China, US and the environment - Page 12

On January 25 2020 03:44 JimmiC wrote:

It is a double edged sword, I'm in the midst of trying to draw up policy around it right now. To me I think a charge is what works best and limiting the thinness of the bags. Because as you say as long as they are not ripped they can provide a second and even 3rd use. There is also many reasons that Paper bags for example are as bad or worse than plastic.

With charging for bags (even the nominal 5 cents) can show up to a 90% reduction, which I think shows both it is effective, and there was way to many plastic given out. Many stores are also donating that charge to green charities which is kind of a win win.

All these single use items need to be carefully thought about because there was reasons for bringing them in when they were first introduced.

Blanket bans and blanket protections are not going to help. If you are going to go the Ban route you should specify what type of reusable bags are allowed because as you mention some of them take more uses than they realistically can preform for to become a carbon positive over the single use.

A big issue with the single use is people put them in their "blue bins" and while the material when source separated is recyclable, when they are sent to MRF's (material recovery Facilities) they just gum up the machines, shred into tiny pieces and contaminate other commodities. There is a lot of talk in the industry of changing the message from "Don't put them into the blue bins they are not recyclable" to "They are recyclable, but damage MRF's please take them to public drop-offs or retail sponsored recyclable programs"

The recycling industry for a long time just wanted to get as much possible and didn't care about the quality of the materials because they thought if it was complicated people just wouldn't do it. What they are realizing is this created a lot of mixed messaging, missinformation and no unity between different areas. The industry and associations are working hard to be better.


I guess this is a long way of saying, blanket rules to not allow municipalities to regulate ban's is a over reaction to an over reaction. Plastic bags can be really good, they have a low carbon foot print, they can keep food waste down because they are strong and immune to weather (lots of problems with paper ripping in rain and high humidity). But there was a excessive amount given out at a low quality that did not allow for reuse. They also are super light (which is good for logistics) which means they can blow far and end up in waterways. So regulate the use, the thickness and the cost. Don't flat out ban and also don't ban regulation.

Interestingly enough the Retail Council of Canada(RCC) supports mandatory charges and thicknesses. Once they are "forced" to charge it levels out the playing field and they can gain marketing advantages by promoting green initiatives with a level playing field. No regulation lead to a race to the bottom in quality and giving out way to many. What the RCC hates is every city or province having different rules. Because then just trying to comply becomes a huge burden. They have told us they prefer the charge, but would settle for any rule that was uniform across the country.

Relative to their size, leaf-blowers are among the most polluting machines ever invented. 1/3 of their fuel is released into the air unburned, as an aerosol; and the amount of pollutants released from running one for 30 minutes is equivalent to that of an F-150 driving from Texas to Alaska.

On January 26 2020 03:13 redlightdistrict wrote:
When will environmentalists go after gas powered leaf blowers?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_blower#Environmental_and_occupational_impact



Leafblowers blow disintegrated brake dust, vulcanized rubber, and animal feces back into the air, but nobody really seems to care

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peKmSnj7BZE

On January 26 2020 03:18 Artisreal wrote:

Soooo, what do you suggest there is to be done in addition to what's already happening.
AFAIK there's a lot of blowback against these machines already.

On January 26 2020 03:18 Artisreal wrote:

Soooo, what do you suggest there is to be done in addition to what's already happening.
AFAIK there's a lot of blowback against these machines already.

The state of Hawaii recently passed a law which bans all gasoline-powered leaf blowers and restricts electric leaf blower use in residential areas to between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

In addition to the restrictions, the new regulations also state that noise levels generated by the leaf blowers cannot exceed 70 decibels beyond boundaries of the property being cleaned. Leaf blowing operations are also prohibited from blowing debris onto adjacent property.

The law doesn’t apply to other power equipment, such as string trimmers and lawnmowers. Violators will be fined $50 for first violation and up to $500 for repeat violations.

On January 29 2020 22:03 Artisreal wrote:
I wish countries were as proactive in implementing climate change mitigation strategies as they are with virus containment.