this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
8 points (100.0% liked)

Toronto

1747 readers
1 users here now

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friends:
Support lemmy.ca

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] avidamoeba 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Does anything prevent a retailer from selling single-use biodegradable bags?

[–] frostbiker 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

As I understand it, plastic checkout bags are banned federally, regardless of which sort of plastic they are made of. It sounds ridiculous, but that's what the law appears to say.

[–] avidamoeba 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Biodegradable plastic isn't plastic even if we talk about it using this word, so it may well not fall under this regulation.

[–] frostbiker 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'll be perfectly honest: I don't care about the technicalities. Anybody can still buy compostable garbage bags that, to a layperson, sure feel similar to any other plastic bag.

If it is biodegradable / compostable, it should be available for purchase at checkout points for a small fee, regardless of whether it is made of plastic, advanced biopolymers or unicorn semen.

The only place I see with degradable bags at checkout is Whole Foods with their (rather robust) paper bags. All other shops have done away with disposable bags and it's an annoyance to customers when they forget their reusable bags at home.