Eco-friendly shopping bags

[deleight]

if by "here" you mean the Ville, oh yes they show up, post a spammer post and then scuttle back into the darkness.

 

If you mean where you actually live be very, very grateful.

 

lol... I mean where I live of course. I've been to Arkansas once and they were everywhere, but up here in Washington, I haven't seen any, and I've lived here my whole life.

[HomekeepingGran]

I decided to google fluorescent bulb disposal and Darski is exactly right. They contain minute amounts of mercury and should be disposed as hazardous waste. However, the story is apparently mixed on incandescants, too, because of the immense amount of coal burned both in their manufacture and use. For a completely different point of view read here. Bottom line: check out the alternatives and decide for yourself what you are comfortable with.

 

I hope these links are OK with you, Darski. Like I said, I am interested in being green and safe, and have been googling both types of bulbs and their pros and cons.

 

Now back to your regularly scheduled discussion of eco-friendly shopping bags!

[darski]

Really? Uh oh, better check this out some more. Where did you find out about this, Darski? I'm interested!

 

I saw that you did your homework - good for you.

 

I found it in a story at World Net Daily a while back. Some little girl no longer has a bedroom because of the $2,000 price tag to clean up one broken bulb.

 

it is about making wise choices and being prepared

Pray for the best and prepare for the worst.

[Thumpy]

This thread got me thinking! Scary thought but it happens once in a while. I run a swap group on MSN (grrr, bad MSN) and this week's swap is for Eco-Friendly Shopping Bags! Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Carol

 

A shopping I will go

Carrying my crochet bags

A shopping I will go

And no plastic will I use!

 

[Thumpy]

We use the compact fluro bulbs in our house, everywhere that we leave the light on for more than 15 minutes, otherwise your bulbs burn out faster because of turning on and off so much. We take our burnt out bulbs to the local hazardous waste site. It is only open from spring to fall so I save anything we need to take there during the winter. Our first trip is usually a bit larger than the rest. So far we have only had one compact bulb blow on us, I had it in a lamp that has 3 settings and the bulb wasn't made for that apparently, (shruging here) next time I will check on that! I think as long as you are careful with things and use them wisely using anything green works well for all of us.

 

Carol

[alchemyfyr]

When we go to one grocery store we get plastic bags which we then reuse as liners in our garbage can. The other grocery store we go to, which has great prices, you either buy plastic bags or their canvas bags, or you can use your own. They do not bag, but have a counter for you to do it yourself. My husband and I just leave some canvas bags or boxes in our trunk and bag it when we get back to the car.

 

We ended up having to buy garbage bags because we were so low on them. The plastic bags we get at the one grocery store rip so easily- we have actually wondered if they were made from recycled plastic since they are not as strong as they used to be. We count how many bags survived the trip home and it's usually only 2 or 3 out of 10 or so that we can actually reuse as garbage bags. I also use them to clean my chinchilla's cage every week. The ripped bags get bagged up and returned to the store as they supposedly recycle them.

 

I did see on Carol Duvall a while back how you can cut the plastic bags into one long strip so you don't have tons of ends to weave in. You may be able to find it on either hgtv or diy's website.

 

I also have seen on the Penn & Teller series, an episode on recycling. Scientists explained how it actually costs more money to recycle most plastics and papers than to just throw it away. Burning the plastics and coloring in paper products also produces a lot of air pollution. The only recycling that saves money is on aluminum. However, recycling does save space on our planet. I am all for recycling and reusing and repurposing if it helps out my future grandchildren and great grandchildren. Good luck to you all!!

[darski]

Here is a great pattern from Lion Brand ( have to be signed in etc, etc, yad, yada)

 

but it is really a nice one - not for shopping but nice

 

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/HookedBags.html

[Vreni]

Didnt know the plastc bags were being stopped !Paper is ok with me ==no I probably wont make any bags --a Dear Friend from Australia made me two --so would probably use them

Vreni

[Redheart]

Thanks for the post, Darski. I found that one yesterday and printed it. I'm trying to make a purse for my sister and this one may be it. I've made about six eco-friendly bags in various materials since you started this thread. Nice to make something small and lite during the summer.

Terry

[morrigan1974]

Here's a link to the Carol Duvall show, if anyone is interested.

 

http://tinyurl.com/gjjke

[papersmiles]

Oh my, I certainly enjoyed the link to the Carol Duvall show. It seems every so often the "plastic bag" crochet goes around. Off and on I've considered crocheting shopping bags out of heavy cotton yarn, but since I only "grocery shop" once every two weeks, I'd have to have at least 15 or 20 of the medium size crocheted bags to fit everything in. I guess my environmentalism hasn't quite cancelled out my wish for convenience.

[Cinnaminn]

Here's another free tote pattern that Carol Alexander talked about in today's issue of Talking Crochet e-newsletter:

Rugged Tote designed by Aline Suplinskas:

http://promotions.drgnetwork.com/newsletters/talkingcrochet/pages/TCNL2207_patt2.html

HTH!

[Nahvrianna]

I don't know why they would ever make plastic bags illegal. The common misconception is that plastic bags create more trash then paper bags. This is not true. Plastic actually recycles better than paper and uses less chemicals to break down to it's state of pulp. Plastic can also be molded into anything and all plastic recycles back down to a form that could even be used for hospital-grade products. There was a news story on it out here in colorado less than 2 months ago and they listed all the pros and cons of paper vs. plastic. Basically...if you think you're saving the environment by choosing paper instead of plastic, you've got a couple loose screws or you haven't been correctly informed. Look it up:) On a last note...stores such as Walmart, have boxes at the entrance of the store where you can bring back your old bags and have them recycled:tree

[papersmiles]

I really like the "Rugged Tote" pattern but OMG, it takes 18 skeins of canvas yarn. What other kind of yarn/fiber could you substitute (other than plastic bags)?

[ankey]

I don't know why they would ever make plastic bags illegal. The common misconception is that plastic bags create more trash then paper bags.

 

I guess I was naive in thinking that other places were similar to the stores in my area in that they don't have any paper bags anymore, just plastic (i.e. walmart, apparel stores). In that case, making plastic bags illegal would force people to use resusable tote bags, boxes, etc.