You Don't Need a Plastic Bag

You do not need a disposable plastic bag. Not ever.

They can hardly ever be recycled, they do not biodegrade, they have devastating effects on  ocean life. Canadians use 55 million of these PER WEEK. This week’s blog will address the bullshit people tell themselves to justify this disgusting laziness.

1) I forgot my bags in the car.

So what? You are using a trolley in the supermarket, they let you roll this trolley out right to your car. When you’re at the checkout, refuse the bags and put the items back into the trolley. Bring the trolley to your car and empty the items into your bags. There. Was that so  hard? No, it wasn’t. It’s not even worth patting yourself on the back for having done a good thing because this is something you should have started doing years ago.

2) I forgot my bags at home.

See above, except you empty the items into the car and your bags come into play when you get home. I can’t even deal with the “I forgot” excuse. If you forget bags when going to the supermarket, deal with the consequences of your actions and be better next time. Don’t pull this “I’m going to use a plastic bag for 3 minutes because it’s convenient, and let it rot during the course of the next 300 years” crap.

3)Your previous two arguments don’t apply to me because I walk/bike/bus to the supermarket.

Ever heard of a backpack? It will be easier to carry than plastic bags and you have the mental capacity to remember to put a backpack on before leaving your home. If you forgot to bring it, then only buy as much as you can fit in your hands and pockets. Done. Also, good for you for walking! 

4) If I don’t take the plastic bags, what do I use for my garbage bags?

Despite trying to reduce the amount of items I buy which involve packaging, I still end up with a bag full of bags. Here are items that come in bags that you probably throw out all the time, and which could replace the carrier bag: cereal, toilet paper, chips, cat/dog food, bread, potting soil, macaroni, the big bag that the three litres of milk come in. Honestly, we are so inundated with packaging that finding an alternative bag will not be a headache for you. So don’t even with this excuse.

Did I miss any brilliant excuses? Please leave them in the comments section so that I can assure you that there is NEVER a situation in which these ‘convenient’ resource drinking and nature polluting bags are appropriate to use. They should absolutely be banned.

Every time I go to the checkout at my local supermarket I see the same crap being pulled. Two apples in a plastic bag. Someone buying a bag of chips and a box of cereal and for some reason the idea of carrying two items which are already wrapped in plastic to their car without adding another layer of plastic packaging (packaging which will outlive us all) is unthinkable.

Red Currants

I want to live in a world where people who take these bags are heavily judged and receive heavy side eye. I am 100% fed up with this. I cannot remember the last time I used a plastic carrier bag, I hope there will come a time very soon where no one else can remember such utter nonsense either.

Gooseberries

Blueberry Flowers

Oh right, this is a blog about an orchard. How does this relate? Even though it’s a five minute walk from any human house or road, garbage still blows into my orchard regularly.