primitives re-use plastic bags

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=442x106

Oh my.

But wouldn't this cause a loss of jobs in the plastics industry, in this lousy 0bamaconomy?

Denninmi  (689 posts)      Sat Feb-19-11 07:34 PM
Original message
 
Reusing plastic zipper bags???

Does anyone do this?

Perhaps its an exercise in foolishness, but I decided that I was being wasteful by using zipper type storage bags and then just throwing them away. So, I saved all of the bags I emptied this past week -- bags I used to pack my lunch for work, that I emptied from things I had frozen at home (produce, meats, cheese, bread), and those I used to repack fresh produce in the fridge.

I washed them with Dawn and hot water, turning them inside out a couple of times and swishing them around really well. Then, they were all rinsed in weak bleach solution. I didn't think it would be very practical to dry them all - hand drying would take a LOT of time, and I don't have any kind of rack to let them sit and fully air dry. So, instead, I shook as much water out of them as possible, and then flattened, rolled, and popped them into the freezer.

This seemed to work well. None of them seem to have any residue (I was most concerned about grease), nor any residual odor.

But, it is time consuming.

I counted them today -- in a week, I've used and then recycled for reuse about 30 bags of different sizes -- sandwich, quart, and gallon.

Not sure it's really worth the effort, but it seems like one way to stop being so wasteful. I really dislike the fact that out society throws so much away.

Yeah.  franksolich really dislikes the fact that our society throws away unborn infants too.

Curmudgeoness  (1000+ posts)      Sat Feb-19-11 08:29 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. OK, I will admit it. My mother always did this, and my sisters do it too.

Mom was a depression era child and took the "waste not, want not" mantra to heart. People think we are nuts, but I could care less. I always buy the freezer bags because they hold up better over the long term.

We don't wash them as diligently as you do, we just wash them when we do the dishes (yes, we do dishes in the sink) so it isn't a big chore for us. I just wash them and rinse them. To dry them, I have refrigerator magnets and I put them inside the bag and stick it up on the frig so that the bag is open. Try to make sure they are shaken out well first or they will drip all over the floor. Note: if it matters to you what people think, don't have the bags all over the frig when company comes. People just don't get it.

This keeps you from wasting them, it takes no space to dry them, and saves tons of money. I will have the same box of zip-locks for five years before I have to buy another box. However, I have found that the zippers do not hold up as long as the zip-locks. For some reason, the zippers just break.

Good luck with this, if you have that many bags in such a short time, it looks like this will be a great money saver for you.

But that "money save" might cost jobs in the plastics industry, right when the 0bamaconomy should be creating jobs, not eliminating them.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Feb-19-11 09:39 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. I wash as many as I can with Dawn and very hot water.

I hang them on the clothesline to dry when it's a calm day. I freeze produce from the garden with vacuum sealer and wash and reuse many of those expensive bags too.

I use reusable containers mostly and use extra canning jars for storage in the pantry and refrigerator.

Curmudgeoness  (1000+ posts)      Sat Feb-19-11 11:03 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
3. It's good to know I am not alone. But tell me, do you wash your aluminum foil and reuse it? Again, just like with the heavier duty bags, I buy the heavy duty foil.

I like that you have canning jars and instead freeze the garden produce, I do that too. So much easier and I am lazy when I can.

Uh oh.  Now fewer jobs in the aluminum foil industry, right when the 0bamaconomy should be creating jobs.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Feb-19-11 11:24 PM
Response to Reply #3
 
4. I don't reuse foil but I do rinse and recycle it. I figure they take aluminum cans, right?

I use my freezer for produce until it's full (small chest freezer) and then can. I don't want my entire harvest to be tied up in a freezer that could fail. Or we could have an extended power outage. (I live on 4 acres in a pretty rural area.)

As the produce gets used up, I stock up on chicken and fish on sale.

