Reusable Grocery Bag Rant

[Garry P]

I am all for the reusable grocery bags, however it just irritates me that I have to pay $1.00 for them. I understand that the stores didn't get them for free, but they will be saving money by not having to provide me with plastic bags, plus they slap their logo all over the bag so that I can advertise for them with the bag I paid for. At least if I buy it, it should be a plain bag, maybe even something I could decorate in any manner I choose.

So know not only are they saving money by eliminating the express lane (and cashier) and replacing them with U=Scan lanes, but I have to pay for my reusable grocery bag. Seems to me that all of these things that are supposed to enhance my shopping experience are more about reducing overhead for the grocery chain.

OK rant over

 

[jebatty]

If you pickup reusable bags each time you go to the grocery store, rather than remember to bring them with you, does the grocery store still save money? Some stores, especially those in Europe, charge for each bag they give you, and no charge if you bring your own. I think that is what all stores should do in the U.S.

I have two reusable bags, keep them in the car, but frequently fail to remember to bring them into the store. I'm getting better, but habits are hard to break.

 

[Tarmsolo60]

we have a grocery store here that charges 10 or 12 cents for each bag if you want them, not the heavy reusable ones. My wife is smart enough to keep a few bags in her car, I usually come out with my arms full when I stop in my truck because I won't pay for the cheap bags.

I kinda hear you on the logo thing. It also kind of amazes me how people buy clothes with the companys big logos on them...having customers pay for your advertising

 

[sgcsalsero]

It also kind of amazes me how people buy clothes with the companys big logos on them...having customers pay for your advertising

Better yet, I saw a car with not one but two car dealership logos on it the other day, one slapped on the trunk lip, the other on the back windshield. Shameless. Every car I've ever owned has NO dealer logos/badges/advertisements of any kind.

 

[Sealcove]

Our local chain credits you back for every reusable bag that you bring; its only five or ten cents, but its a nice thought. I bought a bunch of those bags that fold up to nice little rectangles and stack neatly in a door pocket in my car. It took me a few months, but I developed the habit of always emptying the bags and being sure that my car was restocked before I went out again. I also had to develop the habit of not leaving them in the car each time I went into the store! Now that I have a system it is a worthwhile effort to have nice dependable bags that never break or tear.

 

[velvetfoot]

We had a leak of something or other and that darn reusable bag leaked like a sieve.

 

[Adabiviak]

I get maybe five bags, some quite nice and some not so much, from an annual tradeshow I attend, which work quite nicely for this. I have no idea what I'd do with them otherwise.

 

[sgcsalsero]

bags that fold up to nice little rectangles and stack neatly in a door pocket in my car.

I've never seen these, are they hard to find? We have 3 reusables which always seem to be in the way in the van.

Thanks

 

[webbie]

This begs for a repeat of my theory......(well, one of them!)......

It ain't the bags that present a problem - IT'S THE CHIT YOU PUT IN THEM........

 

[sgcsalsero]

This begs for a repeat of my theory......(well, one of them!)......

It ain't the bags that present a problem - IT'S THE CHIT YOU PUT IN THEM........

Good one ......

...so you're saying that my transparent bags with large web strapping so I can haul large boxes of Coco Puffs and Tastykakes aren't a big fashion statement

 

[webbie]

Something like that.....

Considering that we wake up in the morning, take a hot shower in a warm house, then get in the car and drive 10 miles to the store......then enter the store which is heated, cooled and refrigerated....and then buy products which require vast energy and fossil fuel input - I would say the bags are the LEAST of the problems!

But who am I to fight mass mentality?

 

[Corey]

My wife circumvented the cost by sewing up some bags from scrap fabric. The store we frequent around here gives 5 cents back for every bag you bring in (so they don't have to use one of theirs). This isn't going to make anyone a millionaire, but at least it's something. I urged her to make small "coozy" bags for each individual item "Excuse me Ms. Cashier...we brought in 92 of our own bags, I would like $4.60 off my bill, please!"

 

[sgcsalsero]

"Excuse me Ms. Cashier...we brought in 92 of our own bags, I would like $4.60 off my bill, please!"

Hilarious, I think some cashiers wouldn't mind gooseing up the discount for the effort.

Web, totally get what you are saying, we win a small battle but from a big picture standpoint losing the war. I for one am actively seeking out more local produce and meats, I don't care what the price. Antibiotic and arsenic laden chicken bought in a SuperWalmart just doesn't have the same appeal to me anymore (hmmm, I wonder why).

 

[mikeathens]

Grocery bags don't kill people...people kill people. Or, somethin like that? Craig, why you always trying to bring down our utopian society?

 

[billb3]

500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags a year are clogging our landfills, oceans and historic parks.

