Do you bring bags to the grocery store.

[lulubean]

Of course we got a huff at walmart. Maybe it will start to be more common. We didn't have enough but our bags were much easier to carry, didn't break, bigger handles etc. We still needed about 7 plastic bags though. We do recycle the plastic bags but the pile gets big before DD takes them in.

[TD2K]

I have several in the car, xometimes I even remember to take them in with me

[lulubean]

Yeah, I got out of the car and forgot them.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I have them, but about half the time I deliberately leave them in the car. I need those plastic bags for my discarded kitty litter.

[illinicheme]

I live in California. It's extremely common to bring your own bags to any store. I forget them sometimes, but I try to make an effort to bring reusable bags.

[Cass]

I use reusables at the grocery store, but take bags from other stores. With more people using these bags, plastic ones are in shorter supply, and I need them for doggie pick up. If you still have an excess, a dog owning friend or neighbour woud likely appreciate them (I sure would- the bigger the dog, the more needed!)

[Deleted]

We've been using cloth bags for a couple of years now- it makes me happy to think of all the plastic bags that we didn't use during that time. When we forget and get plastic ones, those are used to bag food that we take to the church food pantry, so they're put to good use, too.

[Deleted]

Yes. What Cassia said.

On big shopping days, I use reusable bags, mostly because they are easier to carry. Smaller trips, I end up hoarding bags for dog walking purposes. I had a couple of friends at my old job who would donate their bags to the cause. I miss that.

[lulubean]

I use them when I take the pups for a walk and the kids use them for other things. Also filled up three or four of food for the food pantry but still have a bunch left over and they annoy me because I just shove them all in one bag and they sit there taking up space.

[Sharon]

Oregon has a law before the legislature this year to ban single use plastic bags. I usually bring my own but do like plastic ones for kitty litter.

[Cass]

Most stores around here charge 5 cents per bag or offer the reusables for around a dollar. Some grocery stores offer their old boxes for shoppers to carry their groceries home and one will give a five cent discount for every reusable one brought and used. The liquor store offers paper bags, but they are the only ones so far. I am not aware of any legislation having been passed, but it seems they all started charging around the same time.

[constanz22]

I always have them in my car, but only remember to take them in the store about half of the time. I wish all stores would offer $ for using them. Target gives .05 per bag, Price Chopper give .03 per bag and CVS has their "bag tag" to earn Extra Bucks. I never forget my bags at these stores! LOL! I do, however, still have a use for plastic bags. I use them to clean up after the dogs, scooping the litter box, and collecting my returnable cans and bottles. The grocery store I shop at the most, has paper or plastic and I always get paper because all of my recycling has to be "contained" in paper bags.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I've started doing this in the last few months.
I keep them in the car, and I remember to bring them in about half the time.
I switched over because DH gets annoyed with the bags of bags in the laundry; he throws them out!
I save them for our camping trailer for trash bags and for doggie pick-up bags.

There is one grocery store here that deducts 10 cents from the bill if you don't use their plastic bags.

[ty]

Apr 24, 2011 12:00:55 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I have them, but about half the time I deliberately leave them in the car. I need those plastic bags for my discarded kitty litter.

That's what I use them for as well.

[ty]

double post

[Poppet]

Yes, over the past 18 months or so dh and I have been remembering to bring them into the store.

and when we do remember to bring them, I am starting to feel less geeky. At Trader Joe's it's not a big deal at all. At other stores there is a geek factor, but that's fading.

[Poppet]

"I need those plastic bags for my discarded kitty litter"

For many years I used those plastic bags, but many times they have wholes at the bottom so I'd have to double up.

Now I don't use them at all. I use scrap bags. Generic cat littler bags, cat food bags, bread bags - whatever.
Since I use El Cheapo Generic, non clumping cat litter that comes in the bag. You can get a lot of crap in that bag. And no, it doesn't stink up the garage (where the boxes are) if you close it for another round of cat box cleaning. When it fills up, I toss it. by that time, I've got more bags available to use.

[lulubean]

Yeah, I supposed I felt kind of geeky too, but oh well it was great to have big handles and nice wide openings to use. Also we could put more in our bags we just lifted them to make sure they weren't too heavy for us.