Paper Roses  (1000+ posts)      Sun Feb-20-11 06:50 AM
Response to Reply #1
 
5. I do the same thing as you. Not only do I use the zip and sliders,

I have some of the 'green bags'. Wash in dishwater, wipe inside and out, then magnet them open and attach to refrig.

Takes only a day to dry. I then add them to my 'bog of bags' that I have in the kitchen closet. I have never had any problem doing this. When the bags get to the point where they won't seal, I may use an elastic over the folded bag. Too far gone, then into the trash.

This habit came to me easily, Mom used to do the same years ago when plastic bags were a novelty. Every economy helps.

CaliforniaPeggy  (1000+ posts)        Thu Feb-24-11 12:14 AM
THE POETESS CALPIG PRIMITIVE, #05 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2010
Response to Original message

9. I reuse mine till they get a hole, or mold... 

I too have a plastic bag dryer. It looks like this one:

http://www.greenfeet.com/itemdesc.asp?kw=Plastic-Bag-Dr...

It doesn't take up much space, and it's good for bottles too.

I wash mine with anything I need to handwash after dinner, and the bags are normally dry by the next morning.

BTW, this link is not where I got mine. But it looks identical.

lbrtbell  (705 posts)      Mon Feb-28-11 09:38 PM
Response to Original message
 
10. A very important thing to bear in mind

Not all bags are free from chemicals like BPA, that can leech onto your food--they're not even safe during the first use. I use Zip-Loc for foods, because they're said to be BPA-free. But once I put food in those, I ditch them; I've had food poisoning enough times, thankyouverymuch.

I do use off-brand zipper bags for all sorts of non-food storage solutions, and I re-use the heck out of those. Bags like that are a godsend when traveling!

GoCubsGo  (1000+ posts)      Tue Mar-08-11 03:41 PM
Response to Original message
 
11. I will reuse mine up to a point.

If I can't get them clean, or they start turning opaque, they become disposal units for used kitty litter. Also, I tend to avoid reusing any that once stored chicken or any other sort of meat.

trud  (413 posts)      Mon Mar-21-11 09:40 AM
Response to Original message
 
12. I try not to get them in the first place.

It can be done, although not perfectly.

I used a metal lunch box and paper bags for sandwiches before I retired. Paper bags fr that can be reused up to a point. I'm more a canner than a freezer, plus then stuff won't spoil in a power failure in a disaster.

Oh my again.

It doesn't seem the primitives are doing their part--in fact, they're doing the opposite--to get the 0bamaconomy back up to where it was when George Bush was president.

[LC EFA]

I use the small clip seal bags for portioning out bulk meat products. If I'm marinating that particular portion then I'll just add the marinade to the bag. No reuse.

When I do a roast - I use the larger bags for marinating and do reuse them once. That's because I'm descended from a scottsman, not for any other reason.

[franksolich]

I use the small clip seal bags for portioning out bulk meat products. If I'm marinating that particular portion then I'll just add the marinade to the bag. No reuse.

When I do a roast - I use the larger bags for marinating and do reuse them once. That's because I'm descended from a scottsman, not for any other reason.

Oh Hades, I just went into the kitchen to count.

There's three Zip-Loc plastic bags in this house, two sizes, all of them empty at the moment, but used before.

franksolich is not a conspicuous consumer.

[longview]

I re-use plastic bags, aluminum foil, don't buy paper towels, turn in my used motor oil a place that adds it to coal to boost BTUs, don't buy overly packaged and processed food, blah, blah, blah.  I believe in not wasting what you have and am also cheap.

I suspect, from reading the DUmp's bragging, that my own carbon footprint is a size 6 to their 12. 

[BEG]

I wonder if they reuse tampons too.

[DLR Pyro]

I wonder if they reuse tampons too.

[MP_Sarge]

We re-use a good chunk of our plastic bags.
Hell, we re-use pretty much any form of storage that hasn't come into contact with food and can't be thrown in the dishwasher.

