By Rachael Alice Orbach
The Knesset in Israel, I guess is bored. There is no war and nothing that they really have to argue about, so they are now turning towards trying to save the environment. The big bad wolf that they want to slay are the free plastic supermarket bags. The government says that most people throw them away right when they get home from the market.
The government wants to have consumers pay for the supermarket bags, about 60 ag, a piece which is about 12 cents a bag. A corner market owner, Dani in Givat Shaul is for the initiative, saying that people don't really understand the value of the bag. He says that he has to give them out free, and that he has to pay for them from the manufacturer.
But most people I have interviewed for this blog post say that they really do use the bags for a variety of purposes, from wrapping leftover food, carrying books and then as garbage bags. The average Israeli really does use the bags, and they only get thrown away when there is no more use for the bag, or it gets a hole. (which is quite often).
Most of the trash that is seen on the streets are not the supermarket bags, although there are a few, but other types of plastic trash, pictured here are two yogurt drink bottles thrown next to a school.
Here is a plastic sandwich bag on the street. And. . .
a bunch of garbage that didn't make it into the bin. The main problem is not the supermarket bags, but all the packaging that our food come in In order to unwrap pizza, each one is in plastic wrap, and then all three are wrapped again. Why? For example, pizzas could be individually wrapped, and then using cardboard or paper logo to wrap the three together.
The Knesset in Israel, I guess is bored. There is no war and nothing that they really have to argue about, so they are now turning towards trying to save the environment. The big bad wolf that they want to slay are the free plastic supermarket bags. The government says that most people throw them away right when they get home from the market.
The government wants to have consumers pay for the supermarket bags, about 60 ag, a piece which is about 12 cents a bag. A corner market owner, Dani in Givat Shaul is for the initiative, saying that people don't really understand the value of the bag. He says that he has to give them out free, and that he has to pay for them from the manufacturer.
But most people I have interviewed for this blog post say that they really do use the bags for a variety of purposes, from wrapping leftover food, carrying books and then as garbage bags. The average Israeli really does use the bags, and they only get thrown away when there is no more use for the bag, or it gets a hole. (which is quite often).
a bunch of garbage that didn't make it into the bin. The main problem is not the supermarket bags, but all the packaging that our food come in In order to unwrap pizza, each one is in plastic wrap, and then all three are wrapped again. Why? For example, pizzas could be individually wrapped, and then using cardboard or paper logo to wrap the three together.
This is a small plastic bag that is given when you buy in a corner store. This size bag wouldn't be affected by the ban on free bags.
In fact the ban only covers supermarket bags, which as I have noted are used many times, Naftali Bennet, who is against the ban says the proposed initiative is in fact another tax on the consumer. The consumer is already paying for the bags in fact. The businessman pays for them, and it is counted as an operating expense, and not a product. This expense is passed on to the consumer in the average price of all the products in the store. If the bags are to be paid for, then consumers will either go on buying them, or is the price is right, they will buy garbage bags which are much heavier and take far longer to decay.
Rachael Alice Orbach
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