Comments on: 3P SoundBite: Emily Utter of ChicoBags

By: Rick

Rick — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:18:32 +0000

As a Bay sailboater, I'm delighted with the SF plastic ban, and would love to see it extended to the entire Peninsula. We see the plastic bags in the water far too often. No doubt you've all heard about the harm they do when marine critters eat them.

Every stray bag you see blowing along on the west (windward) side of the Bay will find its way into the Bay eventually. Once it's wet, it's not going to fly again, and I've never (yet) seen a day so windy that it could carry a plastic bag clear across the Bay without a single "bounce."

During the first few hours after the bag gets in the Bay, it's likely to float high in the water. When we're sailing, we sometimes use these for man-overboard drills: pretend the bag is a swimmer, and maneuver the boat to a stop next to the bag (to windward is best) long enough to fish it out with a boat hook.

After a while the bags lose their trapped air bubbles and lie flat in the water, hard to see. Within a few days algae and whatnot starts to grow on them, so they start to sink. They're still neutrally buoyant for quite a while, so they ride the tides out the Gate eventually.

So. Reusable bags, definitely. The end of plastic grocery bags can't come too soon.

By: Clara

Clara — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:16:13 +0000

That’s a good point, Gina. I always notice paper towels disappear fast and it’s more out of habit than anything else! For those who don’t have a coffee brewer, French Presses work quite well and just need a rinse after use.

By: Gina-Marie Cheeseman

Gina-Marie Cheeseman — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:39:11 +0000

There are a few paper items I have learned to do without: paper towels and paper coffee filters. Cloth towels wipe up spills just fine, and my coffee tastes the same with a reusable coffee filter.

By: carter

carter — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:49:03 +0000

As a resident of San Francisco I was ecstatic about the plastic bag ban. While I ride my bike to get most of my groceries I still shop at large grocery stores for some items. Having paper bags in my car at all times for those items has saved my butt on more than one occasion. I use them for such varied purposes as ground cover for putting on my tire chains when going over the Sierras on I-80 in a snowstorm to storing my dirty clothes on my work road trips until I get home. I was introduced to Chico bags at a recent EcoTuesday event, they seem to be just as multi-purpose as plain old paper bags and I bet they will last longer as well as take up less room in my car.
p.s. Green is my favorite color.