real results

Earlier this week method Twittered this article titled "Did D.C.'s bag tax work?" and the results are mind-blowing!

"Yes, it did.

The District's 5-cent bag tax generated about $150,000 during January to help clean up the Anacostia River, even though residents have dramatically scaled back their use of disposable bags, according to a report city officials issued Monday.

In its first assessment of how the new law is working, the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue estimated that food and grocery establishments gave out about 3 million bags in January. Before the bag tax took effect Jan. 1, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer had said that about 22.5 million bags were being issued each month in 2009.

That's an 82 percent reduction in the number of plastic bags and $150,000 for the city. Hopefully this'll encourage Santa Barbara and other wavering cities."

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Did you get that? In one month they generated $150,000 for the city to use for (hopefully) eco-cleanup! And they went from giving out 22.5 million bags (and this is one city! That's the thing, imagine HOW many bags are given out each year when D.C. alone gives out 22.5 million!? That's freakin' insane) to 3 million bags.

And their reduction in the number of plastic bags given was: 82%. EIGHTY. TWO. PERCENT. That my friends, is what you call RESULTS. Seriously, I'm shocked. Imagine if every city did this? In fact, every state.

Screw the plastic bag industry. I hate that people might lose their jobs (I genuinely do.) But I've also had it up to the tip-top of my head with industries plodding forward like nothing's wrong cause "that's how they've always done it, and until there is a rule put into place we'll just do what we've always done Hell or high water - for better or worse." Sick of it. It's time companies, corporations, and industries were responsible for what they do and create! Something you'll be hearing much more about here on method lust, trust me.

82%. How about my hometown of Greensboro, NC tries this out. I mean, we are freakin' called GREENSboro. Maybe it's about time we started acting like it...

what's it all for?

While rambling on about my latest plastic bag adventures, a fellow method luster posted this comment, which I thought would make for an interesting back and forth on everyone's thoughts here; as well as a little more insight from myself.

"ok... not to sound too naive. i understand why plastic bags are so bad for the environment... i get that. here's my question... is the hope that by not taking plastic bags, we will show the plastic bag makers that people don't use them and therefore there is no need to make them anymore? because obviously by not taking one you're not really saving one from being made (i mean the bag is still there). i know this is all obvious observation. and what about paper bags? are they ok? and if they are, then how come retailers aren't replacing plastic with paper. or are we now getting into the cutting down trees issue? well then they could make paper bags out of recycled paper. what if in 10 years they realize these tote bags are causing land-fill problems... what then? i'm just saying. really though, i am in support of reusable totes because i am so sick of ALL the flippin' plastic bags under my sink... even though i do reuse them (but that still means they eventually end up in the trash). but, like kristin, i forget to take the totes with me... boo!
- anonymous"

I wonder if it's someone from method? It's all written in lowercase! Ha ha! Here's my seven and a half cents. (Inflation, you know. Two cents gets you nothing these days.)

Uhm, I'm a bit of a shopper. Like crazy. Anyone know of a good Shoppers Anonymous meeting in the North Carolina area? Email me. SO, anyway, I used to have lots of plastic bags. I read this post last night, and starting trying to figure out a number of how many plastic bags I probably accumulated in a month. I really have no idea. But I'm gonna go with like, fifty. Just think, if you just purchased one item each day, that's one bag. And we all know how many plastic bags you might walk out with in just one grocery store trip; or the three things you buy, and the cashier puts each one in a separate bag (I wanna hit those people, really badly.) And one bag a day is already thirty bags. So it adds up quickly. If you keep that in mind, it's June; I would have, by now, accumulated around 275 bags! And that's just ME! Now, take 275, and multiply that by the current American population: 304,025,506. (Whew!) That's 83,607,014,150 plastic bags! And that's just in the US!

Ok, this is NATHAN making-a-point math, so don't take it literally (though that is the US population as of May, 2008.) But just think, if everyone in the US carried three or so reusable totes instead, we would have kept 83,607,014,150 plastic bags from possibly ending up in landfills. By buying three Baggu bag totes this year (or your own favorite tote! I just love the Baggu! And don't forget, even method has their own Plastic Bag Rehab tote!), I just reduced my bag usage from 275, to 3! And at the end of the year, it'll be around 600, to 3. Crazy! Yes, plastic bags get recycled; but unlike plastic bottles and such, people have to actually TAKE them to a recycling box (at your local grocer and such) instead of just putting them into the recycling bin that gets picked up each week by your waste collector. And people are LAZY. My friends don't do this, for the most part. They just throw them away, or use them for litter; but it all ends up in the landfill.

I'm not sure if not using plastic bags would show the manufacturers that there was no need for them, and they'd stop making them. But it might help. (Think gas, if we all stopped driving, boy would gas prices drop!) If everyone used totes, and suddenly all the plastic bags that were made were just sitting around gathering dust, well, the manufacturers would have to stop making them, there would be no demand. I think there are just better solutions, and human beings don't always follow better solutions. They follow the mighty green dollar. So we have to take a stand at times, to improve things that might otherwise just keep on going.

Paper bags are, in my opinion, a better solution. You can get all into the details of how much energy, water, etc. one takes to make/recycle over the other, but I still think it's better than plastic. And you can ask for paper at your grocer, and they'll have it for you. I always smile happily when someone does that, even if they don't have a tote. And YES, I do already seriously think the reusable tote thing is going a bit crazy. Every store you walk into now has a reusable tote for sale; and people are like "I have thirty different totes! They're so cool!" Uh, but that's not the point. If everyone starts collecting that next cool tote, we're not really helping things out. Buy as many as you think you'll need (3-9?) and use them into the ground. I really think my Baggu bag will last a LONG time, and they are SO great! Yes, they are made from ripcord nylon. No, it's not the best for the environment; BUT it's better (to me) to use 3 ripcord nylon bags over the 600 plastic bags I would have picked up this year.

Somedays I think we're just screwed no matter. Paper = killing trees, forests, jungles, I hate that. Plastic kills everything, degrades into tiny molecules forever, birds, animals, it's sad. Biodegradable totes are the best way to go; but you know, do what you can, and try to make a difference. Just TRY (and DO) is the point. Instead of just saying "I want to, but..." You'd be surprised by how easy it becomes. (Even if you gotta beat down a few flea market ladies!)

What are your thoughts? Speak up, be heard! Do you use a tote?