7A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
Belief: Grocery stores around the nation are contributing to world climate change through their use of plastic bags because giving plastic bags to shoppers after their purchases is essentially integrated into the American lifestyle. In other words, there is a need for the elimination of plastic bags in grocery stores and instead, the use of reusable bags.
Interview 1:
Background: My mom who gets groceries at least a few times a week
After asking her all of the questions necessary to understand her need, she says that personally, she would prefer to be given a reusable bag rather than a plastic bag. She believes that the biggest issue with this is that grocery stores around the nation just give out endless amounts of bags, and many times they aren't even necessary. In other words, many times she will go to Publix and buy one item and they will still bag the item for her. She believes this is very unnecessary because she can easily hold one item without needing a bag. Also, she believes that reusable bags could be just as efficient and even more effective. For her, she strongly believes that the need for reusable bags is long overdue. Also, the fact that climate change really concerns her is a huge factor. She knows that plastic bags play a huge role in contributing to waste, which ultimately makes climate change worse. There is no reason to waste so much plastic when there are more durable bags that will not only help reduce waste, but allow you to fit more groceries inside. She thinks that the problem doesn't lie within individual grocery stores, but beyond them. She acknowledges that it is a difficult issue to address and that it will not be solved in a day.
Interview 2:
Background: My dad who does not go grocery shopping
I called my dad and was able to interview him on his personal opinions regarding the strict use of reusable bags. For him, he definitely agrees that there should be no use, or at least limited use of plastic bags. On the other hand, he doesn't really do groceries all that often, but he says that whenever he goes to Home Depot or Lowes, the bags are extremely necessary. However, he does say that the job can easily get done with reusable bags, especially at such hardware stores. He explains how usually the things he buys are pretty bulky, and tend to rip the plastic bag more often than not. He says if reusable bags were given, it would be much more comfortable to contain his purchases. Also, he says how he believes that if a store were to exclusively offer plastic bags, they should charge for each bag given. This is a technique they use in Europe, and it encourages everyone to bring their own reusable bags to the grocery store, thus dramatically decreasing plastic waste. My dad says that if he had to pay for a bag, he simply would not use one. Similar to my mom, the pollution aspect of using plastic bags is what also has made him wish that plastic bags were not used so often.
Interview 3:
Background: My roommate who is a sophomore here at UF
I was able to sit down with my roommate and have her give me her unique insight into what I believe is a necessary precaution we must take. I was also not surprised to hear how her answers differed from my parents. My roommate who does not do groceries or have to pretty much ever deal with receiving plastic bags had a different perspective. Since this is the case and she does not have to ever deal with it, she says it is not something she would particularly care too much about since it does not affect her on a daily basis. Yes, sometimes she does go to places and they give her a plastic bag, but if anything she says it is more convenient for her because she later uses the plastic bag as a trash bag. In her case, she does see how the use of reusable bags over plastic ones would be beneficial to the environment, but she also sees how they are beneficial to her. Once again, she definitely sees how using reusable bags over plastic ones would be beneficial to the environment, and because of that she would 100% support the use of them. But, since she isn't a regular shopper it is hard for her to give such a strong opinion, since it does not affect her too much.
Interview 4:
Background: My sister who is older and has her own apartment
I sat down with my sister who has her own apartment and has to buy food and cook it pretty much every day. She tends to go to Trader Joes for her groceries, which fortunately uses strictly paper bags. She agrees completely that there is a desperate need for the elimination of plastic bags, but that they can also be replaced with paper bags, which is what Trader Joes does. She acknowledges the fact that the exclusive use of reusable bags would be extremely costly for stores everywhere, and using paper is much more sustainable and cheaper. On another note, she realizes the disadvantages of using paper bags. They are very thin and rip very easily, making it difficult to put a lot of things inside. This is a huge downside due to the fact that plastic bags are very durable and more comfortable than a paper bag. Regardless, my sister says how she truly believes that paper bags are the best alternative to plastic bags, because of how cheap they are and environmentally friendly.
Interview 5:
Background: My cousin who lives in New York City
I called my cousin knowing she lived in one of the world's most populated and alive cities. She told me a bit about her experience with plastic bags in the big apple. First off, New York is very dirty. The more plastic there is, the harder it is to keep the city clean. Second, she explains how great it would be to have strict use of reusable bags only as opposed to plastic ones. She could not imagine having to go through the subway and walk many blocks with a plastic bag that can break at any moment and is very uncomfortable. She always brings her own reusable bag when going to get groceries, and she believes that if they were given out at the store rather than plastic, everyone would be much more satisfies. The only issue is that they do not give them out without a small price to pay. Even then, sometimes she forgets to grab her bag on the way out and is forced to use a plastic bag which annoys her. It is a difficult issue to address.
Summary: Overall, I am intrigued by all of my interviews. I learned that the attitude towards plastic bags is pretty much unanimous, but the attitude towards reusable bags is pretty varied. While my parents would love to see nothing but reusable bags at the stores, my sister agrees that paper bags would do the trick. Since my roommate is not affected by this, she really is indifferent to the idea of reusable bags. Also, my cousin would also be intrigued by the idea of completely eliminating plastic bags, but she does see the downside of it and how it could get complicated. I definitely still strongly believe that reusable bags should be the primary way of bagging things for multiple reasons. One of them being that plastic is very bad for the environment and also because reusable bags are more durable and comfortable for shoppers.
