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Vendors at any of the 24 Chicago-run farmers markets won’t be able to participate in next year’s selling season unless they stop using plastic bags. The bag ban, imposed by the city of Chicago, is meant to reinforce the city’s message to “go greener.”
Vendors can choose to carry biodegradable bags, while shoppers will be encouraged to bring along their own bags. The Chicago Department of the Environment estimates that each city resident throws away 208 plastic bags each year. [Crain’s]
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"The Chicago Department of the Environment estimates that each city resident throws away 208 plastic bags each year."
The Chicago Department of the Environment also estimates this figure would be much lower if Chicago had more than a half-assed recycling program.
Sure, but I've noticed that a lot of vendors reuse plastic grocery bags too. I think this is probably the wrong end to start on, but I guess it's a start.
How about they find a way to make it easy for consumers to recycle bags? Or, as the previous commenter astutely pointed out, anything.
IIRC, the program using the blue recycling bins that some of the more well-to-do neighborhoods have gotten is supposed to be rolled out city-wide by 2009. Blue bag was a load of crap, but at least they're finally about to get it right.
You can't put plastic grocery bags in the blue bins, the city doesn't recycle them and they'll just wind up in the same place as if you put them in the trash.
We still recycle in our house as if the city was actually doing something with it. Just so the kids dont fall out of the habit. And our plastic bags get used again to pick up dog poop to keep our neighborhood clean. Try doing that with anything else.
When will the blue recycle bins show up at the great Northwest Side?
Why is Chicago targeting farmer's market vendors for this ban? It hardly seems fair, as they are already doing a better job for the environment by providing a means for Chicagoans to buy local. I mean I'd love to see canvas or paper bags everywhere, but why not start with Jewel?
Am I the only person in the city who uses plastic grocery bags to put garbage in, rather than simply thowing them out? If they ban plastic grocery bags, I will have to purchase Glad bags to serve the same purpose.
With respect to the blue carts, remember, the city won't give you a blue cart unless the city (not private scavengers) hauls your garbage. If you live in a building with more than three units, don't hold your breath waiting for a blue cart because you won't get one.
nicolemgk, you might be interested in Stephen Dubner's opinion piece from the June 9, 2008 NYT: Do We Really Need a Few Billion Locavores?
mss2400 I'm with you. I always reuse the plastic bags I get at the grocery for my trash. Why make me buy more plastic?
Stephen:
Very informative article. I work for a farmer's market vendor (we already use paper bags, so I wasn't complaining about this for our sake), so I am drinking the locally grown/made kool-aid, but I recognize that there are bound to be some inefficiencies. I wholeheartedly agree with this point: "Thus, we suggest that dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than 'buying local.' Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food."
But, on another point of his I disagree. I think his example of the homemade sorbet is a little exteme. Making one's own sorbet for their own family is something you do for fun, not to save money or energy. Farmer's market food vendors are typically professional farmers/bakers/cheesemakers/etc who do it or a living and therefore have to be efficient with their resources if only for the sake of their own livelyhood. Though as the article pointed out, transportation only makes up a portion of the overall "footprint" of our food, it still contributes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that simply buying local isn't the ultimate solution to the environmental impact of how we eat, but I still think it's a piece of the puzzle.
Thanks again for that article, it's very interesting.
nicolemgk, I agree with you on all points, especially RE: sorbet :-)
I think the real important takeaway from that conversation, regardless of where you fall politically, is how important it is to be a "conscious consumer".
Plastic bags make great cat litter disposal devices, and are always reused at my house.
It's ridiculous that in this "green" city, we can't get a recycling program for the vast number of people who live in buildings with more than 3 units. How about an ordinance requiring all waste management companies to offer recycling? Or aren't there any Daley cronies in the recycling business?
Guess there will be a bit more dog shit along the sidewalks if we get rid of these plastic bags.
i really dont understand why people use plastic bags to pick up after their dogs. you are essentially sealing beneficial, biodegradable matter inside a container that takes hundreds of years break down in a landfill.