Why I still get the newspaper delivered.

[Number_35]

I just grab a handful of flyers in grocery store, if I need any papers for garage use. Subscribed to newspaper for 20+ years, but papers have been getting thinner and thinner over the years with less meaningful contents and more ads.

I'm hanging on, still subscribing to our daily broadsheet, but the political bias is increasingly annoying.

I rarely get past the puzzle page these days.

 

[Kira]

Waste is just plain wrong. We work more and get less with waste.
Reusing something a bunch of times like grocery bags is way more efficient than going through a grinding/melting/recasting process.

Industry has recycled steel for a long time.

If landfill costs rise then something like cloth diapers can make their comeback. They have industrial sized laundries.
Mothers don't have to pick them clean with their fingernails.

Being obtuse solves nothing.

 

[99Saturn]

On a personal basis I miss the plastic bags in NY because I too use them as trash bags, which means I'm buying a case of 1000 at a time to go thru. But that said, I don't miss the amount I see on the side of the road, etc. I still get some blowing thru the neighborhood that gets caught on our property.

Last I checked, no law in NY that precludes paper bags at the $.05 fee.

As for the newspaper, I save the local free weekly paper for when I need it (firestarter, under a paint can, etc.).

 

[andrew_j]

The geniuses who run my state banned plastic bags and neighboring NJ soon followed suit. So now you see people walking out of the grocery store, Walmart etc...with items unbagged which makes theft deterrent more difficult. I think a smarter solution would have been to warn (and then fine if uncooperative) people who throw recyclables in the garbage (and also garbage in the recycle bins).

PS: The majority of NY newspapers aren't good for much except what the OP is using his for. I stopped buying them a while ago.

How many bags are on side of roads now?

 

[pbm]

How many bags are on side of roads now?

IDK about bags but there is still plenty of litter on the streets and roads in NY....especially in 'disadvantaged' neighborhoods.

 

[Pew]

The geniuses who run my state banned plastic bags and neighboring NJ soon followed suit. So now you see people walking out of the grocery store, Walmart etc...with items unbagged which makes theft deterrent more difficult. I think a smarter solution would have been to warn (and then fine if uncooperative) people who throw recyclables in the garbage (and also garbage in the recycle bins).

PS: The majority of NY newspapers aren't good for much except what the OP is using his for. I stopped buying them a while ago.

Chicago started taxing plastic bags in 2017 for $0.07 per bag and it has significantly reduced the amount of bags flying around. It hasn't completely eliminated it but I'm not longer trying to avoid them like flying ninja stars or worried about getting caught in my wheel.

Most folks that I know that use reusable bags are cleaner than the average person so I'd lean towards them washing their bags. Overall though I'm more worried about the amount of people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom than germs in a reusable grocery bag. The lack of due diligence in keeping clean is not a plastic vs reusable bag issue

 

[atikovi]

Chicago started taxing plastic bags in 2017 for $0.07 per bag and it has significantly reduced the amount of bags flying around.

5 cents around here for the last few years, and yes, less bags flying around.

I'm more worried about the amount of people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom than germs in a reusable grocery bag.

Not sure how much of an issue that is. Can you get sick from touching the germs that were already inside of you?

 

[Kurtatron]

My wife uses reusable diapers. No one’s died from those yet. We use those to save money mostly though. We also use the grocery bags as trash bags for the bathroom receptacles. This makes me a superior human being to all of you plebeians. Now bow before me and tell me how special I am.

 

[atikovi]

My wife uses reusable diapers. No one’s died from those yet.

Sorry to hear that. Aging sucks.

 

[Dinoburner]

I'm hanging on, still subscribing to our daily broadsheet, but the political bias is increasingly annoying.

I rarely get past the puzzle page these days.

Ditto on this.

 

[4WD]

The breeder from whom we bought our dog mentioned, "The evil governor who took away our bags".
I seriously considered nixing the deal.
How cranky, foolish, uncooperative and stupid some us have become in this country.
What's wrong with reducing ubiquitous waste?
How lazy and complaint-prone can we be?

Haven't used single use bags in years.
I never dumped oil illegally ever.
I don't throw things from my car.
I suppose that makes me a poof.

God help this country.