Plastic bags are so common place in Sydney today that we often forget that not too long ago plastic bags hadn’t even been invented, let alone become one of the most widely used consumer products in existence today. Go to a grocery store in Sydney to make a purchase and the bagger will most likely put your items that come in plastic bags into a plastic bag. While you are there, don’t forget to buy ice for the party that will come in, you guessed it, a plastic ice bag. Most people have been buying ice in plastic ice bags for such a long period of time now that they probably can’t tell you how people use to buy ice long ago.
With ice readily available today in a variety of ice bags coming in a wide range of sizes (the most popular sizes are 5 lb, 8 lb, and 10 lb bags), the switch to plastic packaging for ice first occurred back in the late 1950′s to early 60′s. As long as the plastic bag is not ruptured in anyway, an ice bag is water tight and makes an easy package to carry the ice in. Many companies today provide ice in plastic bags that are closed with heavy duty staples, twist-ties, or even drawstring type closures so one can easily access the ice and then close the bag again for future access.
It is hard to imagine the transition that occurred from days long past when blocks of ice were delivered to homes and put into ice boxes using large metal ice tongs. Today we simply run up to the local convenience store and grab an ice bag out of the freezer and we are on our merry way. Will there be a day in the future where the ice bag is replaced by something better?