Plastic bags gone???

larussa

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I have read where in certain areas plastic bags will no longer be in grocery stores or if they are you will have to pay for them, I heard 5 or 10 cents each.  That is ridiculous. 

Here is my question tho, if we cannot get plastic grocery bags,  what will we use to put the litter box soil in.  I always use the plastic grocery bags when scooping the litter box, what the heck would I use if they no longer are available.  I don't know how far off in the future this will take place but I'm already wondering about it.  What would you do??

 
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duckdodgers

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I think it is a wonderful idea.  When you have to pay for them then people will think twice about their grocery store habits.  From what I heard it is already a policy in other countries- either you bring your own bags or you have to pay to use plastic.  Our current system basically encourages over use of environmentally detrimental plastic bags- cashiers put one item per bag, unnecessarily double bag items, people do it because it is convenient.  Not everyone in the general population has cats, and not everyone with cats uses the plastic bags for litter disposal so the vast majority of them are thrown away or littered into the world. 

That said, while I try to use reusable bags in the grocery store there are times that I forget.  I then use the plastic bags for litter disposal, and have some left over.  Were this put into effect I would be more diligent about remembering my reusable bags and find an alternate way to dispose of litter.  I have two cats and will scoop their boxes every day, but the bag is not filled with every scoop so one grocery bag lasts a few days.  I would go so far as to say the vast majority of cat owners who use plastic bags can either get over it and pay the extra $2.00 per month to use plastic bags if that is what they want to do. 

For the record, they do also sell plastic bags for the purpose.  Unfortunately, it's not as if plastic is disappearing from the market ; )
 
 

ibiscribe

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Oy... that's a good question!

I use grocery store bags for a lot more than just cat litter... I use them for ALL my garbage. I haven't had to spend the money on regular garbage bags in years (and the regular bags don't fit my garbage can as well as the grocery bags, either). Not having the option to use plastic grocery bags anymore would be all kinds of inconvenient.

I guess if it happens here, I'll just end up paying the 5-10 cents. Chances are that's probably still cheaper than buying regular garbage bags, which are pretty expensive here.
 

Winchester

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I've started to save all kinds of bags. Cereal bags, bread bags, hamburger and hotdog bun bags, even noodle bags and such. I'm just really careful about opening those bags, so as not to put a hole in them, so that I can use them for used litter. (I wish I could take the credit for coming up with the idea on my own, but I can't.....my sister has been doing that for a long time now.)

I really wish there was a way to recycle used cat litter; that seems to be the biggest part of our trash anymore. We recycle mostly everything else now.
 

kookycats

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I use the grocery plastic bags for litter scooping also. We still have them in our stores here in FL and hope they stay for a while.
 

missymotus

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Plastic bags haven't been around here for years, I use biodegradable diaper bags when doing the trays. Not having the shopping bags available really isn't a big deal here, especially since using reusable bags was introduced and encouraged long before plastic was unavailable/charged for. 
 

luvmyparker

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The grocery stores tried that here like 2 years ago. They charged 5 cents per bag. People stopped using them but didn't use their own bags either. For whatever reason, the idea didn't stick.

There are quite a few people that use their own bags but most don't. I don't because I collect the plastic ones for scooping as well.
 

andrya

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lt's been 5c per bag here for years. l just pay it because l need them.
 

smitten4kittens

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I think it is a wonderful idea.  When you have to pay for them then people will think twice about their grocery store habits.  From what I heard it is already a policy in other countries- either you bring your own bags or you have to pay to use plastic.  Our current system basically encourages over use of environmentally detrimental plastic bags- cashiers put one item per bag, unnecessarily double bag items, people do it because it is convenient.  Not everyone in the general population has cats, and not everyone with cats uses the plastic bags for litter disposal so the vast majority of them are thrown away or littered into the world. 

That said, while I try to use reusable bags in the grocery store there are times that I forget.  I then use the plastic bags for litter disposal, and have some left over.  Were this put into effect I would be more diligent about remembering my reusable bags and find an alternate way to dispose of litter.  I have two cats and will scoop their boxes every day, but the bag is not filled with every scoop so one grocery bag lasts a few days.  I would go so far as to say the vast majority of cat owners who use plastic bags can either get over it and pay the extra $2.00 per month to use plastic bags if that is what they want to do. 

For the record, they do also sell plastic bags for the purpose.  Unfortunately, it's not as if plastic is disappearing from the market ; )
 
What is the difference (environmentally) if you throw away litter in a plastic grocery bag vs.a plastic bag you have to pay for? That would be the alternative. Neither are good for the environment...why not stick with the ones that I don't have to pay for?
 

catkiki

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We use the plastic bags for litter scooping also. Every time we unpack after shopping, we look at the bags for holes. We get excited about the ones with no holes because they are made so cheaply, that there will be holes most of the time.  I have been wanting to buy one of those litter genies. Has anyone tried that?
 

Willowy

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You can buy a box of 1000 plastic bags at Sam's Club (and probably other warehouse stores too). . .I don't know if that would change if local stores aren't allowed to use them, though. I paid about $10, so what's that, a penny each? And easier than trying to find ones from the store without holes :lol3:.
 

minka

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What is the difference (environmentally) if you throw away litter in a plastic grocery bag vs.a plastic bag you have to pay for? That would be the alternative. Neither are good for the environment...why not stick with the ones that I don't have to pay for?
If they cost more, people will use less of them. It's a huge difference.



I wholeheartedly support this. I try to use my fabric bags at the store as much as I can, and if they started charging, I'd never forget them again.

For my litter, I have a small trashbin that has a scoop built into the handle/top, so just pour it directly into the dumpster. (They only go into plastic bags when I have some lying around.)
 
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smitten4kittens

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In your case it does make a difference. I use fabric bags at the store but my trash pick-up won't take loose litter straight from the trash can. I need a bag to put it in. So either way I am using a bag, whether it's free or 10 cents. Either way a bag will end up in a landfill. That was my point.  Even if i have to pay for them I will still use the same amount for litter purposes.
 

minka

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How would they even know that there was lose litter in your trash can? Doesn't the trash truck just pick it up?
 

Willowy

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How would they even know that there was lose litter in your trash can? Doesn't the trash truck just pick it up?
Not every garbage company has a lifter on the truck. My garbage guy lifts the top bags out, then dumps the can into the truck himself (at most houses he doesn't need to take the top bags out first, LOL). So I don't think he'd mind if there were loose litter, but some other companies will only take bags they can lift out.

I'm told that even a banana peel won't biodegrade in the anaerobic environment of a sanitary landfill (which is what we have here), so I don't know if using biodegradable bags would make a difference. And I don't know where to buy them. Sadly, we're just wrecking the planet and I don't even know what to do about it :sigh:.
 
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minka

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Hmm... if you were using biodegradable litter, you could just bury it somewhere... :dk:
 

smitten4kittens

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How would they even know that there was lose litter in your trash can? Doesn't the trash truck just pick it up?
In our neighborhood the guy picks it up and dumps it in the truck. One time a bag of regular trash had a few pieces of paper in it and they wouldn't take it. They left the trash bag in the can and a note explaining that it had to be seperated. I can't imagine that they would be okay with cat feces and urine if they have problems with a few pieces of paper.
I also live in a seperate apartment on the property of the family I am a nanny for. I don't think they would like me to dump smelly used litter straight into their trashcan. I imagine the smell and maggots would be horrible in the summer.

I use re-usable bags at the store to do what I can, but I need a way to throw out litter that is tidy and not expensive. I would rather spend money on healthy cat food than the bags to throw out their litter.
 
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