Going Green....Staying Stupid

[friendofjimmyk]

I do the same thing, but I've done it for a long time. Cannot stand those cheap sleezy plastic bags and they're a bitch to find a place to take them here in rural America.

Sleezy? I'm sorry, but that is just a really funny thing to call a plastic bag!!!

I have/had/go through a plethora of plastic bags - BUT - I know a place to recycle them and recycle them I do. I keep some on hand for my small trash can in the bathroom and the rest I reuse or recycle.

[calulu]

Start shopping at Aldi's and you'll quickly get into the habit of bringing in all your cloth bags. I keep my neatly folded inside a larger bag in the trunk at all times. Aldis makes you buy individual plastic bags at their store if you do not have your own. Since the bulk of what I buy (and I buy bulk, I got teens) comes from either Aldis or Sams Club I end up using mine a lot. btw most places are offering clothlike bags really cheaply. Got some grommeted large ones with thick handles for 60 cents each from both Target and Blooms. I'm never going back to the plastic ones now.

[ebonyknight]

I have a few of those bags. I never remember to bring them to the store, and now I can't even remember where I put them.

Stick them in your car trunk.

[mattm04]

I usually don't bag. Out "store brand" bags fit nicely in the bag holders making it easier to bag groceries. The customer that bother me are the ones who never was the stupid things. I once refused to touch a customers reusable bags because they were encrusted with rotting pieces of produce and smelled like fish. despite their repeated demands that i us the reusable bag and my explanation why i will not touch them, i bagged their groceries in our big paper bags. I used a plastic bag to pick up their reusable bags and turn it inside out safely encasing the bags.

[calulu]

EEEEEEEUuuugggggggh!!!! Encrusted bags!! That's just wrong on all levels.

[Evil Queen]

Stick them in your car trunk.

I'd forget them in the trunk!

I'm actually going to Sam's Club today with a friend whom has a membership; does Sam's sell the cloth bags there, too? (get it all in one fail swoop!)

[AnaKhouri]

We use both plastic and paper bags at my store, but mostly paper. Several times a week I have this conversation:

Customer: Oh, I don't need a bag! Save a tree!

Um, you just bought a book...

[Geek King]

I kind of find the whole thing kinda silly.

We went to plastic to save the trees.
Then back to paper because the plastic didn't biodegrade and didn't recycle as well.
Then plastic bags were made highly biodegradable and recycleable, but now we're supposed to go cloth.
Greater cloth consumption leads to more deforestation to make room for the plants the cloth comes from.

Reminds me of the problems the Aussies had with introduction of non-native animals. Law of unintended consequences, and all.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Know what works great? Big flat-bottomed plastic mesh baskets. They don't roam around your car, they stay upright, they hold a bunch of stuff, and best of all, they can be taken out back and hosed off with clean water occasionally. I keep them in my car.

I actually had become known as "the basket lady" at a couple places.

(just make sure if there are bar codes on them, that you peel them off. I had my shopping in one as I was checking out and stupidly left it on the belt while I went reached for my wallet. Cashier scanned the ancient Dollar Tree sticker on the bottom before I noticed what she was doing...and jammed up her register when her scanner went
Oops.

[Listerfiend]

The other day a girl brought something and she had a big canvas bag (I think it was from Target or Wal-Mart) that had "Me + Trees = Love" or something to that effect. So I asked her if she wanted a bag. Aaaand she did. And the item was really small, too, so it was even more pointless.

And I love that people so often feel like they have to justify it when they don't want a bag. After telling me they don't want one I'm always given some half-assed variation of "just trying to save the trees, er, uh, wherever plastic comes from." I think they might believe that I get offended when I don't get to give out bags... It's stupid, but why else would they be so embarrassed?

Personally I like my denim bag, and I also have a couple of the huge blue bags from Ikea (only bought them for $0.69; they're also great for laundry).

[protege]

I don't throw out my plastic bags--most of them get reused as garbage bin liners, or filled with other crap at garage sales

I go green in plenty of ways. I have an older car (the MG) that's been restored--saving lots of energy that would get used to make a new one. The daily-driver Corolla gets about 40-45 miles per gallon. I use those swirly fluorescent light bulbs--not cheap, but my energy bills have gone down quite a bit. Before I moved in, my furnace was crap. I had a newer, more efficient one fitted. Any old computer stuff gets scrapped--the plastic goes in with the bottles, and the aluminum goes in with the cans. I switched to water-based (acrylic) paints on my models, since they're better than the older solvent-based stuff. Less stench in the house, and the fumes won't kill me. Plus, it all cleans up with water

As if that wasn't enough, I sometimes check out what's along the curb on trash day. You never know what you'll find--most of the items aren't in that bad of shape. That's how I got the '59 Radio-Flyer. Hard to believe that someone would throw out a perfectly-good wagon, even if it was a little rusty. Only thing I had to do to fix it was to fit a few new wheel bearings--eventually it'll get repainted

[JoitheArtist]

I resuse whatever kinds of bags I get: my paper bags from Trader Joe's are folded and placed near the trashcan--we put our reclyclables in them.

Plastic bags get used to bring lunch to work, to bag up icky trash so it doesn't smell, carry art supplies, etc. I never use a bag only once.

I did buy one of the Trader Joe's bags once, but keep forgetting to put it back in my car. I love their bags, because they're quite attractive. Actually, that's why I love TJ's in general: quality stuff that looks great. And I love the salespeople there. If any of you on this board work at TJ's, you rock.

[BlaqueKatt]

It's not uncommon to see the lone abandoned bag blowing through the parking lot or field.

that would be an "urban tumbleweed"

for those that think they'd forget them try something like this
-I have a similar one in my messenger bag at all times-find a couple and keep them in your car somewhere.

[StormCMage]

meh, I don't use the canvas bags, mainly cause I use my backpack to carry most if not all of my goods, and we do reuse any plastic bags we get in this house, since there have been many times they came in handy

[jerkface11]

Why do people think they're saving a tree by not getting a paper bag? Weyhauser planted their trees specifically to cut them down and make paper. I prefer plastic though they have many more uses.