PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
Paper or Plastic? Obviously, The Best Choice is “Neither”
August 24, 2008 on 10:43 pm | In Activism, Unitarian Universalism |I read an article in the Boston Globe by Hiawatha Bray about the technology offered to shoppers by the Stop & Shop chain. The article is fine, but certainly convinced me that I’ve made the right choice in avoiding the high-tech grocery carts that S&S offer (who needs personalized ads popping up and harrasing me while I’m shopping? No thanks, Big Brother). It’s Mr. Bray’s final comment that really bothered me. He writes,
… it’s time to pay. Scanning a barcode mounted atop the checkout device tells the Scan It you’re done. Swipe your loyalty card at the checkout scanner, and it instantly reads your list of purchases and tells you how much to pay. Now and then, you’ll be ordered to a checkout line where a human attendant will rescan your purchases. It’s a random audit to deter theft. But usually, the machine just asks for the money. Shove in a few bills or swipe a credit card, and it’s all over but the bagging.
And no 99-cent cotton eco-sacks either. I use disposable paper and plastic, paid for by Stop & Shop. All my scanning and weighing saved it a tidy sum in labor costs; it’s the least they can do.
[emphasis mine]
I wrote Mr. Bray a letter (you can too, at bray@bostonglobe.com) telling him that I found that last comment to be ignorant and irresponsible. Those are harsh terms, I realize, and perhaps I came on too strong, but his attitude is one shared by millions of people and it needs to be challenged. Using paper or plastic bags is not a quid pro quo exchange for retail labor, it is unnecessary consumption that we all end up paying for (not just the retailer, as Mr. Bray implies). I offered to purchase a few re-useable bags for Mr. Bray if he didn’t want to make the three dollar investment, and promised him that it would take no time at all for using those bags to become a habit.
Mr. Bray wrote back to me, and since ours is a private correspondence I won’t reproduce his entire letter to me here, just share with you that he believes that since paper and plastic are “non-toxic” once they’re buried, and that paper is an “almost infinitely renewable resource,” he “can’t get too worked up about it.” He also assures me that he uses his plastic bags for household garbage.
First of all, these links make clear that he’s just uninformed:
http://www.greenfeet.net/newsletter/debate.shtml
http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=7
But worse than that is Mr. Bray’s typical American “what, me worry?” attitude. Hey, why get worked up about some minor gesture I can make on behalf of the environment? My paper and plastic bags aren’t the problem. If they end up in the landfill, no big deal. They’re not toxic, so they’re essentially harmless. How discouraging to hear this attitude expressed by an educated person who has the responsibility and privilege of writing for the wider public.
It’s just the opposite of our Unitarian Universalist commitment to the Edward Everett Hale’s saying,
I am only one.
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do
everything
I will not refuse to do the
something that I can do.
P.S. This is my favorite re-usable shopping bag. Everyone loves it, and it holds tons of groceries and other stuff.
(If you hanker after one, you can get them here, as well as many other places. As an extra bonus, there’s a beautiful graphic of the Virgin on the other side that says “Looking Good In Your Sunday Best!”)
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Plastic bags can also kill our animals through strangulation and/or toxins–that’s another point that needs mentioning, in light of all the kitty anniversaries that are occurring in the blogosphere right now.
Cute bag, BTW. I saw something similar at Trader Joe’s once.
Comment by Kitten — August 24, 2008 #
Cool bag!
Comment by Ansku — August 25, 2008 #
My covetousness for that shopping bag is probably verging into the deadly range for sinnishness. ^_^
Good for you for speaking up. I hope the Globe prints your letter.
My own fave shopping bag of the moment features surfboards and palm trees. Now if only I could have a Surfing Jesus tote…
You can get the bag here!! - PB
Comment by Nezuko — August 25, 2008 #
Good for you for giving him a piece of your mind. Loved the bag! I only have one item of Christian kitsch. It’s my sandals: http://www.shoesofthefisherman.com/ I have worn them only a few times though.
Comment by Larry Smith — August 25, 2008 #
What do you use to pick up after your dog? [Little bio-degradable blue bags I get at Petco. When I have time I dig a little pit in the woods and bury them in there. - PB]
Comment by mec — August 25, 2008 #
Just as upsetting to me is the widespread use of the check-out scanners. They mean that a lot of people’s JOBS are gone, gone, gone. Employment in grocery stores used to pay a fairly decent wage and good benefits. It’s also one less human contact (however brief and non-conversational) in my day. I avoid those little machines - in old union terms they’d be called “scabs” - whenever I can.
Comment by Rev. Gidget — August 25, 2008 #
First of all: I completely agree with your frustration about the “it’s not my problem” attitude shared by so many in our country. Grrr…
And secondly: I. Want. That. Bag. Seriously, I LOVE it, and agree with Nezuko about that horrible coveting problem!
Comment by Beth B. — August 25, 2008 #
What he’s set out in his article are a collection of a cheerfully pseudo-intellectual statements. No more, no less.
Comment by Comrade Kevin — August 25, 2008 #
Thank you for the link to the Jesus Tote!
Comment by Nezuko — August 25, 2008 #
This post raises a question that I”ve had for a while. I have a garbage can that uses those plastic shopping bags for liners, so that’s what I ask for and use. Is it really better to buy plastic garbage bags in a box?
Also, thanks for the heads up on the blue bags from petco or whatever. biodegradable = yeah!
Speaking of petco, did you know you inspired me to get a dog? I loved your post about your tribe, of a month or so back and it helped me get over my own “I am not worthy of a dog” bump….
Comment by juniper — August 26, 2008 #
I was surprised at Rev Gidget’s comment - decades back, I worked in grocery stores in various roles up to management trainee, for several chains. Until one became a division head (produce manager, etc) none of them paid more than minimum wage and none of them had benefits. Talking to cashiers in groceries today, majority of them minimum wage. No doubt the difference in pay in regions - and might explain the near-absence of self-check outlines in my area (Ive seen two in a 100 mile radius and that at a tourist area).
we use canvas bags for most of our grocery shopping (the stores here sell canvas bags and give you credit each time you use them )
Comment by StevenR — August 26, 2008 #
I’d like to second Kitten’s note above.
Do it for the animals!
PS: I have a new cat. He is a black kitten, about 10 weeks old, and we’re thinking of calling him Gustav.
Comment by Tracie the Red — August 26, 2008 #
I use the self-checkout whenever I can because 1. the general public is discourteous and annoying while waiting in line and 2. the persons running the checkout and/or bagging are generally terrible. I use sturdy cotton bags (ironically bringing your own is not a new thing it’s old fashioned and therefore conservative; but there’s no fun in pointing that out if you’re a cranky media personality…I digress) which are easy to fill, hold more than 3 items (unlike plastic bags)and twice in one week I had different baggers who couldn’t figure out how to use them. I bought the bags from their store for crying out loud…one person crammed everything into 2 bags, when I brought 3 and the other one tried to do the same while she and the checkout woman had a conversation about work intrigue. She tried to cram my eggs into the top of the second bag, and then toss the third bag, empty, into my cart. I could have spontaneously combusted and those two wouldn’t have noticed…
Comment by NDM — August 26, 2008 #