Bronwyn & Pelican

I follow similar measures to you. Although I am guilty of not having a compost heap. I do put out old fruit for the possums.

Leaking food items, Rehctub? Common sense as defined by previous posters.

I have finally established a routine with taking my reusable bags with me on shopping trips - a handy hook by the door so I can grab them on the way out (I also hang keys there as well).

As for banning plastic bags outright, I don't understand why we can't make them all biodegradable, also saves on oil by using plant products. However it appears to be not all that straight forward as I found with the following article:

"The degradable versus conventional plastic bag argument is very complex. Some question whether there is any benefit in using degradable plastic bags if they are just going straight to landfill, as they may not break down in the dry anaerobic conditions found in most Australian landfills.

Alternatively if they do break down they may contribute to the generation of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas (although if methane capture technologies for energy generation are in place at the landfill this may not be such a problem).

The impact of degradable plastic bags on recycling programs for conventional plastics still requires further research. Generally it is feared that contamination of recycling processes with degradable plastics may interfere with the recycling processes and undermine the durability of the recycled plastics products produced."

http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/waste/degradables/faqs.html

Cheers

rehctub,
I can't see the benefit for the Bin Bags either. To me they are a 'marketing con job' under most circumstances they serve no useful purpose.

Sometime back I was part of a test on 50/50 bag and bagless bins for bacteria.
Where it counted the handles, lids etc. (contact points) there was little difference. Keep in mind it doesn't take too many bacteria to set up a colony.
Bugs, flies, mice, birds or the passing non toilet trained gecko can all set up the colonies of bacteria (s).

I clean our bins thoroughly after each empty with a light solution of chlorine and water (bleach) leaving it to stand for a while with the fumes. PS most sterilisers are based on Chlorine incl. Milton.

Likewise most people think that liners keep their bins clean (bacteria free) and have been conditioned by the ads/manufactures that way. Nothing will replace a little effort. If you want “clean bin” liners don't save time you still have to clean.

The tests found that the less infected bins were the ones that froze their meat/liquid waste then wrapped it in newspaper (local press has a use after all). Paper decomposes in land fill plastic doesn't and Veggie waste composted plus cleaning.

The real villain is the packaging particularly the the “blow or clear bubble packs” (waste, waste, waste. About 48 % of our waste stream is non recyclable packaging etc. Make no mistake this packaging is for the retailer's benefit and in some cases it can be over 30% of the cost. This doesn't include liners.

Plastic is “over used” for commercial reasons. Then there is the pollution and wildlife issues which are horrendous.

I am neither a germ freak or a rabid greenie but just some one who is budget/ marketing concious. I choose where I spend my limited funds not some ad/retailer/manufacturer marketing dept.

examinator

"I clean our bins thoroughly after each empty with a light solution of chlorine and water (bleach) leaving it to stand for a while with the fumes."

For someone who isn't a 'germ freak', examinator, you go to an awful lot of effort to create a germ-free bin. :)

So, you're not a 'rabid greenie'. More's the pity I think. You'd only need to be mildly green to ditch using bleach with such gay abandon.

Sorry to be so tough, examinator, but your halo has definitely slipped a little in my eyes. It was up there very high though you do understand! :)

I don't understand the focus on plastic bags. I am often dismayed at how much rubbish we put in out wheelie bin. But plastic bags are but a tiny portion of it. If I had the energy to reduce the amount of rubbish we put in there, the plastic bags would not be where I would start. And besides unlike most of the rubbish in there we actually recycled them at least once.

It also seems people focus on the bags not degrading. Again, I don't understand the focus. Why care? Yes paper and cardboard do degrade while in landfill. But mostly into CO2 and methane, and it is not obvious just leaving the carbon in the ground as plastic bags do isn't a better choice. The breakdown of the carbon has the side effect of making the land they are dumped onto useless - it subsides as the material rots. The plastic on the other could be recycled if we put out mind to it - even if it is just as stable landfill.

It seems to me the main problem plastic bags have is image - they are in your face. Their one downside seems to be when they don't end up in landfill, but rather leak into the wider environment - the sea or as rubbish on the side of out roads. There they can be a problem. But they are also exposed to the sun, water and oxygen, so will break down over a few years.

Bronwyn: "You'd only need to be mildly green to ditch using bleach"

It is cheap to produce, the raw material (sea water) will never run out, production doesn't have nasty by-products and the by-products it does produce are re-used. It degrades rapidly, is one of the most powerful disinfectants we have at out disposal which makes it great for sterilising other things they we can re-cycle. If you use a high-tech alternative instead of bleach, you will be causing more damage to the environment, not less.

I'll take a bob each way on this.

I think Reccers make a fair point. WE know what to do because we's smart! But you can bet your Uggs that there will be some cross contamination, from those who don't give a stuff. And it concerns me that IF supermarkets try to avoid confrontation, by putting some filthy bags in the holder arms there IS a possibility of spreading germs.

We are a grubby lot. I have yet to see one cooking programme for instance that ever states as part of the process,-that hygiene is crucial. They mention it on occasion, but never concentrate on how vital it is.

And yes,-I use my bags to line my indoor bin - and I'm in SA! BUT:

it had to stop. We have to get back to a less wasteful situation. These bags are an environmental hazard;..which is why it is so annoying that they ONLY have been banned. The heavy plastic bags-in my view-are just as unnecessary, and the excessive packaging?
Don't get me started!

Examinator, when I was still producing useful things, I had many examples of the stupid packaging required to be able to sell "stuff" through retailers.

EG, An item cost $2.00, the display packaging cost $4.00, & it cost $8.00 average to deliver it to a retailer.

If I could have depended on retailers to know their products, I could have delivered 10 items in a box for $32.00, instead of 2 for the same $32.00. The item could have sold for $4.80, not $24.00 each.

When it comes to plastic bags, however, the whole thing highlights just how bad our pollies are.

The usless tokenism of this gesture is disgusting.

Those pollies who don't know it is a meaningless gesture are either idiots, & should be removed, or too lazy to be worth having.

Those who are well aware of the total lack of fact behind the whole campaign, & still vote for this ban, are pandering to a few activists, & are beneath contempt.

Of course, if the public are too lazy to get the facts, we will continue to get this quality of government, & deserve it, I guess.