Mc Crispy
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thread 1/11
There's a lot to unpack here. Let's begin.

I applaud the switch BACK to paper bags. Plastic bags should have never happened to begin with, but the oil companies needed a new profit center for a byproduct that was losing market value, and here we are.
Alberto Pastor @albertopastor
"Developed in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, these new bags are designed to be both strong and sustainable. With a capacity to hold as much as six four-pint bottles of milk, M&S claims that the bag can be reused up to 100 times."
🛍️🛒🌎 #PaperBags #Environment #Sustainability
12:35 PM - Sep 17, 2023
02:40 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 2/11
Micro plastics have been found in the entire ecosystem. From human breast milk to fish in the sea, it poisons us all. We will never be rid of it.

Our current recycling system is already woefully lacking.
02:41 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 3/11
A huge portion of what we put in our bins for recycling, just goes to the landfill anyway, for various reasons.

Paper products may seem like the easiest to transition to and recycle, but there's a LOT of caveats.
02:42 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 4/11
Starbucks hot cups, for example, cannot be recycled throughout most of the US, because they have a super thin plastic layer inside the cup that cannot be conventionally removed. It requires a special process that most cities/states don't want to invest in.
02:42 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 5/11
The same goes for most paper hot drink cups, so I'm not just picking on Starbucks here, but all of them.

Pizza boxes and other food boxes are another problem. Most centers have to send them to the landfill if there's any remnants of the food they contained, left.
02:42 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 6/11
From pizza grease or sauce, to stuck on cheese, etc. The boxes have to be "clean" in order to recycle them. In our case, that means unused.

The iconic white paper takeaway cartons for fast food, they hit both of the above issues. Plastic coating and food remnants. Straight to the landfill they go.
02:43 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 7/11
This article mentions a resin is being applied to the bags for added strength. What is the resin made of? Are the UK recycling centers able to separate it? Is the creation of the resin cancelling out the benefits of the bag?
02:43 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 8/11
If we're going to do this, we can't just throw shit against the wall and hope it sticks. We know what all the issues are. We have to build a solution that incorporates all the issues, not just one or two. This haphazard approach is delaying any real movement.
02:45 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 9/11
We know bamboo and hemp are fast growing plants that make excellent choices for everything from paper shopping bags, food containers, single use cutlery, single use cups, etc.

They are compostable and require no special investment in machinery for recycling. Sounds great right?
02:45 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 10/11
Composting has it's drawbacks too. Composting releases measurable amounts of Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrous Oxide.

Bear in mind that the amounts released are still significantly smaller overall than our current oil-based system,
02:46 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Mc Crispy
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thread 11/11
so we have to remain aware that we're not "eliminating" anything, we're just significantly reducing it. Which is something to strive for.

If we're going to switch, we have to be smarter about it, is the point of all this rambling. 🤣
02:46 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Caryl D
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In response to Mc Crispy.
Would it hurt them to put paper handles on the paper bags
12:30 AM - Sep 19, 2023
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Pam Cox
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In response to Mc Crispy.
Like what we used to have?!! Mhmmm
06:44 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Sherri Chance
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In response to Mc Crispy.
The powers that be told us we needed to stop killing trees. The answer was to use plastic and kill mother earth instead. SMH
06:22 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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dmark
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In response to Sherri Chance.
The trees used for paper are a planted crop. They are not cutting old growth for pulp. I would like to see a comparison of trees/hemp/bamboo regarding the best green option.
06:29 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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jocelynjtweet
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In response to Mc Crispy.
I use reusable cloth bags for groceries. Any plastic bags, such as produce bags, I save to use for other purposes.
06:10 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Really Doihaveto
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In response to jocelynjtweet.
Same here. Reduce is the most important of the three Rs
07:03 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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Gina W.
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In response to jocelynjtweet.
Came to replies to say what you said:) I've had the same bags for years, they're washable, and I also have reusable produce mesh bags. I can't fix by myself everything I want to, but I can at least do this.
07:03 PM - Sep 17, 2023
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