You know, sometimes I just want to slap someone. So far I have successfully suppressed this urge. But the time is a’comin’ I’m just not going to be able to hold back.
In today’s SF Chronicle is a story about how the grocery strike has been avoided (yay!), with another story about an idea of requiring supermarkets in the city to charge 17 cents for every plastic or paper bag.
Getting consumers to cut down on grocery bags is a noble goal, but is charging them 17 cents apiece the best way to achieve it?
Today, the San Francisco Commission on the Environment is expected to adopt a resolution urging the Board of Supervisors to pass an ordinance requiring supermarkets in the city to charge 17 cents for every plastic or paper bag “to reduce the proliferation of unnecessary bags and provide funds to mitigate the negative impacts caused by them.”
A fee of 17 cents seems like a lot considering the deposit on standard beverage bottles and cans in California is only 4 cents, and that is refundable to anyone who brings in an empty.
Under the grocery bag proposal, there would be no refunds for shoppers who return bags and thus no motivation for people to paw through trash bins plucking bags out of the waste stream.
So the big problem with the proposal is that people wouldn’t have any incentive to pick up trash. Like they do so well with that now. And maybe a fee would stop them introducing the bags into the ecosystem in the first place.
This is where the urge to slap someone comes in.
We really are the people with the greatest sense of entitlement in the world, aren’t we? These bags have never been free; the cost has been factored into the cost of doing business. But obviously the costs are going up, and rather than spread the pain around to everyone equally, they’ve decided that those who use, get to pay for them.
And this is a problem because people don’t get every damn cent back. I hate our society sometimes.
When I was in Germany almost 20 years ago (and I still haven’t made it back, and now it’s a different country, sob), bags cost 10pf. at the grocery. Everyone there (except the stupid American, who kept forgetting to reuse her damn bags) brought their own bags. It was No. Big. Deal. No discount for having brought the bags, merely a penalty if you didn’t. Whoops, your bad, so you pay. I can’t remember if this is Europe-wide—I think Denmark did the same thing. And in the article it mentions
six nations—Australia, Bangladesh, Italy, South Africa, Taiwan and Ireland—levy taxes or have enacted bans on plastic shopping bags. It says that in Ireland, plastic bag usage dropped 90 percent in the first year after that nation imposed a fee of 15 cents per bag.
Almost two decades after the first time I saw it in action, paying for bags gets proposed here—wonder what 10pf. is in today’s money?—and people go freakin’ nuts. And this is in the recycle-everything Bay Area. (At the bottom of the article there’s a note that says there’s an upcoming bill to charge consumers statewide 15 cents per bag, which would be really good.)
What’s especially stupid is, those quoted in the article talk about this as though you need to pay the extra money. In fact, it’s completely possible to avoid the fee. All you have to do is bring your own bag. It’s a habit you have to learn, but once you learn it: bing, you’re done. Buying a canvas bag at Lunardi’s or Cosentino’s—mind you, haven’t priced them at Target; they’re probably even cheaper there—costs $10. Ten dollars. We live in a world of $3 lattes, so ten bucks==not that much. If you save 17 cents every time you use one of these bags, I figure it’s going to take you about 60 trips to earn back the cost of that bag.
Think you’re going to go to the store 60 times during the life of these bags? Remember, they’re canvas. They’re sewn. They’re damn near indestructible. You’re going to fall apart before it does. And if you double-bag frequently, you earn the bag back in 35 trips.
I love using my canvas bags. It’s so much better than piling plastic bags up to the ceiling in my pantry.I’ve taken armloads of the high-quality paper Lunardi’s bags with the handles out to the recycling box myself—they’re great bags, but I can’t reuse them for anything. I reuse the grocery bags in small trash cans around the house. In fact, once a month I don’t take my canvas bags shopping with me, so I can restock on plastic bags.
Should the market pay for my trash can liners? Hmmm. Wait a second, let me think about that…
Augh. Okay, I can’t slap anyone. I’m gonna go eat some chocolate and shake my head a lot.
totally agree with you. me and my trader joe’s cloth bag.
Where did you live in Germany? What years did you live there?
I was in Berlin in spring 1986. I wasn’t there long but I did manage to be there for both the discotheque bombing and the Chernobyl meltdown. (I also went to Paris in January 1991…right after the Gulf War started. Basically, if I go to Europe, you can bet something interesting is going to happen. Also, no one else will be there. So it’s scary, but totally uncrowded.)
