash and recyclables end up. Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

Already know where my trash goes. Got that reduced so much that it'd take a couple of months to fill up my trash can. It's the plastics that I try to really cut down on. Paper, plant matter waste and glass are the easy ones to deal with.

Already know where my trash goes... Originally Posted by Precious_b

Well, you don't live in Austin then. They aren't sure where it's going to go soon. But they are working on it... Different team than is working on the homeless problem I hope.

What I mean by where it goes speaks more to the recycling industry in general. China used to buy the bulk of our recycles for years, but had significantly lowed the price they would pay and have pretty much stopped buying it altogether. I'm a thinking they had figured buying recyclables was cheaper than producing new and we know they have zero compunction about discarding the rest anywhere at any time. Plus there have been copious reports of recycle companies just routing their trucks to landfills in the US.

Biggest recycling product we shipped to the Eastern Rim of the pacific was plastics. Hence why I actively try to reduce the use of such. Sidenote: I can't believe I never used the cardboard boxes that are left over from stocking shelve to replace the plastic bags at checkout. Better still, do as in europe and bring your own shopping bags.

I pretty much mulch alot of stuff I trim. Glass stock is easy. Hell, you can throw that out no problem seeing it is the most abundant stuff in the earths crust. I have always recycled oil since I had my first car. (Radiator coolant is a little tough but go find a quicky lube that does such and dump it in their recycle bin.) It took family members I have that traveled extensively to really open my eyes on the problems with our consumer society.

... Sidenote: I can't believe I never used the cardboard boxes that are left over from stocking shelve to replace the plastic bags at checkout. Better still, do as in europe and bring your own shopping bags.... Originally Posted by Precious_b

A little hard to do as grocery stores have to ditch the boxes that the night stockers disgorge. Otherwise they would be littered all over the joint. Bringing your own containers is fine. But do you have to be forced to do it? Why not do it because it's just a good idea?

...I pretty much mulch alot of stuff I trim... Originally Posted by Precious_b

Composting in these here parts is a great idea. We need all the arable soil we can get... Want to really, really open your eyes on these problems, take a few trips to your local landfill on a hot sunny day.

Bringing your own containers is fine. But do you have to be forced to do it? Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

Speaking as someone who lives outside of Austin but occasionally shops for groceries in town, no one ever forced me to do anything.

I was given a choice. I could hand-carry my items or cart them out and individually transfer them to my car, or I could purchase a reusable bag for a reasonable price.

The law may have required the stores not to provide single-use plastic bags, but it was the prerogative of elected officials of a municipality to do so until the Texas Supreme Court ruled otherwise on a similar ban in Laredo.

If you didn't like it, you had the option to try and drum up support to vote the city council members out. Or you could whine about it incessantly on hooker boards if that struck you as a more effective means of persuasion.

It was probably easier at the time to just re-use your reusable bags, but that does require planning. And I can see how that might be a problem for someone with limited thinking capacity.

...you had the option to try and drum up support to vote the city council members out... Originally Posted by Dev Null

Well dang nabbit, I went with option 3, don't shop in Austin. Oh well...

Well dang nabbit, I went with option 3, don't shop in Austin. Oh well... Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

I'm sure that the city council is crushed by the loss of tax revenue on your weekly purchases of corn whiskey and chewin' tabbacky.

I know, I know, ever now'n then you maught git a mess o' hamhocks 'n poke sallet.

Down here in S.A. they give you all the plastic bags you want. Thank goodness. It's so retarded what Austin has done but than it's a libtard city.

Well dang nabbit, I went with option 3, don't shop in Austin. Oh well... Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

Down here in S.A. they give you all the plastic bags you want. Thank goodness. It's so retarded what Austin has done but than it's a libtard city. Originally Posted by Austin Ellen

Atually the plastic bag ban ended in 2018.

Down here in S.A. they give you all the plastic bags you want. Thank goodness. It's so retarded what Austin has done but than it's a libtard city. Originally Posted by Austin Ellen

In that case, I guess a lot of cities in Texas are retarded:

Brownsville
Eagle Pass
Port Aransas
Laredo
Kermit
Sunset Valley
Freer
Austin
Laguna Vista
South Padre Island
Fort Stockton

And that's just in Texas. Across the country, over 400 cities have banned plastic bags.

Guess there's a lot of retardation going around. Maybe it's because of the higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It sure has made the right-wing nut-cases go ape-shit over something so trivial.

Also the plastics industry, which has been suing and lobbying like crazy.

Follow the money. That's what it's all about. Cities in Texas are now required to follow rulings of the Texas Supreme Court (state elected officials who depend on campaign donations to stay in office) instead of deciding on a local basis what is best for their community.

Really? Does HEB know that? Have you been to HEB lately?

Atually the plastic bag ban ended in 2018. Originally Posted by SpeedRacerXXX

Austin is the major retarded city. It has the majority of libtards like you - living there.

In that case, I guess a lot of cities in Texas are retarded:

Brownsville
Eagle Pass
Port Aransas
Laredo
Kermit
Sunset Valley
Freer
Austin
Laguna Vista
South Padre Island
Fort Stockton

And that's just in Texas. Across the country, over 400 cities have banned plastic bags.

Guess there's a lot of retardation going around. Maybe it's because of the higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It sure has made the right-wing nut-cases go ape-shit over something so trivial.

Also the plastics industry, which has been suing and lobbying like crazy.

Follow the money. That's what it's all about. Cities in Texas are now required to follow rulings of the Texas Supreme Court (state elected officials who depend on campaign donations to stay in office) instead of deciding on a local basis what is best for their community. Originally Posted by Dev Null

Austin is the major retarded city. It has the majority of libtards like you - living there. Originally Posted by Austin Ellen

You'd prefer maybe Berlin, Leni?

If memory serves, they didn't have any retards once upon a time. They had a final solution for that.