Several local jurisdictions charge for plastic shopping bags. Sadly, this does not seem to have slowed down a lot of people: they still use the store-supplied plastic bags despite the 5-cent (per bag) charge.
Whole Foods (a/k/a Whole Paycheck) and some other markets will only give you paper bags, which I like for our mixed paper recycling, as an alternative to the plastic. We mostly use our own, a motley collection at this point. I also generally carry two of the earlier version of these guys in my purse wherever I go.
Our town recycles many types of plastics, but not everything is marked. No place that I know of recycles polystyrene, which makes up lots of carryout/takeaway containers as well as the packing peanuts. Many of the companies from whom I order things use air-pacs (which often are recyclable, the same as plastic shopping bags) or cornstarch peanuts instead (compostable). But packing materials for electronics etc. are a terrible problem because very little of it is marked with the plastic type.
no subject
Several local jurisdictions charge for plastic shopping bags. Sadly, this does not seem to have slowed down a lot of people: they still use the store-supplied plastic bags despite the 5-cent (per bag) charge.
Whole Foods (a/k/a Whole Paycheck) and some other markets will only give you paper bags, which I like for our mixed paper recycling, as an alternative to the plastic. We mostly use our own, a motley collection at this point. I also generally carry two of the earlier version of these guys in my purse wherever I go.
Our town recycles many types of plastics, but not everything is marked. No place that I know of recycles polystyrene, which makes up lots of carryout/takeaway containers as well as the packing peanuts. Many of the companies from whom I order things use air-pacs (which often are recyclable, the same as plastic shopping bags) or cornstarch peanuts instead (compostable). But packing materials for electronics etc. are a terrible problem because very little of it is marked with the plastic type.