I lived at Schwarzes Cafe but often visited Cafe Einstein for the Champignonsuppe — it was a Viennese-style cafe, very ritzy. It was where I went to read the IHT.
I was way too uncool for Berlin, but I had a great time there.
In theory, it’s a great idea. In practice… I have two teenaged boys. They will eat anything that is not nailed down, and a lot of it. I never, ever, EVER get out of the store without at least eight and often 10 grocery bags in my cart, plus two gallons of milk and a few 24-packs of sodas — and I shop every weekend. I do, in fact, bring paper bags back with me (I will not use those flimsy plastic things under any circumstances), and I have several cloth totes. But eight? Um, no, sorry, even I of the many bags don’t have eight.
This practice originated, I believe, in countries where it was common to shop every day for fresh food, or every other day. Doing that, as I used to do on the way home from the subway stop in Brooklyn when I lived there, it’s perfect to stash a cloth bag or two in one’s briefcase and fill-‘er-up on the way home. But here, I do not and cannot shop daily, or even twice a week. I shop all at once. (Saves gas, too, although I admit with a hybrid it’s of less concern: the gas engine doesn’t go on very much between home and the Safeway.) Having to bring with you your Trader Joe’s tote, and your two NaNoWriMo totes, and your old Webvan tote, and four or five more, is not likely to go over well with the average Jane or Joe, even in this enlightened recycling-happy Bay Area. $10 each, let’s see… I’ve dropped $100 on canvas bags before I even start to shop. Some of them for sure will not last 60 trips, especially not with what I stuff into them.
If we can work out some way to bridge the gap between the “shop every day with your nifty cloth bag” societies and our “shop once a week for large masses of comestibles” society, it might fly. How about loaner bags where you can borrow them (with a deposit?) and bring them back next time? Like community bicycles (which I also naively think is a great idea. In theory.).
I’m behind you in line for slapping someone (or, if not, eating the chocolate). You know what I love best about my cloth shopping bags (that I made myself, even!)? You can load them up with two, or even three gallons of milk and they don’t break and they don’t hurt your hands! We’ve been using cloth exclusively for a couple of years, I once did the math and it added up to a couple hundred bags a year for a family of three, that we don’t consume anymore, counting only our grocery shopping. I hope the charge-for-bags goes state (nation!) wide.
What annoys me about the whole thing is that some grocery stores already charge for bags–chains such as Save-A-Lot. Nobody’s ever been up in arms about that, at least not that I’ve heard. I guess it’s okay to make the poor pay for bags; it’s only a bad thing when everyone has to pay. *sigh*
I disagree that shopping-in-bulk makes cloth impractical. On the contrary, I do it all the time. You don’t buy all the canvas bags at once, you get one per fortnight, maybe, gradually add to your collection (and use paper for the rest of the groceries in the interim). Also, I tuck a bunch of bags inside one of them, very easy to carry from the car to the shopping cart. And yes, I have at least eight, though I usually only use 4-5 per trip.
I love Whole Foods bags myself, I find them so much easier than paper or plastic. Much sturdier, they hold more, and they have regular handles and shoulder-length handles, so I can sling a few bags over my shoulders and carry the rest in. Far more efficient.
I do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods and it never ceases to astound me that people who shop there are as consumer-wasteful as the general populace; I almost never see anyone else bring canvas bags. Shameful. It’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, not just recycle. We have far too much recycled these days, they don’t know what to do with it all.
Um, yeah. I feel strongly about this.
I have to admit I don’t understand the reluctance to use the bags if you have to shop a lot either. One of the great things about them is that they do hold more than either the plastic or paper variety. And you can stack them. That’s how I carry mine around.
In addition to the grocery-bought bags I have (I like the Cosentino ones because they have the pocket in front where I can stash my keys for easy access; the Lunardi’s and Whole Foods ones are deeper), I have a flimsier one Darin got from some Linux conference and a gigantic, ultra-durable one I got a thank-you from KQED during pledge drives. So you don’t have to drop $10 per bag; cloth and canvas bags are everywhere. Plus the bolsas from Mexican markets and string bags from Chinatown–doesn’t have to be expensive.
I hear you.
