"Paper or plastic?"
 

Should more states make it illegal for grocery stores to put groceries in plastic bags?

http://news.msn.com/us/california-pa...such-law-in-us

No.

No.

I do wish more stores would provide an incentive for customers to use reusable bags. At one point in time, Kroger offered a nominal number of their fuel points for each reusable bag that you used. I was so much better about bringing my reusable bags with me when they did this. (I'm a slut for gas points....I get so excited when I collect a 1,000 and can redeem a $1 per gallon.)

So what happens in California now? Are they going back to paper?

Portland, OR outlawedlastic bags. Stores can pay a fine to still use plastic and some do, but most use paper

In England, stores charge 2p per plastic bag, and lots of people bring bags to the store with them to avoid paying for them. I used my canvas AXiD tote to take home groceries!

In the Netherlands grocery stores charge up to 50 cents per bag. I always bring a canvas one, and most grocery stores also sell canvas or reusable bags next to the plastic ones.

I would prefer businesses to choose to phase out plastic bags on their own. But I am fine with their outright banning.

No, hell no. For YEARS on Nantucket the grocery stores only offered paper bags, and this was before brown bags with handles or reusable bags. We used to stock pile plastic bags and bring them with us. I'm not opposed however to a store charging for the plastic bags.

Yup we did! Also Multnomah County (which Portland is in) won't let restaurants use styrofoam. The is a large portion of the population that uses reusable bags instead. Some stores do have an incentive, but it is usually 10 cents off or something similar.

Actually I went to a talk put on by the science museum in the area about this topic. The production of paper bags is actually more detrimental for the environment than using plastic bags.

I disagree with banning anything. I don't see government's role as telling its citizens "no".

I almost always carry my canvas bags with me but I do like to get the plastic sometimes, as they can be really helpful. Plus, when i lived in Newport Beach a friend of mine in Long Beach gratefully accepted my gifts of the plastic bags to deal with dog doo.

I wish people would be better about bringing their bags but outlawing them seems heavy handed.

I like the model I encountered in France: the store doesn't provide any bags.

I don't think they should be banned. They are recyclable and repurposed so are they really that awful? I try to not use paper because of trees. I do wish there was somewhere in the cart to conveniently put my cloth bags. There's no way to keep them near the top where they need to be so the bagger can use them. I end up going for convenience but then using them as trash bags in the bathroom and lunch bags at work. If I don't get them from the grocery store then I will buy plastic trash bags anyway.

In Alameda County (Oakland/Berkeley) and San Francisco plastic bags have been banned for a few years now. Most people carry their own reusable bags or pay .10 for paper at stores. Most stores also have reusable bags for sale for 1.00 or so.

I would rather have my sturdy reusable bags than those silly flimsy plastic bags any day.

I will say this, if you're going to ban the plastic bags stores all need to put up signs that say something to the effect of "please wash your reusable bags/totes once in a while." I'm as far from a germophobe as you can get, but when I was still in retailland, there were reusable bags presented to me to fill that I refused to touch because they were so foul.

plastic bags are great for scooping cat litter!

I got to Aldi's most of the time, and so I bring my own bags - totes or insulated bags, usually. If I forget them, I'll pay the extra 6-10 cents for new ones. Sometimes I get paper, but that's when we're about to recycle newspapers, and you can't beat paper bags for that.

It has worked well in CA. People overwhelmingly use reusable bags. If I forget to bring my bags into the store with me, I just put everything back into the buggy and pack bags when I get to my car. It's not that hard to make the change.

I will be so annoyed if this passes.

When I was in SF last year they charged you for paper bags! I was on my 3rd store before I finally caught on to why the cashiers asked if I wanted a bag. I would just think, "Ugh, no. I really want to carry all these new clothes around in my hands!"

When I realized I had been charged I was more annoyed that nobody explained they would charge me. Especially in a touristy area, don't assume the customer has a clue!

They charged you in CLOTHING stores? I thought this was just for grocery bags. For clothing stores to not give you a bag is uber bad marketing.

If it's already working there, why do they need to make it a law?

I also thought it was just grocery bags. Doing the same thing at clothing stores is ridiculous.

The state law is for grocery stores, at least to start, but in SF it's already more than that. My friend bought a ton of stuff in Old Navy (3 stories, massive) and she was like "No thanks, I'm just around the corner." I made her put it all in my bags because we were 4 blocks from the hotel.


Also, when I was in Silver Springs, MD the Target charged me for plastic bags. Again, WTH don't you people tell me why you're asking and that you'll charge me! That time I paid for a plastic bag.


At least in SF I was getting nicer paper bags with handles.

