No more plastic bags at Sobeys. I got my last one yesterday as the change over to reusable and paper only became official.
The last time this happened, it was a step away from paper bags to save the trees that were being used to produce them. As we see plastic bags slowly disappear, for some, this will bring back memories from the past. This is from a New York Times article published in 1984:
For those who care about such things, the on-going tug-of-war between the makers of paper grocery bags and the makers of plastic ones is very serious indeed.
”People are fond of the old paper bag,” said Peter A. Bunten, assistant manager of the Kraft and Packaging Papers Division of the American Paper Institute. ”It’s as American as the flag and apple pie and all those other red white and blue cliches.”
”This is progress, and with progress some products get left behind,” said Charles Jenest, a chemical and plastics consultant for Arthur D. Little Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. ”People were loyal to paper bread bags too, and to many other paper products” that have been replaced by plastic.
They even thought of ways to get people used to the new plastic:
One solution – but not likely to save supermarkets money – comes from Heather Dembert, a Columbia University law student, who feels that both materials have their strong points and who chooses her grocery stores with that in mind. ”I go to places that put one inside the other,” she said. ”I like my paper in my plastic.”
There is a plan now to see a national ban on most single use plastic items by next year. With a looming ban of many plastic items, what plastic item could you not do without?
Canada Wide Ban On Plastic Straws, Bags And Other Single Use Plastic Items 2021
Every time the state of our world and the environment is discussed, this video is always what comes to mind.
