Are we phasing out paper bags?

[Becks]

They have them bag everything inside paper, then put the whole thing in a plastic bag.....

Easier to carry, since a lot of paper bags, unfortunately, do not have handles...and even when they do, they're not the sturdiest things ever.

As for myself, if I'm getting perishables, I'll ask for paper in plastic. It seems that the paper bag helps insulate it better.

[Knightmare]

IhateCrappyTire, I wish we had a clapping smilie.

howzat?

[Mighty Girl]

The AARP is going to have a fit. All the old people around here insist on paper inside plastic.... Not sure why. My grandma does it too. They have them bag everything inside paper, then put the whole thing in a plastic bag.....

[Mark Healey]

We haven't had paper bags at our store in years.

And yet... some regular customers still ask: have you gotten any in yet? when will you be getting some?

I know our plastic bags are way too thin, so I never overfill them, and always double-bag the heavier stuff - I'm a good cashier!

One of the cashiers at the local supermarket I use told me that their suits told the that the customer has to ask for something to be doubled. Most of the older ones ignore this policy (Yay them). The problem is with the new baggers. They listen to corporate. Unfortunately I have the then ask them to double the heavy things when I notice that they aren't, usually halfway through.

Of course if management would let the staff use their judgement or buy decently thick plastic bags there would be no problem.

[Mark Healey]

Ummm...paper bags are made from trees grown at "tree farms"-in other words, they aren't using old growth trees. Trees are a renewable resource.

And plastic does not break down and go back to the earth, unlike paper. So forgive me, you remarks baffle me.

What would the people who worry about global warming think if told that there was a way to pull CO2 out of the air and make it useful for a while and then put in the ground?

Such technology exists. Its the virgin paper industry. They plant trees, Those trees pull CO2 out of the air release oxygen and make cellulose. The paper companies make usefull things out of the trees. When people are done with these things they go into landfills, which are turned into parks when they are full.

Yay virgin paper!

[Ree]

Trees are a renewable resource.

And plastic does not break down and go back to the earth, unlike paper.

In defense of CanadaGirl, while it may be true that the trees used in producing bags come from tree farms, and trees are a renewable resource, it does take 4 times more energy to produce the paper bags.
Just as in the production of paper bags, toxic chemicals and gases are released into the atmosphere.

Both types of bags have pros and cons as to whether one is better than the other.
The end result is that they are both have a negative effect on the environment in their own ways.

In a landfill, where there is an absence of water, light and oxygen, neither one will completely degrade, but loose in the environment, at least I know paper will do the least amount of damage to wildlife and break down much faster.

I still prefer paper over plastic, but again, a reusable cloth or durable cloth-like bag is even better. They can be washed as well.

It wouldn't be so bad if people would just recycle the darn things, but, again, it takes more energy to recycle paper bags than it does for plastic bags.

I never put anything in a plastic bag at the store without asking first if they want a bag.
A lot of times, if it's something easily carried, and given a choice, the customer will opt not have a bag.
I just tell them, for security, to keep the receipt handy when they are going out.

In my own shopping, I try to take a bag with me, but if I forget, I will just keep adding things to the first bag I get.

[CherryB]

I hate paper bags. They get all spotty if you have something greasy in them, they rip easily, and are just bad for the environment. (those poor trees). Plastic bags are stronger, have handles, and are reusable many many times. You can even wash them!

Ummm...paper bags are made from trees grown at "tree farms"-in other words, they aren't using old growth trees. Trees are a renewable resource.

And plastic does not break down and go back to the earth, unlike paper. So forgive me, you remarks baffle me.

[Becks]

Some grocery stores here have "5 cents off your total for each bag reused", but I think that charging customers for clean bags would get the message across faster.

At our store, I think it's something like a 2 cent credit for each bag reused for another shopping order.

I use the plastic bags I get in the little garbage cans around the house.

At a bargin-basement type food store around there, if you want bags, you have to pay for them. They usually have boxes for free...unless it's busy, then no boxes for you!!!!!

[Dreamstalker]

I noticed that recently (until 2 years ago I had no idea why our friends in Co. Clare took such good care of the cardboard boxes in the mudroom).

Some grocery stores here have "5 cents off your total for each bag reused", but I think that charging customers for clean bags would get the message across faster.

[Rapscallion]

Ireland brought in a bag tax - about nine pence or nearly twenty cents per bag. Usage dropped by about ninety percent overnight, and people started to re-use them.

Funny how legislation about money gets peoples' attention.

Rapscallion

[Ree]

I don't know about the biodegradability of either; if I remember rightly, nothing breaks down much in a landfill anyway, and the plastic bags take up less space...

I believe that they have shown paper does break down faster, but there is still no solid timeframe on how long it actually takes for plastic bags to break down. Not only that, but as the plastic breaks down, it releases potentially toxic particles into the environment.

Many of the newer pastic bags are made from a formulation that lets them break down more quickly, but I find that makes them a little weaker and they tear more easily. (Some are worse than others, of course.)

Paper bags also cost a lot more to produce compared with plastic.

It's not just biodegradability that is an issue with the plastic bags, though.
Loose bags flying around in the environment can cause other damage.
Animals have died from eating the bags, and they can't digest them properly, or they will choke on them or get strangled by them.

Drains and ditches get clogged with random bags floating around on the breeze, causing stagnation.

If people reused the bags, there wouldn't be such a problem, but because people don't want to bother, the estimate is that consumers use 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags per year worldwide.

I like Kiwi's solution.
In our town, becaue landfill space has become a major issue, a local environmental group has produced a cloth-type reusable bag.
A number of local business donated moeny to help with the cost of producing them, and their logos are stamped on the front.
The bags are for sale in various places around town.
They cost a little over a buck, and they are really strong and roomy.

I bought one, and when I went to Australia recently, I used mine as my carry-on. I put my purse inside, as well as a few little things I thought I would use.

On the way back, because I had bought so much, I ended up packing a lot of the more fragile treasures in it, and put my purse over my shoulder.
The bag weighed close to 15 lbs.
It was really sturdy and durable and held everything quite nicely.

I kept thinking that, with my luck, the grommets would end up breaking and the handle would snap, but it held up all the way home.
Try doing that with a plastic or paper bag.

[HYHYBT]

IhateCrappyTire, I wish we had a clapping smilie.

Probably not worth making an official smilie, but you can always save the address and use it as an IMG.

I don't know about the biodegradability of either; if I remember rightly, nothing breaks down much in a landfill anyway, and the plastic bags take up less space... either way, I prefer them because, sure it may take six instead of four paper bags, but then I loop the handles of all six plastic bags on one hand at once and still have the other free to open the door, while four paper bags is at least two trips to the car.

[Zinjadu]

We haven't had paper bags at our store in years.

And yet... some regular customers still ask: have you gotten any in yet? when will you be getting some?

I know our plastic bags are way too thin, so I never overfill them, and always double-bag the heavier stuff - I'm a good cashier!

[Tanizaki]

I hate paper bags. They get all spotty if you have something greasy in them, they rip easily, and are just bad for the environment. (those poor trees). Plastic bags are stronger, have handles, and are reusable many many times. You can even wash them!

Well, paper comes from trees that are specifically grown for becoming paper, so there is no environmental danger, any more than making bread is bad for the environment by depleting wheat.

I prefer plastic because of the handles.

[Worker-Intellectual]

IhateCrappyTire, I wish we had a clapping smilie.

Thanks... although it's not so much that I rock (which I do), but that I've worked in retail too long