Interview 1:
Background: My mom who gets groceries at least a few times a week
After asking her all of the questions necessary to understand her need, she says that personally, she would prefer to be given a reusable bag rather than a plastic bag. She believes that the biggest issue with this is that grocery stores around the nation just give out endless amounts of bags, and many times they aren't even necessary. In other words, many times she will go to Publix and buy one item and they will still bag the item for her. She believes this is very unnecessary because she can easily hold one item without needing a bag. Also, she believes that reusable bags could be just as efficient and even more effective. For her, she strongly believes that the need for reusable bags is long overdue. Also, the fact that climate change really concerns her is a huge factor. She knows that plastic bags play a huge role in contributing to waste, which ultimately makes climate change worse. There is no reason to waste so much plastic when there are more durable bags that will not only help reduce waste, but allow you to fit more groceries inside. She thinks that the problem doesn't lie within individual grocery stores, but beyond them. She acknowledges that it is a difficult issue to address and that it will not be solved in a day.
Interview 2:
Background: My dad who does not go grocery shopping
I called my dad and was able to interview him on his personal opinions regarding the strict use of reusable bags. For him, he definitely agrees that there should be no use, or at least limited use of plastic bags. On the other hand, he doesn't really do groceries all that often, but he says that whenever he goes to Home Depot or Lowes, the bags are extremely necessary. However, he does say that the job can easily get done with reusable bags, especially at such hardware stores. He explains how usually the things he buys are pretty bulky, and tend to rip the plastic bag more often than not. He says if reusable bags were given, it would be much more comfortable to contain his purchases. Also, he says how he believes that if a store were to exclusively offer plastic bags, they should charge for each bag given. This is a technique they use in Europe, and it encourages everyone to bring their own reusable bags to the grocery store, thus dramatically decreasing plastic waste. My dad says that if he had to pay for a bag, he simply would not use one. Similar to my mom, the pollution aspect of using plastic bags is what also has made him wish that plastic bags were not used so often.
Interview 3:
Background: My roommate who is a sophomore here at UF
I was able to sit down with my roommate and have her give me her unique insight into what I believe is a necessary precaution we must take. I was also not surprised to hear how her answers differed from my parents. My roommate who does not do groceries or have to pretty much ever deal with receiving plastic bags had a different perspective. Since this is the case and she does not have to ever deal with it, she says it is not something she would particularly care too much about since it does not affect her on a daily basis. Yes, sometimes she does go to places and they give her a plastic bag, but if anything she says it is more convenient for her because she later uses the plastic bag as a trash bag. In her case, she does see how the use of reusable bags over plastic ones would be beneficial to the environment, but she also sees how they are beneficial to her. Once again, she definitely sees how using reusable bags over plastic ones would be beneficial to the environment, and because of that she would 100% support the use of them. But, since she isn't a regular shopper it is hard for her to give such a strong opinion, since it does not affect her too much.
Interview 4:
Background: My sister who is older and has her own apartment
I sat down with my sister who has her own apartment and has to buy food and cook it pretty much every day. She tends to go to Trader Joes for her groceries, which fortunately uses strictly paper bags. She agrees completely that there is a desperate need for the elimination of plastic bags, but that they can also be replaced with paper bags, which is what Trader Joes does. She acknowledges the fact that the exclusive use of reusable bags would be extremely costly for stores everywhere, and using paper is much more sustainable and cheaper. On another note, she realizes the disadvantages of using paper bags. They are very thin and rip very easily, making it difficult to put a lot of things inside. This is a huge downside due to the fact that plastic bags are very durable and more comfortable than a paper bag. Regardless, my sister says how she truly believes that paper bags are the best alternative to plastic bags, because of how cheap they are and environmentally friendly.
Interview 5:
Background: My cousin who lives in New York City
I called my cousin knowing she lived in one of the world's most populated and alive cities. She told me a bit about her experience with plastic bags in the big apple. First off, New York is very dirty. The more plastic there is, the harder it is to keep the city clean. Second, she explains how great it would be to have strict use of reusable bags only as opposed to plastic ones. She could not imagine having to go through the subway and walk many blocks with a plastic bag that can break at any moment and is very uncomfortable. She always brings her own reusable bag when going to get groceries, and she believes that if they were given out at the store rather than plastic, everyone would be much more satisfies. The only issue is that they do not give them out without a small price to pay. Even then, sometimes she forgets to grab her bag on the way out and is forced to use a plastic bag which annoys her. It is a difficult issue to address.
Summary: Overall, I am intrigued by all of my interviews. I learned that the attitude towards plastic bags is pretty much unanimous, but the attitude towards reusable bags is pretty varied. While my parents would love to see nothing but reusable bags at the stores, my sister agrees that paper bags would do the trick. Since my roommate is not affected by this, she really is indifferent to the idea of reusable bags. Also, my cousin would also be intrigued by the idea of completely eliminating plastic bags, but she does see the downside of it and how it could get complicated. I definitely still strongly believe that reusable bags should be the primary way of bagging things for multiple reasons. One of them being that plastic is very bad for the environment and also because reusable bags are more durable and comfortable for shoppers.
Hey Beca,
ReplyDeleteAwesome belief. I totally agree that we should move away from plastic bags. I think an issue is that even though people are using reusable bags now more than ever, a lot of the times people still forget. Even if they own them! I think a solution to this problem is that grocery stores should incentivize people-- like Trader Joes lets you enter a raffle if you bring your reusable bags, and a winner is drawn every Monday for a TJ gift card! Or stores could offer reusable bags to rent for like $5 a week and then they can bring it back next time they come into the store and get that $5 back.
Hi Beca - thank you for sharing all of your interviews! I completely agree with you that grocery stores and supermarkets are contributing to world climate change by distributing a crazy amount of plastic bags on a daily basis. I am surprised that major grocery stores such as Walmart and Publix continue with the use of plastic bags as they have such an opportunity to make a positive change to world climate change. However, I have noticed that some local grocery stores have starting using reusable bags. There is definitely a need for change here!
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