I’ve traded my TJ cloth sacs for the $1 blue IKEA bags modified by me with cardboard bottoms. They are roomier and less bulky than carrying tote boxes into the store. I’m not ready for the old lady wire basket on wheels thingy. I couldn’t hoist it in the car after our grocery hauls…
I was born and raised in New Jersey, but moved to Germany in 1987 and now live in Austria. Since I began shopping in Germany, I have used either my backpack, a canvas bag with shoulder straps or a foldable plasic carton. I find the arrangement to be near perfect. Every time I visit the ‘States, I get looked at like I’m some kind of freak when I put my stuff into my backpack.
Thank you! Finally someone with some sense. I have been using cloth bags for a little more than 10 years for recycling reasons. This is really just another way for politicians to tax us without a vote,but you don’t have to pay. Be responsible to yourself and to your Planet.
I have been using cloth bags for years. Keep them in the car, so I always have them, whether I plan to shop or not. Recently I made three attractive cloth bags for a wedding present, inside a cloth gift bag. Easy to sew. Get colored canvas (much nicer than white) at Hancock Fabrics (be sure to wash first), sew an attractive piece of multicolored fabric across the top. I used the same canvas for all three, but sewed a different piece across the top. Nobody mistakes your groceries for their’s and when you come home from the store, it’s easy to remember that you put the chocolate in the bag with the cats on it.
For high quality reuseable canvas grocery bags try http://www.wildwoodcottage.com Put an end to the paper and plastic bags cluttering up your home.
I also use cloth bags. I studied abroad in the Netherlands, and everyone brought their own bags there. I usually went grocery shopping near daily and just put it in my backpack.
However, I go grocery shopping once a week now (living in the suburbs of Portland, OR). I still take my canvas bags with me; I’ve got a bunch, so I leave them in the car.
another Diane, it is no harder to use canvas bags than plastic. The only hard part is remembering to put the canvas back in your car, but that’s just something that has to be force of habit. After you’re done unloading groceries, take the bags right back out. Leave a couple in your other cars too. If you need tote bags, I could even mail you some; I have tons from all the conferences my nurse mother attends. In fact, some of the bags I have are 10+ years old and still holding up just fine.
I’m glad someone else out there uses canvas. I thought I was the only one, and I get lots of weird looks at some of my grocery stores. Plus, I always have to remind people to give me my bag discount. I wish they did charge for bag cost (say, 3 cents for every bag you USE) and then more people would use bags. But even the yuppies at Trader Joe’s can’t be bothered to bring in their own bags, so I’m not holding out hope for the rest of the population.
Funny story: once my roommates went shopping and I handed them my canvas bag to use. They were all “oh, cool, thanks!” so I figured they’d use it. When the girls walked back into the house an hour later, I was proud to note they were using a canvas bag . . . BUT they had just put their plastic bagged groceries inside it and used it as a carrying tote. What a letdown. I’ve slowly been working on them over the course of a year, but even my env science roommate won’t use canvas unless I bring it along on one of our shopping trips 🙁
I really think a monetary “tax” or fee for using bags is the only way to get people to use canvas bags.
the URL I put on the message is the URL for the site where I buy my cloth/spun plastic bags. I did use the cloth ones before, but now I only use the spun plastic ones. They use 100% post consumer product in the spun plastic bags, and at $5.75 a piece, they’re not too bad in price.
I work at a Safeway in the produce department, and everyonce in a while I get to go up front and check. I notice, working in Scottsdale, AZ, that people have a very different view of the environment out here.
I bought some durable canvas grocery bags on line at http://www.canvasgrocerybag.com.
dont know how i got onto this site but i thought it was interesting,i live in the midlands in the uk and a lot of the superermarkets charge between 3 and 5p per bag.Most people i know either have a canvas bag or of some other material.trolleys are also used but mainly by the older generation.other supermarkets that dont charge for plastic carrier bags have writing on them saying that they are 100% bio-degradable.
I think that reusing any bags plastic or paper or canvas is catching on. I see more and more shoppers that are reusing/recycling. I try to remember to always have several bags in my trunk.
We go to Europe quite often and most big cities and smallers ones too, charge for the bags. It is usally the traveler/tourist who pays for them!
I think we should either bring our own bags to the store each time we shop .If one forgets their bag then let them pay for the plastic bag. I think it makes no sense to take the plastic bag home and then bring it back to the store plastic recycling bag . I have written an article before for the newspaper called “PLastic Mania”. This article stated how clerks freely use plastic bags for everything, including plastic milk bottles. Why does one needs a plastic bag to carry a plastic bottle with a handle?
