Red Deer Reality Rant #11 - Dispose-ability

Hello and welcome back for another Red Deer Reality Rant, where I discuss (rant) about issues affecting Red Deerians and likely some other places on planet earth although I can’t speak for everyone. This blog is notably not rdnewsnow.com or even really condoned by Brutal Reality Digest, but I hope you will enjoy my rambling anyway.

In previous blogs I have mentioned environmental issues, today I would like to continue on that theme. It’s an issue that’s a bit of a pet peeve for some on both sides of the coin, disposable plastic bags. Single use plastics are a problem in landfills, waterways and oceans as well as hazardous to wildlife everywhere in the world.

Big box stores have been charging for their disposable plastic shopping bags for a few years now but it only seems to be helping those stores recoup the cost of said bags, and not really making much of an environmental impact. In more recent months some big box stores no longer have plastic bags and have opted for paper bags instead at an increased price.

I suppose this is a step closer to the right direction that will stop single use plastics, but there is still a long way to go. While shopping at some stores in Red Deer that still have plastic bags I can’t help but notice a lot of people are still purchasing them at the tills. I agree that it is an annoyance to have to remember to bring your own bag, or take stuff to your car bagless in a cart, but really, it’s just a minor inconvenience.

While shopping at Costco I have noticed that no one seems to mind the lack of bags or rigorous enforcement of the rules at this store. We all just happily take our bargains out in a cart and perhaps bag them in our own bags at our vehicles. But then when I go somewhere like Sobey’s people are annoyed by the hefty price of thirty cents for a paper bag that subsequently rips when filled.

The solution is simple. Just bring your own bag. If you absentmindedly forget it, and only remember when you go to pay, just own your folly and go out and get your bags, or take it out in your shopping cart. It’s not anyone else’s problem except your own. If you forget your glasses or wallet at home, you don’t blame anyone else for your lack of foresight!

Yes, disposable plastics are convenient, and plastic shopping bags can be reused as garbage bags, but it’s not much help as it all still ends up in the landfill or worse places. However reusable bags have benefits over the disposable ones. They are less likely to tear, most can be washed, they look nicer, hold more merchandise and are easier to carry, especially if you are walking.

I’m sure that in the near future disposable plastic bags will be banned anyway so might as well get used to it sooner rather than later. That’s my two cents for today! Until next time, Red Deer, when I will be back on a Monday with another rant.

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