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Which will it be, ma’am?  Paper or Plastic?  How can we choose?  How can we know? What is the answer?

Neither! Just bring your own bag. You might even get a discount.

I lived in Germany for a number of years in the early 80′s; and if I didn’t bring a bag, I had to carry it in an armload. But wow, that Green Party really did a good job when you consider it… German citizens had very small trash containers, they were allowed to return packaging to retailers, and there were large recycling receptacles on street corners.

Daniel Imhoff wrote an incredible book, Paper or Plastic, which addresses “Searching for Solutions in an Over packaged World”. My husband and I attended a “Book and a Beer” event at Stone Brewery’s Stone World Bistro & Gardens and were delighted to meet the author. Packaging is an incredibly big issue in our society.  I have seen statistics that up to 70% of our present day waste stream is packaging!

How many double wrapped items do you buy? How many “blister packs” do you need industrial scissors to open? How many packaging bits do you put in the recycling container not knowing if it is going to actually be recycled at all?

Please read Daniel Imhoff’s book and consider the implications of our choices.  And please look for the opportunities for savings for business and for society in enhancing the environmental and economic consciousness of our choices in packaging.