Thanks for your insights and all the info about where to purchase bags. I would like to spread the word on bringing cloth bags and may lobby my local Publix to sell them and to promote them. Wouldn’t it save the grocery stores money?
The stores Dont make you buy bags! What they charge you is EXACTLY what they are charged. You think your not paying for the bags at the stores that “dont charge” you? Of course you are.. its mathmatical… they put that cost into the food products you are buying. So in reality, stores like Save a lot are not making poor people pay for anything but the item purchased. Plus they advertise to bring your own bag OR use the empty boxes throughout the store. Next time go to a typical store and buy a can of corn … then go to the save a lot.. im sure you will see a HUGE price differance.. btw.. make sure to compare the ingredients.. they are the SAME. HMMMM so are you sure your not “paying for bags” ???????????????
I have to use cloth bags. I have a high sensitivity skin reaction to plastic bags. (Great allergy: everyone should have it! Half kidding) Buying cloth bags at grocery stores is a great idea, but so is making your own. I have sewn about 50-75 cloth bags. Everything from a couple of patchwork bags to the fold over and sew the sides and add a handle type of critter. I also have 4 or 5 nylon bags from Safeway Canada Stores. They’re great. The baggers hate them, but they’re getting paid enough to do their job: if not, get a different job. I find that if I unfold them out of the small tote bag that I carry them in, the baggers don’t mind them as much, but they still don’t like them. (Women baggers have an easier time with the cloth bags: guys hate the cloth option.) I haven’t gotten many derogatory comments, but quite a few “I ought to do that” type of conversations. It was about 10 months before I ran out of plastic bags for the bathroom garbage. I was astounded. At any rate, count me in for the chocolate. 🙂
I get a lot of attitude from some checkers at the grocery stores when I bring in my canvas bags. I have calculated that the average shopper will save $900 over a lifetime if he/she brings there own bag. Whenever someone is having a problem with my canvas bags I tell them this fact. They shut up at that point.
I found that Hobby Lobby sells some canvas bags for 2.99 a bag!
I have made it easier for the checker in a few ways. I put all of my produce in one bag (so I don’t have to use the produce plastic bags)and have an extra so that all the produce can simply be put into the extra bag as it is being scanned. This seems to keep people from getting pissed.
I hate going into a store where they put 3 items in a bag. I usually try to bag my own groceries to avoid this. Canvas Bags are way easier. I can load the bag up till it is overflowing and I don’t have to worry about it breaking! Plus I only have to make one trip in from the car. 🙂
If you knew any thing about marketing you would know they all ready charge you for the bags. The fee is in the items you buy. People need to get a damn cloth bag and quit bitching about it. I’m sure people some how survived before the days of paper and plastic.
Looking at the people around me who are so ignorant of the environmental issues nowadays make me cry (literally crying). Although what I’m going to say does not concern much about cloth bags, but I figure it’s something nice to share to all of you who cares about our planet.
My office offers bottled Poland Spring water for people, so you can imagine how many empty plastic water bottles are being thrown out each day. A while ago, I placed a box in front of my office to collect these bottles. I take them home every Friday because I go to the recyling center near my apartment every weekend. I don’t mind doing it at all. There’re several people in the office who are being inspired by my action and they started collecting bottles from people around. I take all these bottles with me every weekend, filling up the whole trunk of my Honda Accord, and I see it growing! Just imagine that I can keep 52 truck loads of plastic bottles away from the planet each year is already making me smile.
My office also offers free lunch for all the employees, and of course everybody uses paper plates and plastic forks. I brought my own plate and fork and use them every single day. One day I was sitting with two other co-workers. They seemed to be impressed by my action and started babbling about:”yea, it just doesn’t feel right to eat your meal in paper plates…””I agree, I don’t think I can ever eat dinner using paper plates, it just doesn’t feel real…”
OK, I didn’t make a comment. The conversation kept going on and one of them said:”paper plates are just for convenience you know, they aren’t meant to be used for proper meals. During weekends I make dogs for my children and put them on paper plates, they take the plates and go wherever. When they’re done they just throw out the plates and don’t have to come back to the kitchen anymore. No pain no mess”
I was fumed when I heard that, but I knew if I made any comment regarding global warming then, it would be a total embarrasement for that guy. Shamefully I’m not brave enough to protect the planet which would piss other people off.On the good side, I’ve seen several people started bringing their own plates!
