Shopping & Bags

When grocery shopping, do you pack your groceries in:

  • plastic bags (whether you buy them or not)

    Votes: 35 40.7%

  • reusable canvas bags

    Votes: 42 48.8%

  • plastic tote boxes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • other (please explain)

    Votes: 9 10.5%
  • Total voters
    86
for our main big shopping trip, we use canvas bags. It's amazing--we can use 4-5 of those and it fits all of our groceries, sometimes even milk... whereas it would probably take 20 plastic bags!

for little trips we just use plastic bags that we then use in trash cans and for dirty diapers.
 
We use plastic...that's all that Walmart offers. We reuse some of them for pooper scooping purposes on dog walks as well as for cleaning the cat boxes. We drop extras off in the recycle box that they provide at the store.
 
I just started using canvas bags last week for that very reason. They had them at 49 cents each so I got 10. Used them for the second time today!
 
This was a big issue (well, at least the tv news made it out to be...) here in the UK last year I think and now pretty much everywhere either charges 5p per bag or you just have to ask, they don't have them out and available.

I've actually been really surprised at the difference it's made, nearly everyone seems to use them at the supermarkets I go to.

I personally think it's a bit of a red herring as far as environmental issues go. Yes, it's the right thing to do, but there are bigger issues even just in terms of industrial packaging waste. They are a hell of a lot easier to pack and carry though. And I think I've even got the hang of remembering to take the darn things with me!
 
I still use the plastic at the store, although I would definitely think twice if they started charging. I think I would need like 30 canvas bags per trip! Maybe I should consider getting some though...
 
We use plastic. I do use them for a bunch of things around the house. I plan on getting some of the reusable bags soon though. One store by my house charges 10 cents per bag.
 
I voted other. I try to use reuseable bags. Mine aren't canvas, though... I'm not sure what they are. (Chico Bags) But I usually head to the store straight from school, so I never have my bags with me.
 
DawnMarch said:
And for those of you who forget, I carry one of these in my purse, it rolls and folds into a tiny little size and is REALLY light. I love it for those trips where I'm just running to the store for a few things.

http://www.envirosax.com/
Click to expand...

I have a set of these and they're awesome. Plus they have a ton of fun prints! I really should get in a habit of using them more. :D
 
I almost always use the reuseable bags, although there are times I forget to put them back in the van so I have to use the plastic bags but I always put those to use around the house. So far I have 10 Dillon's bags, 2 Walmart, 2 Target, 1 Walgreen's and a small Nature's Bounty bag; I've just been accumulating them whenever they are on sale and several of them I've even gotten for free with coupons. I need to pick up a couple more Target/Walmart bags since 2 is rarely enough lol!

I saw those Envirosax bags on the LifeasMom blog the other day and really want to get a set of those too!
 
I use canvas, synthetic, mesh, crochet thread and plastic. I have a variety of re-useable bags & use whatever happens to be in the car at the time. If I have none or forget to bring them in the store then I get the plastic ones and reuse them to line the garbage cans at home.
 
I primarily use a combination of the Envirosax and the reusable bags from the grocery store (although a few other stores have them). I do get a plastic or paper bag here and there, mostly for poop scoop duty and newspaper recycling.
 
I use plastic bags also, mainly for convenience. I love the reusable bags for other things, but I know I would end up forgetting them when going to the store if those were my main bags. They don't charge for the bags here though, that may change my decision if they ever started to.
 
We use canvas or Chico bags. Even if you use the plastic for other purposes, they still end up in a landfill or ocean unless you reuse them for something and then go recycle em..so we try and do our part by using canvas :)
 
lauren grier said:
I have cloth bags.. my market had a promo going for a while and they were like 99 cents.. so I bought a billion of them lol.. before that I only had one or two, and it was a pita.
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That's what we did. They went on sale for a dollar at our local store and so I bought like 15. I also bought one that's sectioned to hold wine bottles, and I have one from La Leche League. And I bought one from the library.
 
I bought mine for 0.99 each at the store I shop, plus I've picked up a lot of free ones along the way.

We got 1 at Once Upon A Child for free, we just got 2 from H&R block for having our taxes done there, and I got a great deal at a store (buy a certain item & get a hot/cold bag free - they have a silver lining that keeps your food hot/cold - so awesome), and I got 2 more at a buy this product, get a bag free deal. I own about 8, and have only paid for 2 I think! Woohoo!! Saves me a lot of money when I shop (when I remember them).
 
Like Stacey, we prodominantly use reusable bags which always live in the car and only use plastic ones if we forget - which we reuse and/or recycle.

Some stores offer reward loyalty points for bringing your own bags too.

I was impressed to find out US stores pack your bags for you! You have to really ask for help over here, otherwise you just have to try and keep up with the teller zooming the products at you. Mind you, I like packing my own so that I can only blame me for squashed bread and broken eggs.
 
We have canvas bags..paying for bags and carts is the norm here and pretty much the whole of Europe, if I am not mistaken. We have a bunch of coin things that hang on a keychain that I use for the carts, so I don't have to have change on me...
 
I do both, I have the canvas bags and if I can remember to bring them in I use them, if not we get the plastic cause I can't hold up the line to go get my bags.
 
Ditto to Pam. I use my canvas bags if I remember to bring them along. If not, we use plastic. And my favorite reusable bags are from Wal-Mart - those things are huge! :)
 
LOL, well...we went to the store but...FORGOT the bags we bought the other day. So...I grabbed a couple more (lucky for us they're keeping them at the end of each till AND the cashier has a stack too). Now we have 4 large and 2 small ones, lol...it's all good though.
 
EveRecinella said:
We have canvas bags..paying for bags and carts is the norm here and pretty much the whole of Europe, if I am not mistaken. We have a bunch of coin things that hang on a keychain that I use for the carts, so I don't have to have change on me...
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We lived in France for 2 1/2 years and it was the same way there. You bring your own bags, you bag your own groceries, use a coin to get a cart (I guess I never thought of it as paying for it, because I always got my coin back!). I am not a huge environmentalist, but once we got back to the states, it did feel like we wasted a ton of bags, just because, like someone said before, the cashiers tend to put only a few things in one. I loved the bags that we had there too--they were big and really strong and we used them to haul stuff everywhere--not just for groceries. The most frustrating thing for me here is that even though they have started offering the reusable bags, the checkout stations still aren't really set up for using them and the cashiers where I live anyway, seem kind of frustrated when you pull them out, because it does make their jobs more difficult.
 
I use the reusable ones. I have some from many different stores that I shop at, but my Trader Joe ones are the ones I use the most.

Just FYI...if you have a Costco, they sell a 4 pack for about $5. There are two GIANT bags and two LARGE bags...and they are big!! I can put almost my entire Costco shopping in one or two of the bags! Ask about them there if you can't find them. They are really worth the purchase...even two packs if you do major bulk shopping! They can be used for so many things too. My son took some to hold all his things when he went paintball shooting with friends, he takes them to school when he has to bring a change of clothes for band, we take them to the beach with us to hold our snacks, towels, etc....

I just keep them in the car with me, and once you start bringing them each time, you won't forget. I like that Trader Joes has a sign out side their door that says there is still time to run back to your car and get your bags!!
 
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