[bobosensei]

I always bring my own bags. I even got a few baskets for taking to the markets that I sometimes use at the grocery stores. No need to worry about the euro coin deposit for a cart that way. But I am in Europe and this is really how it is done here. No geek factor. I wonder if I will feel geeky when I get back to the states. By then I guess it will be second nature to me.

[stats45]

I bring my own reusable bags, but I make sure to separate one used for meat. I also wash them regularly.

[wvugurl26]

DC has a bag tax. They were counting on the revenue to fund river cleanup and they were way under their revenue estimates by the end of 2010. I only go down there for work so usually not shopping.

I usually take my own bags to Target and CVS because of what they offer for using the reusable bags. At other stores I get the bags. I use them as trash bags. Its just me here if I used a regular trash bag it would stink to high heaven before it got close to full. When I lived with other people I'd recycle them when we got too many. The grocery stores I used had bins to put them in.

If I am buying something small I will often tell the cashier I don't need a bag. Aveda actually asks if you need a bag. I tried to tell the cashier at Kohls I didn't need a bag for a pair of earrings. She said she had to bag it, security policy. Really? Completely dumb if you ask me. I have a receipt that says I bought it.

If I used them at grocery stores, I'd have to get some I knew I could wash. Some things are just icky like meat stuff and the milk/yogurt always seems to sweat in the bags.

[Cookies Galore]

I started using the bags at the grocery store a few years ago. At this point, I only use plastic bags from Target and the state store. They're both nice, sturdy bags that I like to use for our waste baskets and cleaning cat litter.

[whoisjohngalt]

Up until a few months ago, I used those bags as my garbage bags. I just couldn't understand why I would want to pay for garbage bags if I didn't have to. The only bag I would bring with me is the one that kept the items cold in the summer

Lena

[ilovedolphins]

I use cloth bags 99% of the time. When I do get plastic bags I use them for garbage bags. Why buy bags when you can use the ones you get for free.

[Artemis Windsong]

Yes, I take my own bags. At CVS if you buy a green leaf, every 4 times they will give you an extra buck. Bag ladies sound different than bag people.

[debtheaven]

Today the vacuum hit me HARD on the head once too many times, so I had to clean out that closet which houses the vacuum, brooms, a bunch of other stuff AND all our bags that I am supposed to remember to take with me when I shop.

I counted 17 bags, 15 supermarket bags and 2 Ikea bags.

Here, for most of 2010 you could buy only the more expensive, sturdy bags to take your groceries home. Towards the end of the year they finally let up. I much prefer the cheaper plastic bags, I use them for the garbage cans. I have a plethora of more expensive reusable bags, but obviously I can't be arsed to remember to bring them with me when I shop.

I gave my cleaner six of them a few months ago, and I use them to give old clothes to charity or friends, so I guess if I hadn't, I would have 30 of them by now?!

Yet I'm still buying garbage bags for my garbage cans / rubbish bins. I'm not sure how this is better for the environment.

It was good to open up that cupboard afterwards and finally not get dinged on the head though!

[TheOtherMe]

Definitely and the store where I shop gives me a nickel discount. I remember to take them in to the store probably 99% of the time. I'm veggie, so no need to separate out meat products. I never have them bag milk, even though they always ask.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I have two nifty shopping baskets that I use at the grocery store ... Whole Foods and Trader Joes, mainly. They give out paper bags, which I don't really have a use for.

I don't use my nifty shopping baskets at Target, because I really like their plastic bags ~ they are excellent for cat box scooping. We keep reusable bags and baskets in both our vehicles, so we're always prepared.

I'm picky about my plastic bags, I guess

[zibazinski]

Target does have good bags. I use them for kitty litter as well because all the rest need double bagging!!!

[Deleted]

"I wonder if I will feel geeky when I get back to the states."

Bobo,

Depends on where you wind up. We were bringing our own bags to the grocery store for about 10 years. We lived in the SF Bay Area (so you would expect that) but even in AZ our local grocery store would give $.05 refunds for every bag you reused. To really make it effective though, one needs to make buying bags relatively expensive like it is here in Germany at $.50. Far, far fewer bags being left to pollute the landscape.

Now if only the US could adopt the cart Euro system, then no more shopping carts in the creeks and rivers!