Back to shopping bags… I have 2 Trader Joes nylon bags and I use them every time I go there. I am still thinking if I should use those bags in other groc stores because, afterall, they have the store name printed on them. I do plan to get some plain canvas bags this weekend and see if I can start another swirl around me 😉
A late addition to my earlier comment. Something that I noticed, when you buy bulk vegetables, everyone automatically reaches for … ta-da … a plastic bag. To combat this (My skin seems especially sensitive to the thin plastic of the vegetable bags) I have made some mesh drawstring bags. I’ve made 3 so far. I have to make more. I shouldn’t store the fruit and veg in the fridge in the mesh bags, I guess.
I suppose that “every little bit helps”. In a way, it drives me bonkers that people don’t seem to even see the mess that plastic bags make. I’ve been trying to cut out using plastic bags almost everywhere, except garbage. Plastic Bags are actually much better for storing and transporting garbage to the dump. So far, that’s the only place I’ve found that it is actually useful.
Keep up doing whatever you can, wherever you can: it’s bound to catch on sooner or later.
I like the idea of mesh bags for bulk veggies. I started taking the plastic-mesh bags that the 3# onions come in and instead of ripping it open, I cut across the top of it with scissors. Then I take some ribbon and thread it through the mesh near the top to make a drawstring.
now when I go to the supermarket I just pop the bulk veggies into the bag and pull the string. This is cool because 1) the plastic mesh doesn’t just get thrown away, and 2) I don’t have to use the oversize plastic produce bag for just a little item, and 3) If I need to wash my veggies I can toss them in the sink and then hang them from the drawsting to drip dry, still in the bag! 🙂
Baggers always try to rush me when I insist on using my cloth bags, and it makes me angry. Like I’m inconveniencing them, even though I’m bagging my OWN groceries. They are too oblivious not to put only 3 things in the bag. HELLO! My mother taught me how to bag when I was a child, and you don’t waste bag space, and you don’t put a frozen item with canned cause it will be forgotten. I try to keep all my catagories together and bag them in thieir designated bags. It keeps the sour cream from being put in the cabinet with the beans (yes, that really happenned!;) )
I think charging for plastic bags is a great idea. Not only will those who actually use the bags be the ones paying for them, but it will also cause more people to consider making the switch to their own bags. It will be a long time before anything like that reaches here in rural Oklahoma though. I bring my own canvas bags and I am considered a freak at the local grocery store. Some of the baggers are nice about it and comment about how much stronger they are. One even said,”How come we don’t have cool bags like this?” to the cashier. Others have been quite rude, even to the point where I dread going to the grocery store. I always try to be very polite and I don’t have any other special bagging requests, except to have meats bagged separately. I would be happy to do my bagging myself but the bagging is done behind the counter and I’m not sure how they’d react to me coming back there. I also don’t want to come across as a jerk who thinks only I can bag my groceries right. I’ll be so happy when this area becomes more environmentally aware. In the meantime, I’m going to be trying to grow more of my own food— which is better for the environment anyway. 🙂
I just started using canvas bags at the grocery store yesterday. It was exciting and my kids think its really cool. I wanted to thank everyone for the mesh bag idea for the produce! I would never have come up with that on my own. Thanks!
I totally agree with charging for the use of the plastic bags. You can save the bags and reuse them until they fall apart and then you wont pay as often. Or buy the canvas- and they are nice. No refund for return because the plastic bags cant be recycled like cans and bottles so the idea is to discourage the use altogether. In the meantime, if we looked a little further than the inconvenience of today we would notice all this planet abuse will be very inconvenient in the long run.
For those with kids, I have 8, 7 are boys, and I shop constantly. All the more reason to be eco friendly dont you think.
I love reading comments where people take the time to recycle, it reminds me the human race is not completely lost.
I started using cloth/canvas bags while I was living in New York. I love them. As for the number needed–what would take 6-7 plastic bags I can get in two of my canvas bags. It’s not that they’re huge, just that they don’t break. When I do get plastic bags, I use them as trash can liners. This way the garbage goes out every day, never smells. Don’t have to buy garbage bags, and they are being used “again”. If they would take them at the recycler, they’d go there. We recycle aluminum can, as much plastic as possible, cardbord, glass and newpaper. They don’t collect it here in bozeman, mt. But, they do have collection sites all over town. I would like to see maufacturer’s go from plastic packaging to cardboard boxes with wax paper type or biodegradable bags inside. Less stuff in the waste stream then.
