Do you use paper, plastic, or cloth grocery bags?

[vespergirl]

Do any of you guys have plastic bag recycling offered at your grocery store? I mentioned earlier that we get plastic, but reuse them as garbage bags and also for dog poo. However, the ones that we don''t reuse we are able to recycle at our grocery store - they have a bin in front of the store where you can drop off your plastic bags for recycling.

 

[bee*]

Like Steel I live in Ireland so we have the plastic bag levy. It''s made a huge difference over here. I always use my cloth bags as I don''t want to have to pay the levy.

 

[zoebartlett]

I love using cloth bags but I usually forget to bring them with me. I have a few that I keep in my car but I can''t even remember to bring them into the store. I usually remember while my groceries are being put into plastic bags.

 

[swimmer]

We have plastic bag recycling at both big chain stores here in New England. I actually feel guilty (and feel like I get looks) once a week asking for a paper bag, but it is for our household paper recycling! We have a bunch of canvas bags and wash then when we wash our jeans just to keep things clean.

 

[teapot]

I use all of the above. I usually bring bags with me to go shopping. I will hand carry the items if I forget my bags and can juggle everything. I reuse the paper and plastic bags when i need to use them. It drives me nuts to see a lot of paper bags in the recycle bins. My belief is that it is not very green to reuse the bags since a ton of energy goes into recycling.

If you have a dog, try to line a garbage can with a bag and use a pooper scooper to clean up the mess, that way you minimize the amount of bags you use. Or if you need to pick up after your dog on walks, get the biodegradable bags. tenfour, thanks for the tip of going to the 99c store. I usually by my bio bags from target and get $3/100, but mine aren''t scented.

Our garbage is never full, but our recycling bin is always stuffed. I hate how so many items comes wrapped in a ton of packaging. I wish I could refill my shampoo bottles as they do in asia instead of having to buy an new bottles.

EEK, I think I need to get off my soap box. Sorry!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The cloth bags haven''t really caught on here yet. I don''t think I have ever seen anyone use them, although I do see them for sale in the stores. We use the plastic bags for trash can liners, and we recycle the rest (there is a bin for them at the grocery store). I do plan on buying some of the cloth bags for the two main stores I go to, though. Remembering to take them in will be the challenge.

 

[pennquaker09]

I used cloth bags.

 

[purrfectpear]

I always use plastic. But...they all get reused again when I take down my trash to the big dumpster, and I also use them to pick up my doggie doo.

I don''t see any advantage to not using plastic for groceries, then turning around and buying more plastic to carry my gargage and the dog mess?

 

[WishfulThinking]

Date: 1/24/2009 6:33:59 PM
Author: purrfectpear
I always use plastic. But...they all get reused again when I take down my trash to the big dumpster, and I also use them to pick up my doggie doo.


I don''t see any advantage to not using plastic for groceries, then turning around and buying more plastic to carry my gargage and the dog mess?

If you''re interested there are more enviro-friendly plastic bags for both poo and trash. I think people here mentioned them earlier in the thread. I''m not sure about the cost in your area [around here they''re not noticeably more expensive but everything is cheap here] but just thought I''d tell you in case you didn''t know.

 

[mayachel]

I don''t mind the occasional plastic bag, as I will reuse it for the small garbage cans, but if I''m not careful, I will have way more in my "stash" than is likely for me to use in a reasonable length of time.

I like to be green where I can. For grocery shopping, i use canvas bags. They are a heavy weight, durable, and the baggers in Brooklyn know how to pack them as though they were playing Jenga. I find it personally satisfying to unpack the groceries, and not feel like I have a pile of plastic garbage around me.

Also, since 9.5 times out of 10 I am walking with my groceries, the canvas is much stronger and easier in my palms then plastic.

I am trying to get better about remembering the canvas bag for incidental shopping like running out to the drug store.

 

[musey]

I have six canvas bags with various designs on them that I use for grocery shopping. They're great multi-purpose bags too, I use them for most random toting task.

My favorite one has a mama and baby elephant on the front and says "Don't forget: RE-USE!"

too cute!


We used to use plastic grocery bags as trash liners, but now we use biodegradable trash bags. We also use biodegradable bags for the pup's doodie.

 

[Haven]

We only use reusable bags. I love my Chico Bags because they have little stuff bags built in so I can carry two in my purse all the time. They also hold a lot of stuff, up to 25 lbs, I believe.

We buy biodegradable bags to clean up after the pup, so we have no need for the plastic bags at the grocery.

Our local grocery store offers plastic bag recycling, and they also give you a tiny slip of paper (ironic, I know) to donate $0.05 to the local high school''s green initiative every time you shop with a reusable bag.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

I use cloth bags so long as I can remember which I admit is not all the time, but I

my cloth bags! Some stores even give you a discount for using them.

 

[Bia]

Since most of our groceries are purchased at TJ''s we''ll use paper, but I have to admit that at other stores I''ll typically use whatever they give me.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

We use plastic, that is how they always bag the groceries...and I have to admit that the plastic bags are so much easier to carry than the paper bags. We do reuse the bags when recycling in our home, and I do take what we don''t use back to the store for them to recycle.