Girlawhirl's investigation into the eternal grocery store question “Paper or plastic?” led her to determine that when she wasn't carrying her own canvas grocery bag, plastic bags – when recycled – had a few advantages over paper for her. Unfortunately, she's come to find that in her town, she can't just add all the plastic bags that she's accumulated to the plastic deli containers, bottles and other recyclables that are collected regularly…
That leaves her with not just a lot of plastic grocery bags, but also a sinking feeling that comes from the knowledge that if she just throws them out, they'll be sitting in landfills for the duration, because while they're great for recycling, they really don't decompose.
But a solution – from a source that's been getting greener every time Girlawhirl visits – has presented itself. All she has to do is collect her bags, making sure to remove any receipts, and drop them off at any Wal-Mart store. There's a trashcan like receptacle in every store, and if she can't find it she can just go right over to the service desk and ask.
Really: that's it. That's all it takes to add her bags – no matter where they came from – to the hundreds of thousands of tons of bags that Wal-Mart has already helped move along the road to recycling.
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| Feb 22, 2007: | Girlawhirl tries to answer the eternal question: Paper or plastic?. read full entry |