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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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 Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:25 am Post subject: E-Mart seeks to stop selling plastic bags at checkout |
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E-Mart tries trashing plastic
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2901184
February 18, 2009
Certain branches of the nation�s leading discount store chain E-Mart will no longer offer plastic bags in an attempt to protect the environment and cut down on waste, Shinsegae, the chain�s operator, announced yesterday.
The company described the move as a trial run that could expand to all branches nationwide if well received.
Beginning tomorrow, two E-Mart branches, one in Yangjae, southern Seoul, and the other in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, will begin phase one of the campaign, in which store employees will encourage customers to use reusable bags instead of plastic. But plastic bags will still be available until March 19, when stage two will begin and the chain will no longer sell the bags. Currently, the nation�s discount chains and small grocery stores alike typically charge 50 won ($0.02) for one plastic bag in an effort to discourage their use.
Meanwhile, E-Mart will hand out reusable grocery bags to customers who make purchases of more than 50,000 won during the campaign.
According to the chain, about 30 percent of E-Mart customers used plastic bags last year at a combined economic and environmental cost that the store estimated at around 3 billion won.
By Sung So-young Staff Reporter [[email protected]] |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| I guess it isn't too bad. I usually use the bags for garbage. Now, i'll just buy them at the store. I guess you could pack other stuff you buy in them also, lol |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Why don't they just get off of their face-saving cheapster ass and sell recyclable plastic bags? The ones made of corn that break down in the landfills. |
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Straphanger
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
| Why don't they just get off of their face-saving cheapster ass and sell recyclable plastic bags? The ones made of corn that break down in the landfills. |
Those really aren't great when you consider that the decomposition is aerobic, and doesn't work well in a landfill. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Straphanger wrote: |
| bassexpander wrote: |
| Why don't they just get off of their face-saving cheapster ass and sell recyclable plastic bags? The ones made of corn that break down in the landfills. |
Those really aren't great when you consider that the decomposition is aerobic, and doesn't work well in a landfill. |
You're talking about the inferior ones called, "biodegradable". Those made from corn do break down, and are called, "compostable":
http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/197/1/Degradable-Biodegradable-Compostable.html
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Compostable Plastic
This is pretty close to biodegrable plastic but "greener". According to the American Society for Testing & Materials, for plastic to be considered as compostable, it must be able to break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as paper. It also needs to look like compost, should not produce any toxic material and should be able to support plant life. Compostable items are made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar. |
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sobriquet
Joined: 16 Feb 2007
Location: Nakatomi Plaza
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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Why not just sell green bags like they do in the UK.
I brought 2 1 pound sack cloth bags back from tescos in the UK.
Koreans love them, always showing an interest in the bag for some reason, cheap to make and easy to sell |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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| sobriquet wrote: |
Why not just sell green bags like they do in the UK.
I brought 2 1 pound sack cloth bags back from tescos in the UK.
Koreans love them, always showing an interest in the bag for some reason, cheap to make and easy to sell |
We've got 2 Costco bags. Those work pretty well.
Maybe Koreans would show more interest if they sold designer bags with names like Prada on them. |
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Straphanger
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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Compostable bags - I like it.
Not having bags available sounds like a gigantic pain in the ass. |
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Rusty Shackleford
Joined: 08 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Seems pretty trivial to me. 3 Billion won is bugger all. I guarantee the net result of phasing out plastic bags will be negative. There are always unintended consequences in cases like this. |
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crsandus
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:14 pm Post subject: Re: E-Mart seeks to stop selling plastic bags at checkout |
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| wylies99 wrote: |
Currently, the nation�s discount chains and small grocery stores alike typically charge 50 won ($0.02) for one plastic bag in an effort to discourage their use.
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Man I knew the exchange was getting bad but 50 won is now $0.02? Only a penny error but still. |
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Hindsight
Joined: 02 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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| No problemo... I'll just reuse my HomePlus plastic bags. |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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| I usually bring my own (canvas) bags already but sometimes I forget. Not thrilled about this. |
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NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Hindsight wrote: |
| No problemo... I'll just reuse my HomePlus plastic bags. |
320,000 won fine if someone catches you. Of course the most logical thing would be to sell only the compostable bags for all grocery bagging needs.
Instead, they sparkle things up by only selling grocery bags that you can't use for garbage bags.
A good reporter would find out who's getting paid off to perpetuate this scam. Someone's getting a whole lot of white envelopes to have the current arrangement. |
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Hindsight
Joined: 02 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| 320,000 won fine if someone catches you. |
Explain, please. |
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NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Hindsight wrote: |
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| 320,000 won fine if someone catches you. |
Explain, please. |
You can only use the recycling bags you buy (not the shopping bags they give you at the big box stores), which are usually shaded tan/blue/green/red, depending on your city. The 320k is the fine you get if you get caught using the regular HomePlus bags as your trash bags.
That said, I use the HomePlus bags, but have to dispose of my garbage guerilla style. |
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