Now I'll like shopping even less. Or: Screw you, environment (RL)

[thistle_chaser]

For those not in this area: California is attempting to ban plastic shopping bags. In every town the ban has come up, it has been legally challenged and thus cannot go forward. There's been only one single town that has not challenged it: The town I live in

Comments

[thevressclan]

My father actually used to work for a grocery store in Florida that didn't give plastic bags out for free. What the store did was put the boxes they didn't need in the front of the store, on the door-side of the registers, and allow customers to use them for free. They were sturdier than paper or plastic and only slightly more inconvenient to load in a car.

[thistle_chaser]

Oh that's handy, plus you could save them up for when you need to move.

[thevressclan]

Yep, that's what we did. :D They're also useful for packing things in attics or closets. >_> Not that I have closets and an attic full of boxes or anything *cough*

(Moving company boxes are perhaps the worst thing ever. I threw those away first when I moved because they're only sturdy enough to hold pillows. Chick-fil-a fry boxes, on the other hand, could hold bricks and stay solid.)

[thistle_chaser]

I really need to collect some boxes so I can pack old clothing away and make room in my closet... /ideas!

[halogin]

I use plastic bags for stuff too, but I've gotten used to paying at most grocery stores for the bags, 5 cents a pop. We usually bring our reusable bags, though, and I really love mine. Not sure what kind are offered where you are; I know the Kroger in Tennessee offered kinda chintzy-feeling ones that I didn't like, whereas in the late 90s we had fabric ones from Bi-Lo and a couple of 'healthy food' stores that were sturdy cotton. The ones we have here in Ontario are sturdy plastic that feels kind of 'woven' in a way, with sturdy fabric handles. Easily wiped out if necessary, and they fold up really neatly.

I'm with you on paperbag hate-- those are really the least convenient things ever to carry, when it comes to grocery shopping.

[halogin]

Oh, and I like that the bags we got from Metro to re-use have two sets of handles-- one short for carrying by hand, and one longer for slinging over the shoulder. Makes things SO much easier. :)

[thistle_chaser]

That sounds nice! All the ones I have are short handle ones. Not a big deal though, just needs to go from the cart to the trunk, then a short trip from trunk into my apartment.

[thistle_chaser]

I wouldn't mind so much paying five cents per bag (I wouldn't like it, but I'd do it). But ours are just banned outright, no option for buying them. :/

I just bought a set off Amazon, plus I have some I've been given over the past couple years (and a couple from Alaska!). If this ban lasts, I suppose I'll get used to it, but I'm not happy.

[evilgrayson]

Shopping bags come in 'biodegradable' over here. We've often wondered why TV and Hollywood keep showing us paper bags as Just Better - they aren't, and we know it.

[thistle_chaser]

I don't know why we don't have those, too! Plastic bags don't need to last forever, biodegradable would be a perfect solution. Arg.

[loupnoir]

I live in uber lefty land. We've been expected to bring our own bags for years. Overall, I'm fine with that. Gives me a reason to stock up on fun canvas totes. The canvas bags don't do that awful shred thing when you're walking, they hold more, and they fold up nice and flat to sit in your car until they're needed. Plus, all those thin plastic bags are a huge environmental problem. My guy has done a lot of hydrological work on landfills, and the pet name for plastic bags is "jellyfish." The jellyfish go flying through the air to tangle everywhere, including zipping out into the ocean where silly fish think they're food and eat them. Not much fun for the fish.

[thistle_chaser]

Hopefully the canvas bags will grow on me. I hadn't thought about them being stronger, that'll be nice...

[peppygrowlithe]

Why are reusable bags 'dirtier' and 'a pain'? I don't feel that way at all! They hold more items, they're stronger (and better for the environment) than both plastic and paper bags, and the only catch is that you have to remember to bring them along with you. I have one with a wolf and one with a bear, and I think they make shopping more enjoyable! What's more, most of the grocery stores up here even give you five cents off per bag - not really enough to add up even over a long period of time, but enough to give you a small incentive to do what is basically the right thing to do in the first place.

Washington is also getting rid of plastic bags by the end of the year, but I'm completely for it - and I say this as a person who doesn't have a car and has to carry stuff home about half a mile in my hands. I also use plastic bags for the litterbox, but garbage bags and paper bags can still be used for the same purposes.

Betcha you could get a couple cool bags with designs you like on them if you look!

[peppygrowlithe]

I should probably have looked at the other comments before I posted mine, as this is all basically covered in many fewer words already. X)

[thistle_chaser]

Oooh, I like your bags! I bought some today, but they're just basic colors.

Why are reusable bags 'dirtier' and 'a pain'?

The local newscasts have been doing stories on the bags. Unless you wash them with bleach every time you use them, they have more germs than plastic bags (and it increases every time you use them without washing it). I'm lazy, I know I won't be washing my bags. :/

I should probably have looked at the other comments before I posted mine, as this is all basically covered in many fewer words already. X)

Ha ha no problem! I'm always happy when you comment. :) <3

[mel_redcap]

I feel the need to sidle in here and mutter something about how news programs are notorious for presenting minor things as "OH GOD THIS IS THE END OF HUMANITY AS WE KNOW IT," and "more germs than plastic bags" might just mean "like... two" instead of "actually something that should concern us". :)

I have also seen posts in the customers-suck community about some truly horrendous reusable bags (like, cat pee and cockroaches), but I sincerely doubt that's ever going to be a problem for you, since you're... y'know... sane. :P ;D