Daily Tip: Just Say No to the Plastic Bag
Want to get in on the latest trend? Then start saying no to the plastic bag. Don’t think you can? Here are a few tips on how to turn down the plastic bag at the register.
Bring your own. It makes it easier to say no to the bag when you have another to put things in. A small canvas bag works for most on the go purchases and can be found just about every where, in all sorts of colors. If you want to support a cause with your bag, your local public library, public radio station, or your favorite organization may have canvas bags for sale with their logo.
For larger quantity purchases such as a trip to the grocery store you’ll probably need larger bags and a few more of them. Many grocery stores have cloth shopping bags available for purchase at the register. Whole Foods has some available right now for $1 each, and they also offer a bag discount, giving you a ten-cents off for each bag you bring. Trader Joes is another location that offers reusable bags on the go. (This is also handy if you forget your bags.)
Bringing your own will also prepare you for those times you go into establishments that charge you for plastic bags. Ikea, for example, has recently started charging U.S. customers five cents for every bag used. Of course this isn’t new to those in Europe, where several countries have been charging customers for bags for a while.
Remember to bring your own. It’s one thing to own the reusable bag, it’s another thing altogether in remembering to bring it with you. Many bags can fold up fairly small and can fit in a pocket or purse. Keep your bags in your car so they’ll be handy for the next trip to the store, or keep them at the office if you pick things up on the way home or use public transportation. The most important thing here is once your goods have made it safely to the house, take the bags back out to the car or return them to the office for next time.
Ignore the confused looks and blank stares. Until this new trend catches on everywhere, you’ll probably get some resistance from store clerks when you say you don’t want a bag. You may also need to assist grocery store checkers/baggers with your bags until they get used to the concept. (I had to do this yesterday.) And remember, it is okay to say no even after the clerk bags your item. Politely remove your purchase and hand the bag back.
Can’t find any bags near you? Check out Envirosax or ReusableBags.com.
Amy says: I found myself at Whole Foods the other day buying more than would fit in the bag I brought with me. For $1 I bought one of their handy, reusable bags that tons of people are now toting around New York City. This is one trend I hope everyone follows.
"I’m Not a Plastic Bag" Craze Coming to US
Tags: Daily Tips, plastic bags, reusable bags
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July 23rd, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Even better… ride your bike to the store and take your pannier bags into the store to be filled when you leave. Yeah, they look at you funny when you ask them to pack your purchase into the pannier, but they do it anyway.
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Remember to tell them in advance that you don’t want to use their plastic bags.
One time they have already put a purchase in plastic bag, I said I want to use my own and they threw that plastic one in the garbage.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:16 am
Most places won’t reuse the bag after product has been placed into it. The issue is they are almost impossible to put things into quickly after they have been taken off their rack. Also there is the worry of cross contamination with food products. Instead of reusing them, clerks will usually throw them away. Instead of relegating them to the landfill, put the products in your bags and place the plastic bags in the store’s recycle bins by the door as you leave. Or take them to a store that does recycle them.
If you live in a progressive city push them to “ban” the bags altogether like cities in Germany, Australia and San Francisco has.
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/03/28/sanfrancisco-plastic.html
Some cities are banning them out right. Others are charging a 10-15 cent charge per bag for using them. I have read that cities in Germany report a 95% decline after a 15 cent charge per bag was implemented.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
To make 100 billion plastic checkout bags per year, which is how many we use in the U.S. each year, it takes 12 million barrels of oil. No oil is used to produce recycled paper checkout bags. http://tinyurl.com/2hstyp
Focusing only on the usage and disposal of plastic bags is, to me, short-sighted as is the argument for green consumerism in general.
Are not carbon rationing and green consumerism two sides of the same coin? Or at the very least, is not green consumerism the first step in a shift to make carbon rationing acceptable?
I am firmly in favour of personal carbon trading and believe that the traditional arguments just don’t stack-up.
In fact I recently blogged about this exact thing here: http://tinyurl.com/2scnhk
In short: Personal carbon trading is an idea whose time has come. You can’t expect it to solve problems of inequity which already exist in the world - the rich will always be able to buy themselves a way out, and survive catastrophes better than the poor. That’s the nature of the capitalist society in which we live. But properly run, the scheme would protect the fuel poor, and allow low carbon consumers to make money from the rich.
In fact, the great thing about personal carbon trading is that government sets the outcome - a reduction in carbon - and the ‘price’ rises and falls depending on whether consumers change their behaviour. So the more people simply stick to their lifestyle and buy their way out, the price rises until people think it is better to reduce their carbon use.
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/2scnhk
July 30th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I’ve learned that the best way is to unfold my cloth bags, and lay them on top of my groceries, right at the front. Then, when the checker gets to my stuff and looks up at me (confused, sometimes), I say “I bring my own bags”. This has prevented a lot of “fast bagging” into their plastic bags.
I’ve shown store managers just how much can be packed into my bags!
October 14th, 2007 at 5:47 am
We are wholesale distributor for reusable bags. Our reason for distributing Eco-Green Biodegradable Reusable Shopping Bags is simple: We exist to provide products, information and inspiration that help people reduce, re-use and recycle. Starting with the simple step of bringing your own bag to shop may seem trivial, but it creates a “mindset” that has a big impact on those who make that choice. Like anything, the more people who take this simple step, the more it seems like the natural and right thing to do.
We carry Reusable Bags, Wine Bags, Tradeshow Bags, Cotton Bags, Canvas Bags etc. Check our site at http://www.reusablewholesale.com.
Thanks
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 am
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