Couldn’t agree more. You can buy them even cheaper online. I tried some of the links above but not much luck. Found big canvas totes in black and canvas here: http://www.clothing4all.com/detail.aspx?ID=1037
I’m shopping for bags because last night the car my fiance and I share was broken into. What’d they take? ALL our canvas, hard to replace bags, from a Canadian liquor store. Damn!
What about paper bags? There was no mention in the article or comments. Are they going to charge for them too? Or are the tree’s going to pay the price when eveyone opts for the free paper bags?
Here’s a tip: If you can easily poke a finger thru a plastic bag, it is biodegradeable. The stores can add a nickle to my groceries and use biodegradeable bags.
I invented a tool for comfortably and conveniently carrying multiple plastic bags. People who only shop once a week love their load carrying convenience. They can be seen at http://www.baggybuddy.com
I read the SF article on cnn.com this morning… I was inspired. Your site came up on a google search for “canvas grocery bags.”
In any rate, I just bought a set of 4 hemp bags (pretty sage ones, too!) from http://www.reusablebags.com/.
w00t!
I didn’t read all of the comments- some of them had/ have me a little bit defensive, but I understand where people are coming from. I stumbled upon this site while looking for canvas bags to grocery shop as I only have two currently and the two that I have aren’t cutting it. I reuse the plastic that I get for bathroom trashcan liners and to scoop the kitty box- but there are still too many and I am bound to get angry when I see a plastic bag floating in the air along the interstate, or on a long country road. The reason I am defensive is that I work at a grocery store, and not a small independent one, but the one that steals the souls out of towns and ends with Mart. I see and am forced to be nice to all kinds of people, people who want me to double bag 12 packs of soda- an item that already has a handle! I have never had a problem bagging orders in canvas, but if a cashier does, remember that we get judged on how fast we ring an order out, and our pay raises are somewhat based upon such things. Also, some of us are anal and have a hard time putting chemicals in with food or wet/cold items in with dry items… All I am trying to say is that not all cashiers are stupid or irritated, don’t go in expecting that and you might be surprised.
I’m sorry if anyone’s blaming the cashiers for this situation — it’s a business decision, pure and simple. And people won’t start to switch to canvas or reusable bags until they’re actively penalized for not doing so. That is, getting 5c. back per reusable bag isn’t incentive; charging them 15c. per plastic bag definitely would be.
What’s funny is, I now have too MANY canvas bags. I picked up so many at a trade show last week. I have to start weeding them out!
Much ado about nothing.
On my website BAGGY BUDDY EASY CARRY BAG HANDLES I have a few links to other sites that argue the pro’s and con’s of paper versus plastic. There is not enough room on my homepage to address cloth sacks.
Plastic bags vs. paper bags vs. cloth sacks. Do you think you are going to help the environment by using cloth sacks? That seems to be the consensus of opinions here. Guess again. What cloth? Cotton or hemp need’s plenty of fresh water to grow. We’re also running out of fresh water. Cotton also needs plenty of fertilizer. Heavy in nitrogen, fertilizer run off is polluting our rivers and lakes, and destroying the largest organism here on planet earth; coral reefs. Don’t forget the use of pesticide, so the boll weevils don’t use the cotton fields as their grocery store. Then there is all the energy used to plant, water, protect, harvest, and refine the cotton bolls into cotton. Then you can start adding up all the btu’s of energy used to transport the rolls of cloth to the bag manufacturer so they can use even more energy turning it into bags and transporting it to the website or store you bought it from.
Then there is the obvious. People who use cloth sacks tend to buy fewer groceries per trip. This causes them to make more trips to the store, using much more energy driving back and forth to the store. Lets say your local supermarket is just 5 miles from home. The average plastic or paper bag using American makes two trips to the supermarket a week. That adds up to 10 miles round trip X 2 times a week X 52 weeks. That’s 1,040 miles. With $3.00 a gallon gas, in a 15 miles per gallon car, your using over 69 gallons of gas, costing $208. a year. If you use cloth bags you will make atleast 33% more trips. If you double up on your groceries using my BAGGY BUDDY EASY CARRY BAG HANDLES you will use 50% less. Now that’s green.
