If only, IF ONLY there was some kind of alternative ...

[Monterey Jack]

Anyone honestly wanting to "get their money's worth" after spending a fucking NICKEL needs to get a life. Sadly I have people turning down our (quite nice & sturdy) reusable plastic bags all the time because they cost ten cents. "No, just double-bag it, please..."

[Food Lady]

I would just pay for bags and not complain. It's 5 cents. If I don't complain about gas prices--care so little that I don't even know nor have I ever known the price--then I certainly don't care about a nickel.

[Kit-Ginevra]

If they do have holes in them...use them as eyeholes for a cheap and cheerful balaclava.

[CyberLurch]

I used to have a dozen or so reusable cardboard boxes. They were literally made to be used, knocked flat, then pop open to be used again. I'd take them to the store with me, they'd fold flat in the cart, then open up in like one second to be filled. They were sturdy and didn't fall over and two of them could hold more than enough groceries for a week. I got them when the place I worked were pitching them in the trash. I never had to worry about plastic bags (the store would still use a couple for stuff like meats or produce). Easy to carry and even stack.

Some grit stole them out of my shopping cart when I wasn't paying attention.

[Rosco the Iroc]

I guess he will have to keep paying the stupid tax for forgetting.

rest goes right to fracking so [end]

[Ghel]

On those occasions where I forget my canvas bags, I re-use the grocery bags for cat litter. Assuming the bags are free of holes after I've used them, of course. The bags from Mart of Wall are so cheap they usually have holes in them before I even get them to the car.

I like my flat-bottom reusable bags. They're much easier to fill, and much easier to organize in the trunk of my car, than plastic bags. They now live in my car so I don't forget them when it's time for groceries.

[TheWolfEmperor]

Our bag ban doesn't go into effect until 2020 but I'm already glad I'm not a cashier any more. I say look at the bright side. If you have your own business, or if there a fundraiser going on, there's never been a better time to invest in canvas bags.

[RealUnimportant]

Customer: "I've got a ton of these things at home! I don't know what to do with them anymore!"

Me: "Well, some of the thrift shops in the city take them and re-use them. I take mine to [Specific Thrift Shop]."

Customer: "Yeah, but I paid for them!"

"Then maybe, just maybe, you could put a few in your pocket before you come here next time to save you having to buy any more?"

Nah, that could never work right?

[Pixelated]

First ... NO FRATCHING, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.



Now, on to it ...

To nobody's surprise, I'm sure, the issue of single-use plastics is BIG these days. I work in a grocery store and the split between people bringing their own carriers and those who don't is, at a rough guess, 50/50.

So here's one guy coming in and needing half a dozen bags. Can't remember whether he doesn't have reuseable carriers (bags, bins, whatever) or left them in his house or his car.

Customer: "I've got a ton of these things at home! I don't know what to do with them anymore!"

Me: "Well, some of the thrift shops in the city take them and re-use them. I take mine to [Specific Thrift Shop]."

Customer: "Yeah, but I paid for them!"

Okay, buddy, first of all: You paid FIVE CENTS APIECE for them. We're not talking the Hope Diamond here. Donate the fucking things!

Secondly: Have you never thought of, oh, the alternatives to paying a whole nickel apiece for plastic bags? There are all manner of reuseble bags out there. Why, by golly, we sell them ourselves! Some of them are even right at the cash registers; you can just grab one as you go by!

Got too many groceries for those (admittedly) small bags? Take a gander at those nice big plastic BINS at the front of the store. Best thing EVER for family-sized grocery orders. And yes, the initial price might look high, but add up what you've spent on these cheap plastic things over the years ... you've probably paid enough to buy three or four of these babies. AND of course they can be used for other things as well (I used them for laundry baskets for years; they're much sturdier than the baskets actually sold AS laundry baskets).

Seriously, keep your complaints to yourself. All you'll get from me by way of acknowledgement of your hardships is a brief nod and "Your total today is ...."