Reusable grocery bags?

Question

Plain and simple, I do care about the environment, but i'm a bagger at a grocery store and they ANNOY me. They take so much longer then regular plastic bags. I don't care THAT much. Maybe if i knew how much they helped the environment i wouldn't be so annoyed. Anyone know why they are used? thanks.

Answer 1

To put it simply, plastic packaging is only used once and then becomes garbage. It is one of the largest sources of garbage in the world. One grocery chain in Ontario, just one, advertises that they will keep 2 billion plastic bags per year out of landfill by using recyclable bags.

Answer 2

I am also a bagger/cashier at a grocery store and I have noticed more people using the reusable bags. Reusable bags are better for the environment, can usually hold more materials/weight than your typical plastic bag and they are of course reusable so you don't have to worry about it breaking if you load it too heavy as you walk to the car. I have seen some bags made out of nylon and some others made out of canvas. The nylon ones i know can hold up to 20-25 pounds which I don't think a plastic bag can hold unless you double bag it. Another reason people use them is because they are cutting down on landfills cause face it most plastic bags are not recycled even though they could be and are thrown in the trash. I am listing a link to a website that has reusable bags for sale and a couple of interesting facts about how many plastic bags we use per year.

Answer 3

I think your questions have been answered about the environment, but now I have a question. Why do they take longer to bag?Actually I am making reusable grocery bags to sell and this would help me, if you don't mind. The ones I make have little tabs on the sides so they hook onto that bag holder in the store just like the plastic ones. Maybe the problem is that most don't have those.Just wondering
http://www.thegreatbag.com
Thanks
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Answer 4

I've been using canvas shopping bags for years. Besides helping the environment, they are easier to carry (as a matter of fact, I *don't* drive), hold more than either paper or plastic bags (which may be 1 reason they take longer to load) & don't break. I've noticed that now several mainstream supermarkets are selling reusable bags w/ their logo on them but when I 1st began using them they were only available @ natural food stores or from environmental groups.
I don't have the numbers in front of me but the US goes through a shocking # of plastic bags every year. Even when they are re-used for garbage or whatever, most of them either end up in landfills or as litter. You've probably seen them "flying" around the street, which is probably dangerous in traffic. It is depressing, not to mention unappealling, to see them fluttering on bushes along the roadside.
I've never felt "cool" or otherwise "special" for using cloth bags, I simply care about the environment & do what I can. Enough ppl have made negative comments about the bags, especially early on, to discourage me from using them if I had been trying to impress anyone.
I honestly didn't realize that cloth bags take that much longer for baggers to deal with. It's possible that the newer ones, with supermarkets' names on them, were designed to be more expedient-- they can stand up like a paper bag & are about the same size.

Answer 5

I worked in a grocery store for 34 years, so I can totally understand your feelings. But on the other hand have you ever seen grocery bags stuck in trees or fences? They are bad for the environment and if everyone used cloth bags for their groceries it would really help in the long run. I bet your cashier doesn't help you bag. I always helped the carryouts bag it makes every ones life easier.

Answer 6

Unfortuanetly, I am guilty of using regular plastic bags. I once lived in Germany, and you had to pay for bags if you wanted them. Perhaps charging people for bags would cut down on the waste. I dont't mean an arm and a leg just the amount that it hurts the environment or the cost to recycle it. Also, we need places to take our bags to recycle them. They should pay to buy them back to recycle. People would recycle if they got paid to do it. You can get fined if you don't recycle in Germany (so I was told).What if we brought boxes they would be easier to refill after being used and could be decorated with logos and such.

Answer 7

I use them and I love them. Not only do they cut down on a heap of bad garbage, not to mention the process of making plastic bags .. but I have yet to have a reusable bag fall out at the bottom and drop all my expensive groceries all over the parking lot!

Answer 8

sure. i like them greater useful than plastic luggage. They carry greater and don't ruin as surely. here in Canada they value 5 cents for each plastic bag, it could upload up rapid. it incredibly is rather stressful to wager what share luggage you opt for in the previous bagging your groceries. in case you stroll lots to the grocery shops, i hit upon the reusable luggage postpone greater useful and don't harm your palms. To be effortless, even although they value 5 cents a bag, human beings nonetheless use plastic luggage. the only element that replaced replaced into the rack with reusable luggage for 99cents.

Answer 9

I'm guilty of not using re-usable bags at my grocery store but i use those bags to put the kitty litter and the garbage in the trash. I dont buy bags because its a waste of money. I do however recycle as much as i can and i'm not gonna be buying bottled water anymore as it causes more polution. What pisses me off is that people litter and then animals choke on those bags, that pisses me off. Like people leave those coke rings on the beach and the poor turtles get stuck and die. Those people deserve bad things!

Answer 10

I use paper bags - I like them better than plastic. Besides the grocery stores don't offer cartons to package assorted grocery items