I use reusable bags because they give me a sense of smug superiority

[Bells]

Have you ever being THAT guy?

Sometimes i like to be that guy, just for lolz. Like, ill pay an extra 2 bucks to have those Ecologic bags for carrying my stuff, and stay in line among the people with their common plastic bags, or, LE-GASP, no bags at all!

Also, funny thing, just today i bough a new keyboard and a coffeemaker. So i just grab one of those bags to carry my stuff, just as im about to pay for the good, in the small time it took for me to turn around to pick my creditcard the cashier placed all my items AND the bag into 2, large, thick, yellow plastic bags.

Out of sheer reflex i simply looked at her and said "seriously?". It wasn't planned, it wasn't even on purpose, and i'm not even sure if she was more embarrassed than i was...

So, Eco Bags... you guys use it? Do you think they make a difference? Do you feel speeeeeeeecial ? And so on and on and and etc

[Osterbaum]

Here´s an idea: Why not buy yourself a bag made of something other than thin plastic and just use the same bag every time you go shopping. Thats what I do.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I stand outside the supermarket and throw all my groceries home.

[Fifthfiend]

Here´s an idea: Why not buy yourself a bag made of something other than thin plastic and just use the same bag every time you go shopping. Thats what I do.

Because that would make you all smug and superior and shit.

What are you, some kind of hippie?

[Fifthfiend]

Because that would make you all smug and superior and shit.

What are you, some kind of hippie?

Oh wait that's right you're European.

That's like, fifteen million megahippies.

[pochercoaster]

I've been reusing the same store bought totes for a couple years. I've had to carry my groceries home most of the time and they're stronger and more durable than plastic bags. They also hold groceries better because they have a bottom whereas plastic grocery bags are kind of shapeless. I kept them rolled up in a small bundle with an elastic that I stored in my purse.

Resusable bags are very popular in Ontario since they charge for plastic bags now. People haven't made a total transition yet but if they did- perhaps just by outlawing plastic grocery bags altogether- and consistently used reusable bags for a few years it would make a difference. If they're not used consistently, though, which seems to the case then yeah it's not as environmental as it's made out to be.

The abundance of plastic grocery bags is one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Nevada. I never see anyone with re-usable totes. Sometimes it feels like Wal Mart is overstocked on grocery bags and they're trying to get rid of them as quickly as possible by only putting one or two items in each bag. WTF?

Anyways this just reminded me I need to pick up some totes (I left all of mine in Ontario).

ITT make fun of people for using a bag that is superior to the plastic grocery bag in every way.

Edit: because it makes you a hippie instead of practical.

Edit2: I wonder how outlawing plastic grocery bags would go. Since they usually charge about $1 for the reusable totes, people would probably make an effort to bring them to the store every time. It wouldn't be convenient if you suddenly found yourself at the grocery store but how often do you just accidentally find yourself there?

[phil_]

I stand outside the supermarket and throw all my groceries home.Not all of us can afford to live in the alley behind the grocery store, SMB.

[Betty Elms]

I use a tote bag, but I make them give me a plastic bag anyway which I take to the sea and use to strangle a turtle.

[Marc v4.0]

Resusable bags are very popular in Ontario since they charge for plastic bags now.

What.

[pochercoaster]

What.

They recently enacted a law where you pay 5 cents per grocery bag. You can be given a hefty fine if you don't charge this fee.

It's not a large enough fee to discourage widspread use of plastic bags (it's still what the majority use, which is why I think they should be banned altogether) but a good percentage of shoppers use the totes now. From what I understand, charging for plastic bags is pretty standard in many countries...

[Marc v4.0]

Godless, hippy-loving countries by the sounds of it

[Ryong]

Some supermarkets here charge you for the plastic bags, too.

Depending on the supermarket, I bring some bags from home 'cause damn we have a lot of bags.

[Amake]

I mostly use my backpack for groceries. The occasional bag I get for the outrageous price of 2 SEK (think 25 cents) comes highly useful for holding garbage. Cause if I got some flimsy transparent bags by the roll that some people use for their garbage I couldn't pack nearly as much garbage in them, and I'd use way more bags, so for the sake of the environment I'm glad that they still make those big, sturdy grocery bags that are supposed to be really bad for the environment. Also I'd have to take out the garbage more often.

[TDK]

I buy reusable bags, use them to tote home my groceries, and then burn them.

[Krylo]

I have cats and tiny garbage cans around the house. Plastic store bags work great as garbage bags for the kitty litter and the tiny garbage cans around the house.

They're also good for various other things, but those are the most common things I use them for.

Thus I use those for my groceries and then use them again for other things at home.

