Why the Plastic Bag Ban Doesn't Work

Starting March 1 of this year, the city of Kirkland implemented a city-wide plastic bag ban, preventing any retailer from giving plastic bags to customers.  Instead, they can give out paper for a 5 cent per bag charge.  They do this to try to encourage people to bring their bags so that very few bags have to be made and used.  THIS DOESN'T WORK.  And I'm going to explain why.

1) Paper bags cost more to make and are harder on the environment to make
Paper bags cost more to make than plastic (if you look at the cost per bag to retailers).  I'm not sure of the amount for either, but it's something like this.  Each plastic bag costs about 1/100th of a cent, while each paper bag costs 1/2 a cent.  It's a significant difference.  Those aren't exact, so don't quote me on that, but it's similar to what I remember seeing.  Point is, paper costs significantly more PER BAG.  Sure, they can hold more, but 50 times more?  Yeah right.  Also, paper bags come from trees while plastic comes from the ground.

2) People never remember to bring their bags--and are too lazy to go get them!
I find it simply astounding that the residents of Kirkland were given a year's notice about the plastic bag ban, told to remember to start bringing their bags a year in advance, and two and a half months into the ban people are still forgetting them.  We, the city of Kirkland, had a year to prepare, and we totally freaking failed.  That's like given an entire semester's notice of a test in a class and told exactly what to study for, and choosing not to study.

Anyway, the most common thing I hear is "I forgot/left them in the car."  Really?!  Great, they're less than  1,000 feet away!  Oh, you're too freaking lazy to go get them?  Are you s****ing me?!  First off, if you're shopping with someone else make the passenger hold the bags on the way to the store.  If you're shopping alone, leave them on top of the passenger seat... and put your cell phone on top of the bags there.  You won't forget that, will you?  Which means you won't forget that bags.  THERE IS NO EXCUSE.  Secondly, if the bags made it to the car, and you realize it before you've done much shopping, GO GET THEM!  No excuse.

3) People are content with paying for bags in Kirkland
This isn't true of everyone of course, but a majority of Kirkland residents are all right with paying 5 cents for every bag.  I'd say the average order only requires 2 or 3 bags, which comes to 11 or 16 cents (if you count tax--yes, they are taxed... lol... gotta love America).  Most people are ok with paying the bag fee, because Kirkland is already an expensive city to live in, what's 20 or so cents every time you shop?  It's nothing.

People being ok with paying for bags means a lot of paper bags headed out the door, which means retailers have to increase production on paper bags, which can't be good for the environment.

4) Reusable bags cause cross contamination!!!
When we had plastic bags, I would always put meat that wasn't that tightly wrapped in a plastic bag before I put it in a reusable bag, if they brought them.  Now, with no plastic, if someone comes to the front with reusable bags and no produce plastic bag around their meat, I am forced to put their leaking meat in a reusable bag.  Guess what?  There's a decent chance that bag doesn't get washed before it's next use.  People are lazy.  If they're too lazy/forgetful to bring their bags sometimes then they're too lazy to wash their bags, too.  Reusing bags, especially cloth bags, can cause cross-contamination which can result in sickness and in some cases even death.

5) People can just shop in neighboring city for plastic bags and dispose of them here
Currently, neighboring cities Redmond and Bellevue do not have a ban on plastic bags, so I'm sure many shoppers have flocked to those cities for free and convenient plastic bags.  And I bet they're still doing the same things with the plastic bags that they did before.  Myself included, many Kirkland residents have brought plastic bags from other cities into Kirkland and used them as trash cans, pet waste bags, etc.  They're still ending up in Kirkland garbage cans.


So what do we do?  I'd say bring plastic back, and if people really want it they'll pay for it, too.  All the money that plastic bags make could go towards environmental efforts to keep them out of landfills.  Bring plastic back, but make people twice before they stuff them in the garbage.  Also, couldn't they make the plastic bag bio-degradable, like you see with the food compost bags?  Why can't those be made into shopping bags?  Oh well.  In the meantime, I will continue getting plastic in Woodinville, Bellevue, and Redmond and bringing it here, because people in government do not know how to THINK THINGS THROUGH.

All of the Careers I have ever considered and why I haven't done them

Right now, I am at a point in my life where I need to figure out what I want to do for a career.  I currently work at Safeway as a food clerk, but I can't work there forever (unless I decided I wanted to be a manager there).  One of the things I get from my mother is not knowing what I want to do with my life for a career.  She got a job as an 18 year old with a telephone company (Pacific Northwest Bell which became US-West which became Qwest which became Century Link).  She worked there for about 30 years.  I know I don't wanna be stuck in the same job for 30 years, and I do plan on going back to school, but what for?  Here's a look at what I've considered for careers, in (somewhat) chronological order:

- Fireman
As a kid, I never really expressed it to anyone, but I wanted to be a fireman.  I heard once my dad almost became a fireman but didn't because of his horrible vision, so I wanted to maybe do what he didn't.  However, I was always short for my age and I felt a good firefighter is someone who can lift and carry the average sized man, which I can not.  Maybe I"ll get in shape and become a volunteer firefighter someday.  That would fulfill this passion.  But I don't think I could ever become a full-time fireman.

- Computer Scientist/Technician
In my late high school years and early college years, I wanted to do something with computers.  I was fascinated by them.  So as my "major" at Bellevue Community College, I chose Computer Science.  My first Computer Science class, CS101, was a blast.  I did well and I had a great instructor.  However, my next Computer Science Class was nowhere near what I was expecting.  It involved a lot of programming (including Javascript and C++), something I couldn't get my mind to understand, no matter how hard I tried.  The instructor was not helpful and I ended up doing pretty poorly in the class, as well as not enjoying it.  After that class, I gave up on computers, because I don't think I'll ever be able to learn programming and coding.