Some stores only carry paper bags (that you have to pay for) and some still have plastic (that you have to pay for).

T'is true. Some other stores like Target and Best Buy don't give bags either. :( And some clothing stores have started carrying only ginormous bags so if you just bought a couple items, it wouldn't make sense to take one. The bag ban is not in every Cali city but it's spreading. I was raised to repurpose all bags, paper or plastic, so the ban doesn't feel fair to me. I use most of my bags several times before throwing them away or recycling them but I know the decision to ban isn't based on the habits of those who diligently repurpose/recycle.

Fixed that for you.

I should say in Los Angeles. We had the change about 6 months ago.

Meh, you get used to it. In San Francisco, we just carry bags with us. The only time these days I pay the 10 cents is when I buy something at Lululemon where the bag is reusable anyway.

I was in Fresno for work this past week and they're still using styrofoam food containers. Ugh.

We always saved the heavier weight bags with drawstrings we got at shoe stores and such. At least if this comes here I'll have a myriad of bags to put things in.

I agree.

However, I agree with amIblue? about reusable bags. I wish stores gave more of an incentive to use them.

I don't know. The incentive of not having to deal with all those extra bags is enough for me. It just takes a little training to remember to bring the bags with you. I put the bags straight back in the car after shopping to help. And I have walked back to my car more than once to grab forgotten bags.

These topics beg conservative-moderate-liberal questions:

1. What are the roles of state and federal governments?

2. When do things that sound good in theory (or in small doses) absolutely suck in practice (or in large doses)?

3. Should the people who run state and federal governments "let" people potentially be their own detriment if people insist on being free and absent of government intervention (even if that means creating misery and eventually wallowing in the misery created)?

4. Should the people who run state and federal governments save people from themselves either through prevention/protection or through rescuing them if their freedom bites them in the ass?

YES! I work retail and some of the reusable bags people bring in are trifling.
Put them through the washer and hand them to dry! How hard is that?


Lululemon reusable bags rock! OMG!

My husband complains about my ever growing reusable bag collection. Honey, you can never have too many
*saying this as I am eyeing a new Lilly reusable bag...* :D

I have a box full of reusable bags.

They never make it into a store. I end up using them as tote bags mainly.

Mine live in the car. The problem is, there's nowhere in the cart (buggy) to put them. They need a pocket for those bags so they're accessible when they are needed. If you throw them in the bottom of the cart, all the stuff is on top of them and the bagger can't get to them to start bagging the stuff. They would have my stuff all bagged in plastic by the time we could get to the reusable ones.

As I said, if they ban them, then I'll end up buying plastic bags to line the trash cans so what's the difference? I'll use the same number of them either way.

I can also see it in nicer climates, but paper bags are a nightmare when it is raining or snowing or hot and humid. Back in the day, before plastic, they'd be so wet from humidity they were useless. The cloth resusable are better in humidity but when it's raining or snowing, you can't close the top.

I'm ok with moving toward reusable. I like that they hold more and are more sturdy. They need to make them so they close at the top (velcro maybe?) and they need a place in the buggy to put them. A little pocket toward the end by the bagger would be great.

ETA: And the insulated ones need to be WAY bigger. The ones they sell here in the stores only fit one or two things in them. Pain in the neck to have 15 of those things.

And no, I don't think this is the kind of thing that should be legislated.

My grocery store in Dubai had little hooks on the handle of the cart. Genius! So yes, the bags were out of the way and you could set them on the belt first.

And I have a few insulated bags that do have zippers at the top. There is a huge difference in insulated bags. The plastic ones with the hard plastic tops that you snap together SUCK. My best one was a swag from my insurance agent in California.

At most grocery stores around here, the bagger automatically uses plastic bags, or if there is no bagger, only plastic bags are supplied. I use them as garbage bags once they've fulfilled their purpose as grocery bags.

Our local grocery store gives a 5 cent credit per reusable bag, but 9 times out of 10 the cashier forgets to apply the credit.

In a town bordering mine, the grocery stores are required to charge for plastic bags. I prefer the carrot to the stick.

Yes on the ban. Bags have been banned in Austin for a couple of years. I just remember to bring my cloth ones. If I forget then I buy some new bags. Not hard:) :D

Another thing I don't like about using the reusable bags in the grocery stores is that the baggers over fill them.

Like 2 gallons of milk plus whatever else they can cram in there. Do I look like Wonder Woman? No, I can't carry all that in one bag in one trip. Way too heavy.

Funny, with the plastic they way underbagged them, and you're right, they tend to overpack the fabric ones. Just because the bag won't break doesn't mean we want to carry them that way!