All that rinsing and bleaching is absurd, though.  If it's dirty enough to need all that, it's dirty enough to throw away.

[franksolich]

I suspect, from reading the DUmp's bragging, that my own carbon footprint is a size 6 to their 12.

I bet so too, madam.

After all, conservatism permeates all aspects of our lives, not just our politics.

[Chris_]

I throw all my plastic bags away.  I even went to the store today and took extra bags home with me just so I could throw them in the garbage.

[BEG]

I throw all my plastic bags away.  I even went to the store today and took extra bags home with me just so I could throw them in the garbage.

  H5

[DLR Pyro]

I throw all my plastic bags away.  I even went to the store today and took extra bags home with me just so I could throw them in the garbage.

Hi5 for bucking the system.  Keep up the good work.

[diesel driver]

Considering the cost of plastic bags, why would you WANT to reuse them?

It would cost more in chemicals and hot water to clean them than to replace them.

I'll continue to use my 2 sandwich bags/day, thank you.   

[RobJohnson]

I wonder if they reuse tampons too.

 

A little hot water, dawn soap, and magnets to hang them from the fridge while they dry.

[diesel driver]

A little hot water, dawn soap, and magnets to hang them from the fridge while they dry.

DAMN!   

[RobJohnson]

We re-use a good chunk of our plastic bags.
Hell, we re-use pretty much any form of storage that hasn't come into contact with food and can't be thrown in the dishwasher.

All that rinsing and bleaching is absurd, though.  If it's dirty enough to need all that, it's dirty enough to throw away.

They waste more chemicals and energy on trying to clean the bags in hot water with soap, bleech, then more hot water to rinse....

Nothing like the using a zip lock bag that smells like dawn & bleech for that batch of granola trail mix.  

They must be heating the water over a fire in the back yard. We all know those water heaters are evil carbon footprints....

Don't they know that plastic bags are made from petroleum? Those poor little baby seals.

Being thrifty is one thing, using it to gain street creed  on DU is stupid...

[Celtic Rose]

I wonder if they reuse tampons too.

You can actually buy reusable tampons...  Etsy has some scary stuff.

[RobJohnson]

You can actually buy reusable tampons...  Etsy has some scary stuff.

How do they work out?

[Freeper]

That's it! I'm double bagging everything to make up for the DUmmies. 

[GOBUCKS]

Not sure it's really worth the effort

I am. It's not.

[MP_Sarge]

I wonder if they reuse tampons too.

Why would you need to?

http://www.divacup.com/

[chitownchica]

I seem to remember a post on DU about a member using a reusable pad.  Ughhhhh. They are so uncivilized.

I bought a giant box of zip lock freezer bags at costco. I rarely reuse them, except for scraps that are going in the trash (no garbage disposal here).  Normally, though, I repackage meat in freezer paper.

[zeitgeist]

That's it! I'm double bagging everything to make up for the DUmmies. 

I never could come close to the miracles my mom could achieve wrapping sandwiches in wax paper.  I mean, the egg salad stayed in a desk by the radiator all morning long and you could hardly smell it, on Fridays it was always tuna, and then there was PBJ or cheese or peanut butter and fluff.  Hot lunch meant the desk was too close to the radiator.

[RobJohnson]

That's it! I'm double bagging everything to make up for the DUmmies. 

 

Don't worry. Any person that sleeps with a DUmmie is already double bagging!!!!!

[thelaughingman]

I'm betting the DUmmies reuse a lot of little plastic baggies.

[zeitgeist]

I seem to remember a post on DU about a member using a reusable pad.  Ughhhhh. They are so uncivilized.

I bought a giant box of zip lock freezer bags at costco. I rarely reuse them, except for scraps that are going in the trash (no garbage disposal here).  Normally, though, I repackage meat in freezer paper.

I use to use butcher paper for meat but switched to the vacuum package system.  It costs more but there is almost never any freezer burn.  I cut the meat the way I want it and pack it in my choice of portion size.