Paper or Plastic? (camper, shop, recycling)

[PaliPatty]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Well, if you want sustainable bags, a friend of mine makes them of cotton. It grows around here and comes in white, green and brown. He picks the seeds out, spins it into yarn and crochets that into these handy shopping bags. We are going to work up the pattern so other folks will be able to make them, too. He may start selling them up at the farmer's market in Waimea. Locally grown, no chemicals, no power necessary, no irrigation. How much more sustainable can it get?

Are these available on Oahu? If so, I'd be willing to buy a few.

[waterboy7375]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Plastic is better for the environment because it doesn't require planting and growing trees (or even worse harvesting old growth), but locally paper is better because plastic wreaks havoc on marine animals.

Its more important to save the forest then save the trees.

[Galactastica]

Hey! I'm a Texan Too!

Basically it boils down to this: Show me a Paper Soup choking the ocean, or one beach in Hawai'i that's covered in Paper litter. Show me a Northern Hawaiian Island where the birds are dying from Paper exposure.

The plastic bag ban isn't an effort promoting the use of paper bags. Maybe one day people will be reliable enough to always have their own reusable bags-but for now, we have to take things like this one step at a time and celebrate each piece of progress. This is a huge one!

Speaking of Texas, Austin just passed a plastic bag ban that should start in September.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by SkyBob

What are the huge environmental impacts?

To create a dam you must destroy a valley, including both the river and the riverbanks. Those are some of the richest ecosystems especially in arid areas.

[Calico Salsa]

We're loving the plastic bag ban on Maui. It took some getting used to, but we do see many people now carrying their reusable bags into the stores.

Another nifty way to re-use is to make your old t-shirts into bags. Set the bottom across, and cut the top into handles. If you want to get more fancy, you can reinforce the handles & bag with strips of other re-used fabric, maybe other t-shirts or sheets, whatever you have.

Cotton bags are washable, which is better than the polyproplene non-woven bags normally sold as the grocery totes. Those don't hold up too long with washings, and you'd be surprised how much juicy stuff can leak into your bag.

We see people selling recycled t-shirt bags at farmers markets, and think they make a good fund-raising item for teams/churches/etc. If there are people who sew well, I say make the bags bigger, from old sheets, because you sometimes need a size that will hold the larger items.

Just Google
make tshirt into shopping bag
and you'll see many instructions

[RcHydro]

See the ingredients on the sides of bottles and cans. Notice you never see the information on the plastic the bottle is made of or the plastic lining inside the can. Ever taste something out of a can or bottle that has a little bad taste to it. Thats the plastic chemicals leaking into the drink or food in the can. The plastics industry has free run from the gov. so they dont have to post plastics information on the sides of products. They know if you knew you wouldnt buy anymore. The plastics industry polices itself, and the gov. lets them get away with it.

[Vaedrem]

Cloth bags are available to buy at most grocery stores if you've forgotten yours. An effort could be made to encourage having them available at farmers markets to buy for those who forget as well. It is second nature for me to bring mine, and I wash them once a month to keep them clean. Petrochemicals are never good for the environment, but stealing corn out of peasants mouths to make 'biodegradable' plastics aren't a solution either.

[KauaiHiker]

Vaedrem, the bags you see at most grocery stores are nylon or some other sort of synthetic fabric (aka plastic/oil) At least they're reusable and people don't throw them out so they don't pollute.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Well, if you want sustainable bags, a friend of mine makes them of cotton. It grows around here and comes in white, green and brown. He picks the seeds out, spins it into yarn and crochets that into these handy shopping bags. We are going to work up the pattern so other folks will be able to make them, too. He may start selling them up at the farmer's market in Waimea. Locally grown, no chemicals, no power necessary, no irrigation. How much more sustainable can it get?

This is very cool. I always wondered if Hawaii could make homespun clothing (you know, when the boats stop coming), and I hadn't thought of growing local cotton. Wool is a bit too hot unless you live above 2000 feet.

[hotzcatz]

I'm gonna see if he can make enough crocheted Hawaii cotton reusable bags to sell to folks online or perhaps it could be done as a kit. Provide the spun cotton yarn and instructions. He crochets them since he's not so good at knitting. The Hawaiian cotton comes in three natural colors; a white, green and brown although he doesn't have much of the green and brown yet. He needs a drier place to grow it.

If you wanted to grow cotton and send him the fiber with the seeds picked out, he'd probably be real happy to spin it into yarn for you. No cotton gin around here so the seeds get picked out by hand. Which is where the term "cotton picking" came from, I guess. As well as "nit picking" since little lumps in the fiber you are spinning are called "nits" and have to be picked out.

Other fibers we have around here are Merino, Romney and Clun Forest sheep's wool. There are probably other breeds available, too, but I don't know how to get any of their wool yet. Most of that wool is in shades of white or cream, but some of it are in browns and off black. There are also alpaca in various natural colors from cream to black. There are also angora rabbits in assorted pastel shades. Sheer white, cream, tan and assorted shades of gray. If you google "angora rabbit Hawaii" you'll see the colors available on the Hillside Farm website. https://sites.google.com/site/hillsidefarmhawaii/ If I can get him to make enough Hawaiian cotton bags, those will be listed there, too. Check there in a week or two, I should be able to talk him into it.

We are also considering planting flax, that is supposed to be a nice fiber to spin and make yarn of. Once we get yarn, it can either be knit, crocheted or woven into either clothes or cloth. We have a fiber co-op starting in this area. Probably this upcoming summer we will officially figure out a name for the group. If you are in the Honokaa area and want to learn how to spin, knit, weave, crochet or just want to plant cotton, flax or raise angora rabbits, hey, drop on by. E como mai! We are all stronger together than by ourselves. Plus it's a lot more fun.

Other than reuseable market bags, the more we can produce ourselves, the less we need shipped in.

Oh, there's also other tropical fibers which might be of interest such as bamboo, banana, lauhala, etc., but we haven't gotten into them yet. Anyone who works with the native fibers and wants to show us how would be kewl!

[Vaedrem]

Originally Posted by KauaiHiker

Vaedrem, the bags you see at most grocery stores are nylon or some other sort of synthetic fabric (aka plastic/oil) At least they're reusable and people don't throw them out so they don't pollute.
.

I guess you're right, they are made of synthetic fibers and imported from the mainland, though at least reusable. I love the idea of making them out of local fibers instead.