- Math Teacher
Shortly after giving up Computer Science, I thought about teaching Math because I like math so much.  And BCC had an Associate's for Mathematical Education.  However, after some thinking, I decided not to do it.  I do like teaching, but I get easily frustrated when someone doesn't understand, and I'm still not good speaking in front of groups.  Plus, teachers have never been paid well (although they should be).

- Professional singer/entertainer/comedian
I never seriously considered these careers, but if I had the talent, I so would.  If I worked hard enough I could be a decent enough of a comedian, but not anyone real well-known.  I'd love to be a singer, but my vocal range is very limited (thanks puberty) and my lack of confidence can get to me at times.

- Sports marketing
I would love a career that has to do with sports, because sports is one of my passions.  So, I looked into it and I found a school (Full Sail) that offers a Sports Marketing Online degree.  I applied and even went through all of the enrollment processes and tasks, but I couldn't officially start, because my heart wasn't in it.  Why?  Because I just couldn't see myself in it.  I also realized that I didn't want to ever dislike sports.  I felt like if I got a job in sports marketing and I didn't like it for some reason, then I would start to dislike sports.  Sports are something that I can enjoy outside of my work and personal life and I want it to stay that way.

- Professional YouTuber/LP'er
One of the things I really think I could do is being a professional YouTuber.  Yeah, I know I harped on Google/YouTube in an earlier post, but I think I would certainly enjoy this and be good at it.  I've already put out some LP's (Let's Play's--You play through a game in hopes of having your viewers play along with you), but I would like to do other things, such as pranks, vlogs, and comedy/sketch videos.  And it is certainly possible to make a living off of YouTube.  One YouTuber I'm subscribed to, Jonathan Paula, makes a living solely off the views and subscribers he gets on YouTube.  It helps to have a show ("Is it a Good Idea to Microwave This?") that has a total amount of views over 20 million, but you get my point.  However, it's hard to get started and make enough money to support yourself.  Also, many would not see this as a smart or viable career choice.  It's not something that I've completely shut the book on like other career choices.  I'm thinking I'll just keep this as a hobby until one day I do an LP that gets me a boatload of subscribers.

- Writer
One of the more recent careers I've considered is writing.  Which type?  Hard to say.  I feel like I could write anything I needed to, whether it be newspaper/magazine articles, screenwriting, or even novelizations.  The thing that's kept me from pursuing this career is I read from a former writer that when he started writing for a newspaper that writing lost its interesting and became a chore more than a hobby.  You have to meet deadlines and you have to keep readers interested.  Much more stressful a career than it seems.  I've watched Californication on Showtime and the character of Hank Moody (played by David Duchovny) is a writer and he seems to hate it.  I think I can be a decent enough of a writer, but not so talented that it would get me through all the stress and deadlines.

One of my problems is that I've never striven to be extraordinary.  A huge part of me just wants to be ordinary.  I want an ordinary family, job, house, life, you name it.  I want a normal 9-5 job in a cubicle somewhere, if it'll be enough to get me by.  I do feel like I'll make a name for myself someday.  What I really want to be more than anything is to be an amazing father.  I want my kids to call me the best dad in the world.  I want to make them into really incredible people.  But in order to do that, I have to get a career where I can afford kids, so that is what I will work on.  I want to be a father more than anything, but unfortunately that job doesn't pay.  But it pays in terms of life fulfillment, which is something money can't buy.  I'll just have to wait until that day comes.

My Thoughts on Checking/Cashiering at Safeway

I have now been checking/cashiering at Safeway for over two months. Many people have asked me what I think of it and if it is better than being a courtesy clerk.

First off, overall, yes it is better than being a courtesy clerk. For one thing, you get more respect from people that know you. For example, instead of someone you know seeing you as a bagger and thinking you are stuck in a minimum wage job, they see you as a checker and see you have more responsibility and assume you make more than the minimum wage. Fact is, however, I don’t. At least not yet. I haven’t worked at Safeway long enough.

Secondly, it seems like time goes faster as a checker, especially when it is busy. As a courtesy clerk, my carts hours (obviously an hour of my work day I would do nothing but retrieve carts) went by really slowly, especially if the weather was bad. Which is another reason why being a checker is better: you never have to cope with the elements. You get to stay inside all the time. You never have to dress according to the weather.

Of course, there are a few downsides to checking. You have to stay in the same spot 90% of the time, which doesn’t allow you to burn as many calories as being a courtesy clerk. Secondly, you are doing the same thing over and over. Scan item, scan item, enter PLU code, scan item, etc. It is very repetitive. But I’d prefer scanning items repeatedly over getting carts repeatedly.

One last downside is that you have to deal with problem customers. There are just certain people who are either having bad days or are mean people naturally that will go through your line and give you problems. Now, I haven’t actually gotten yelled at, but I’ve had people get very upset. It really kind of deflates you. As a courtesy clerk, you can choose to walk away from those situations, but as a checker, you gotta stand there and take it. Myself, if I encounter one of these people, I just try to shrug it off and move on to the next customer.

However, I still think being a checker/cashier is better than being a courtesy clerk. I don’t have to deal with cleanups anymore, no more carts, no more taking care of the garbage, and no more getting up at 6 am. *Shudders* However, checking alone can get kind of dull. That’s why I wish sometimes I was just a backup checker, who works in a different department. That way, instead of checking being the only thing you do, it can be a break from what you normally do. Perhaps someday I will make the switch to a department that needs me.

Finally, I just wanted to say cashiering is not as bad as it seems. If you generally have nice customers, work can actually make your day better. Plus, the pay goes up quite fast the longer you work there. And the coworkers are all really nice and fun to talk to. They make work a lot more fun and more enjoyable. This is my job for the foreseeable future, and overall, I do enjoy it.