Um, I don’t know how you’re figuring your math (other than self-promotingly), but I always get about 150% in my cloth bags — that is, they hold 150% of the plastic bag (which I always get, to be trash bin liners) and about 100% of the paper.
I live in northern Virginia. A number of grocery stores have stopped using bags(giving them away). They just put the boxes the food came in out so that people can use them. They also sell the canvas bags. So in effect you either bring your own bags(paper, plastic, or canvas) or you use there boxes. No bans, taxes, or subsidies needed. It might be a good idea considering the companies don’t pay for bags, the environment is better off, and the consumer becomes responsible for their items in transit from register to home. One concern I have is for forgetful and weak elderly who may forget to bring bags and cannot lift heavy bags, boxes, or the like.
It’s nice to see so much interest and dialog on the subject but it is true that Europeans in general are far more adapted and realistic about such matters. They don’t expect a free bag at the store and typically bring their own bags.
For comparison to other options mentioned above … Reusable Canvas Bags by NotAMall
I LOVE the idea of reusing the mesh onion bags to put your veggies instead of using all the plastic produce bags! Great!
This website has knit bags for $4.00 a piece that fit on the sack rack at the grocery store: http://www.sexyoldbag.com . I’ve had baggers initially almost refuse to bag my groceries when I mention that I have brought my own bags, because they’re used to the cloth bags being difficult to fill. But once I show them that the bags hang right on the rack, and won’t be any more difficult to fill than a plastic bag, they usually seem relieved, and sometimes make comments about how much they dislike the canvas bags.
Cloth grocery bags are the wave of the future, even at the store whose name ends with “Mart,” I’ve been told they will eventually not have plastic bags any more. When you do a little research, you realize what a problem these plastic bags really are. It’s scary!
I work at a supermarket. If anyone asks me to double bag something (or even triple bag) I explain that a) the bags are strong enough, b) it isn’t store policy, and c) it’s a waste of my time. If they still insist (usually rudely) I make sure the item(s) in the bag puncture through in a corner or the bottom so there’s a chance it will rip on the way home and break.
Don’t go into a place of business and tell the staff how to do their jobs.
I think using cloth bags is a great idea…you slowly collect them over time and then have plenty to take with you when you shop. Using the plastic bags is a total waste…do something good…take your own bag to the store!
Did You Know:
* Reusing a bag meant for just one use has a big impact. A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.
* In New York City alone, one less grocery bag per person per year would reduce waste by 5 million lbs. and save $250,000 in disposal costs.
* Plastic bags carry 80% of the nation’s groceries, up from 5% in 1982.
* When 1 ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, 3 cubic meters of landfill space is saved and 13 – 17 trees are spared! In 1997, 955,000 tons of paper bags were used in the United States.
* When 1 ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.
Paper or Plastic?
The energy and other environmental impacts embodied in a plastic grocery bag is somewhat less than in a paper grocery bag. But paper is easier to recycle, being accepted in most recycling programs. The recycling rate for plastic bags is very low.
So, which is better for the environment? Neither! The fact is that the difference between paper and plastic RECYCLING is small compared with the REUSING bags.
@Another Diane
We also shop once a week. We have about 15 reusable bags that we keep in the truck. When we stop at the store, we take the amount out that we think we will need, plop them in a shopping cart, take them into the store, and use them at checkout. No problem. We started with one bag. For a while, every time we would see one we liked, we would buy it. We have bags from all over the country. We had to stop buying bags recently because we never use all 15 at the same time. Our new favorite bag is: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/acme-bags%E2%84%A2-earthtote-original-p-10.html
How idiotic. Don’t you realize that reuseable bags are so unhygenic? All that bacteria from meat, milk and vegetables. And you’re going to wash them, right. How much energy and waste does that produce? It’s cheaper and better for plastic/paper bags. Just wait until the lawsuits start because of the salmonella poisoning from bags.
You do realize that reusable bags have been used for decades, particularly in Europe, right? And there aren’t many tales of salmonella running rampant through the countryside over there? (Even from open air markets, where they don’t always use plastic produce bags to bag stuff, they just put it in your grocery bag?)
Hygienically sealing yourself off from the world doesn’t protect you.
And the free plastic grocery bag subsidy is ecologically and economically unsustainable.
I love using reusable grocery bags! They are more sturdy – and I feel more conservative when I do!