You don't have to go very far out on any lake or ocean to find floating plastic bags and legos.
Plastic shards now outnumber zooplankton in the Pacific Ocean 6 to 1.
Aside fron environmental concerns, the 12 million barrels of oil to yield the ethylene ends up clogging sewers and storm drains , cooling systems causing further infrastructure costs and damages.

Just to bring crap home.

 

[Sealcove]

I've never seen these, are they hard to find? We have 3 reusables which always seem to be in the way in the van.

They are very common at Hannaford stores throughout Maine, so I would think that would make them non uncommon elsewhere. The link below shows them unfolded (labeled as Fold-A-Tote). Basically they are synthetic bag that is pretty durable, and the bottom is reinforced with something to make it stiff. It could just be cardboard stitched in there, but whatever it is it holds up well. The bag folds down toward the flat bottom and then folds in half to form a 6x8" rectangle that has a snap to keep it closed. 4-5 fit neatly in a pocket behind my seat, or in the door pocket. $1.50 each.

(broken link removed to http://www.hannaford.com/Contents/Our_Stores/In_Store/org_nat/reusable_bags.shtml)

This link came up on google, and it shows the bags flattened but unfolded.
http://gregjerome.wordpress.com/2007/08/11/reusable-grocery-bags/

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I am all for the reusable grocery bags, however it just irritates me that I have to pay $1.00 for them. I understand that the stores didn't get them for free, but they will be saving money by not having to provide me with plastic bags, plus they slap their logo all over the bag so that I can advertise for them with the bag I paid for. At least if I buy it, it should be a plain bag, maybe even something I could decorate in any manner I choose.

Spray paint? ;-)

 

[Garry P]

Something like that.....

Considering that we wake up in the morning, take a hot shower in a warm house, then get in the car and drive 10 miles to the store......then enter the store which is heated, cooled and refrigerated....and then buy products which require vast energy and fossil fuel input - I would say the bags are the LEAST of the problems!

But who am I to fight mass mentality?

Although I agree with you completely, I think the real value is domonstrating to "industries" that we are "willing" to change. My guess is that there are thousands of ideas like reusable grocery bags out there that some guy in the corporate office shot down because he doesn't think people will accept the change. And even while I b$<h about having to pay for the bags, it is one of the most cost effective "green" things I have come across. It seems like everything else that is good for the environment is bad for your wallet.

 

[velvetfoot]

It'd be nice if they wouldn't leak.

 

[Kenny1]

This begs for a repeat of my theory......(well, one of them!)......

It ain't the bags that present a problem - IT'S THE CHIT YOU PUT IN THEM........

Baby steps, my friend, baby steps.

We have to start somewhere....

 

[lexybird]

i think the reusable bags are a really stupid idea ,people get a little carried away with this green" business and dont look at the facts we arent going to save the world i n this way seems theres just too many bleeding heart tree huggers who drive in limos and blow through wild amounts of energy in their mansions that think we need to be saved from our evil selves and degenerate as a society and go backwards

 

[crazy_dan]

I will not buy the reusable bags from anywhere other than the Aldi grocery store because they charge you for bags if you want them anyway so we did buy 3 of them from there and use them when we go there. I will not use them anywhere else like Wal Mart because there is no discount for using my own bag, same as I will not use a self check out because I am not an employee of theirs and there is no discount in doing so. I am all for "green" stuff but I am not willing to pay much extra or do much extra for it as most the ideas out there require more extra effort or money than the Earth see benefit.

 

[jebatty]

It doesn't m$ake sense to me to waste things just because you can. My wife and I accept just enough store plastic bags to meet our need for kitchen trash bags; we accept just enough store paper bags to meet our need for newspaper and mail paper recycling storage, and we use our own reusable bags so we don't accumulate other bags just to throw away.

While bags are a small item, their use or non-use also is reflective of a culture of waste or a culture of conservation. An expanding culture of conservation brings really big returns and savings. Conservation pays real dividends. We wouldn't be in the mess we are today if we as a country had adopted a culture of conservation. Big changes come in small steps.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

It doesn't m$ake sense to me to waste things just because you can. My wife and I accept just enough store plastic bags to meet our need for kitchen trash bags; we accept just enough store paper bags to meet our need for newspaper and mail paper recycling storage, and we use our own reusable bags so we don't accumulate other bags just to throw away.

While bags are a small item, their use or non-use also is reflective of a culture of waste or a culture of conservation. An expanding culture of conservation brings really big returns and savings. Conservation pays real dividends. We wouldn't be in the mess we are today if we as a country had adopted a culture of conservation. Big changes come in small steps.

A great attitude, I believe. I applaud you for conserving. The more folks conserve/ make do/ reuse/ recycle, the better for the planet.

 

[snowtime]

You do not need to be an enviro to realize that all of our landfills are filling up. Those cloth bags save us all on taxes for landfills. We are snowed in now but during the summer the stores up here give a 10cent credit for every cloth bag used.