San Francisco's banned the ubiquious plastic bag

jetta SG · 2007-07-18T07:59:30+00:00

Thanks VK. Nice bag but.... I still prefer the ones I've made. They're simple to make and not that expensive to make. I've done four so far and am working o...

jetta SG

Whoops! Correction: ubiquitous.

I have sooooooooo many plastic bags in the house. I do use them to line wastepaper baskets but our city discourages us from using plastic bags in our recyclables. So I have more plastic bags than what I know to do with. Since that story about San Francisco banning plastic bags aired, our grocery stores are now collecting used bags.

Sooner or later I'm expecting my city to do the same. I've been looking around for canvas shopping bags to tote groceries and OMG, they want $5 for a simple canvas bag! Since I'll need about eight or so, I decided that I would make my own. I've just returned from the fabric store and I can't wait to complete my first bag. Is anyone here into simple sewing?

viciouskitty74 SG

trader joes has those 99 cents bags.

i just bought 2 and carried groceries home on my 1 hour walk home.

Fatum SG

I don't buy those canvas shopping bags ..... but I get the thick hard reusable plastic bags from the superstore for my groceries .... or if I'm buying lots of groceries, I get a grocery box to put them in ... which I can simply transfer from the cart into the boot of my car ... Very Happy

jetta SG

So does Vons but they're too small and the fabric's not tough enough for my needs.

jetta SG

That's what we do when we shop at Costco who's also done away with plastic bags. Soon, those bags will be history in California...

browniebaobao SG

sg can buy ar..

available in super markets.. to encourage us to recycle..

i can send them overseas to u ar..

u want?

jetta SG

Thanks for the kind offer, bbb! *hugs* Good thing I enjoy sewing simple things so I'm having a good time making shopping bags. I finished two at 130am and I'm now making my third.

Fatum SG

home sewn shopping bags ? ... Shocked

NPNT ! ... Laughing

browniebaobao SG

you're welcome~ Razz

if i do the sewing myself.. the bag sure cannot support the weight wan.. Laughing

my sewing skills not that zha shi..

viciouskitty74 SG

Jetta, you got the patterns?

Can send me so I can sew some back in Sg?

I am also thinking of cutting up some old jeans and patchwork them together to sew a tote grocery bag.

Arapahoe SG

very soon we will be carrying basket just like our parents n grand parents did when they go to market.

jetta SG

Ask and ye shall receive Laughing
http://make-it-easy.com/opentot2.html

I bought a very easy paper pattern from my neighbourhood store www.yardagetownca.com but the one above is also another easy one. Enjoy!

SpeedStar SG

mmm i wondering how are they going to contain the rubbish?? Also using own sew bags?? Laughing

udontknowme SG

COOL!!! Razz

but what we usually do is find cardboard boxes and carry the stuff in them into the car... Razz and we use the box over and over again until..... Laughing

but if there's no more plastic bags...then there will be nothing to line the garbage bins with...!

Meia Gisborn SG

Here in the MN, we still have a choice of plastic or paper bags at the grocery stores. I’m partial to the plastic bags as they can be used as waterproof trashbags at home.

hisoka SG

is it so hard to make a shopping bag? jsut get soem though material(canvas?) the make into a "hole" then add 2 strips of cloth?

and erm so how doy ou handle rubbish that wwet?

skid SG

It's a vicious cycle... Plastic shopping bags are evil, but use less energy, less toxic chemicals, and create less pollutants to make than paper bags.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070501718.html

just so you have an idea what the situation is like in California....

Californians use 19 billion plastic shopping bags a year and throw away 600 per second, city staff members said.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_6312294

We have a used plastic bag holder thingy at home that hangs on the wall and holds several hundred wadded-up plastic bags for later use. Very rarely are bags taken out of it. It was full long ago so that means any plastic bags that have been brought home since then have been thrown away.

We get paper grocery bags sometimes, "just in case"....they're good to have around if you need them.

I don't see myself using canvas/fabric "totes" to collect my groceries. I may have to some day, but until then, "plastic please!"

skid SG

you think $5 is bad...

Maine-based Sea Bags reworks disused nautical sails and rope into sturdy, graphic carryalls (from $95 at http://www.seabags.com).

· Proceeds from the Feed Bag, created by presidential niece Lauren Bush, feed children via the U.N. World Food Program ($59.95 at http://www.amazon.com).

· For true fashion-philes, British designer Anya Hindmarch's instantly sold-out "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote, though not available locally, is so sought-after that it's selling for upward of $100 on eBay.

Laughing

Correct me if I'm wrong, Jetta....I think the ban is only on the smaller sized plastic shopping bags you get at supermarkets, chain type drugstores, most of the larger retail outlets (WalMart...etc) I'm sure you'll still be able to buy trash can bags (kitchen, garden size, etc) to dump your trash/rubbish into.

DC+ SG

jetta SG

Yes it is but no matter, I just want to do my part. Those plastic bags breed in my house. I've completed three bags so far. *yippee*