Edit: Around the holiday season we get paper because they are good to put bread chunks in to dry them out without molding for use in making home made stuffing, too.

[Ryanderman]

I too reuse grocery store plastic bags multiple times, as lunch bags, garbage packs, packing cusioning, general storage bags, etc. And when we accumulate too many plastic bags, we take them back to the store, which has a recycling bin for them.

Don't know as I'm actually being environmentally friendly at all, but I at least get the nice smug feeling that comes with it, which I enjoy.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

We reuse our plasticbags for varies things from temp trash bags to Lunch bags.

Makes me feel happy that we aren't the only ones doing this.

[rpgdemon]

Yeah, I hold onto all the bags that I get and reuse them.

[DarkDrgon]

at my store we give you 2 cents off per bag if you bring them back, or 5 for every canvas one. You'd be surprised how many people are desperate to save that nickle.

[Magus]

I kind of lost my taste for eco-friendly things when I realized that the organic cotton shirt I bought at Wal-Mart was made of cotton picked by Pakistani child slaves.

[Seil]

Reusable (http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/6/25/going-green-gone-bad-reusable-bag%E2%80%99s-dirty-secret--2) bags (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/nyregion/15bags.html) are (http://www.greensahm.com/are-you-wasting-reusable-bags/) terrible. (http://www.happyandgreenblog.com/?p=242)

[Archbio]

From Seil's NYtimes article,

There is no evidence that these bags pose an immediate threat to the public, and none of the bags sold by New York City’s best-known grocery stores have been implicated. But reports from around the country have trickled in recently about reusable bags, mostly made in China, that contained potentially unsafe levels of lead.

What I'm getting from this rather than "reusable bags are terrible" is:

A) Importing goods from China is terrible.
B) Making any kind of a bag with lead in it is terrible.

[pochercoaster]

Reusable (http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/6/25/going-green-gone-bad-reusable-bag%E2%80%99s-dirty-secret--2) bags (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/nyregion/15bags.html) are (http://www.greensahm.com/are-you-wasting-reusable-bags/) terrible. (http://www.happyandgreenblog.com/?p=242)

Article #1: This is solved by actually washing your bags and wrapping meats in the little clear plastic bags that you put produce in. Yes, you're still using plastic, but not as much.

Article #2: Er... what Archbio said.

Article #3: This is solved by actually re-using your bags, which isn't that hard to do if you just throw them in the trunk of your car (if you have a car). Or by banning plastic bags.

Article #4: Supposedly the totes sold at grocery stores don't last that long. Well, mine have, but even so you can simply buy totes from elsewhere that are more durable.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a good idea in principle but the execution needs some work. However, just because it wasn't executed perfectly the first time doesn't mean we should simply fall back on our old habit of using plastic for everything and write it off.

There is, of course, the environmental damage done by producing bags and then having to wash them and then their eventual trip into the landfill, but I'm guessing the damage would be less than plastic bags.

But really, the problem lies in that we uncreatively dump all our garbage into the pacific ocean or bury it. Plastic bags or not, we need to figure out a better solution. Part of that is minimizing the amount of waste we create, though.

[TDK]

I agree with Magus. I expect my slave-cotton to be picked by at LEAST chinese child-slaves. None of this middle east bullshit.

[Magus]

I agree with Magus. I expect my slave-cotton to be picked by at LEAST chinese child-slaves. None of this middle east bullshit.

Hey now!

They are usually just wage slaves in China.

[synkr0nized]

Here´s an idea: Why not buy yourself a bag made of something other than thin plastic and just use the same bag every time you go shopping. Thats what I do.

So

This is exactly what the OP is about. Why are you suggesting it as if it's a new idea?

[Seil]

I cannae find the definitive article that I read a year or two ago that may have been in my local paper but if it has it's either not on or they've taken it off their website. Also, I still use re-usable bags because they're easier to carry a box of beer ome in than the easily ripped plastic ones.

[Aerozord]

I am also one that just re-uses the bags for garbage bags, ect. That being said it does bother me when they plastic bag my gallon of milk. It has a handle built into its design. Why the heck do I need a bag to carry it?

[Ecks]

I am also one that just re-uses the bags for garbage bags, ect. That being said it does bother me when they plastic bag my gallon of milk. It has a handle built into its design. Why the heck do I need a bag to carry it?

Excellent point. I have no idea, and it bothers me too.

I save plastics and use 'em for garbage bags for smaller trash cans... and for emptying cat litter, things like that. Avoid throwing them away without using them if I can.

[IHateMakingNames]

I always put my milk in a plastic bag. It's easier to carry with the rest of the groceries when it is also in a bag.