Paper or plastic?

[ostrich]

Inspired by this article on MSNBC.

What type of grocery bags do you normally use? Why?

Bonus points: If you use reusable bags and find yourself without them, which bag do you normally grab?
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[ostrich]

DH and I go with reusable bags 99% of the time for several reasons:

1. They're much sturdier than paper or plastic.
2. They last longer.
3. We get 20 cents back at the grocery store for each cloth bag we use.

We got them at Whole Foods for ~$2 each. If we do an "emergency run" to the store (or forget to bring cloth bags) we use plastic ones. Our grocery store doesn't have paper bags, believe it or not.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[kb9oyo]

I tend to get plastic bags at the grocery. I then re-use them for various things and what I can't re-use, I re-cycle. We live up a flight of stairs and it is easier to carry several bags in each hand than to try to carry multiple paper bags. I am careful to find many ways to use again those grocery bags.

Sue B.
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Sue Beyer

[aklap]

We get paper. The paper bags then go to line our garbage can.
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[cruelshoes]

I generally choose paper. We use them to collect the recyclables in the kitchen. Then the whole lot goes in the recycling bin at the curb. They are also great for lining the guinea pig cage and chicken coop for easy cleanup. Then the whole lot goes in the compost pile. Paper takes a while to break down, but it makes a great addition to the brown/green mix in the compost.

I have about a dozen of the reusable bags that I have been given or acquired from various places (PCC, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and even Whistler, BC). Some year I will be organized enough to put them in my car.

I also try to do without bags whenever possible. If I am only buying a few things I put them in my giant "mom purse" or just carry them out in my hands.

Didja notice that a lot of the film from that news story came from the beautiful state of Washington? Those green recycling trucks are tooling down my street today, in fact.
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
9-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters have negative bloodwork - so far!

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[ostrich]

Forgot to add.......we do keep a good handful of plastic bags around the house. They come in handy when somebody's sick, or the litter box needs help.

(Sorta on topic: When I was little we used to recycle everything we could. But then our recycle bucket got stolen. Twice. After that we stopped. I just started recycling again when we moved into the house. There was no recycling program at the apartment complex. 1/3 to 1/2 of our trash gets recycled.)
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[The Edifying Conscience]

Go green or go home! Normally I only buy a few things at a time at the grocery store so I go without a bag. I'm the queen of stacking stuff in my arms. It's amazing how many cashiers are uncomfortable when I say "Please don't put it in a bag."

Now if I'm doing a lot of shopping I take a bag from the plethora stored in my trunk.* It's amazing how much stuff can go in those bags...4-5 as much as in a plastic bag!

Also no fruits/veggies go in plastic bags in my world.

*I have a rule...the bag is ALWAYS returned to my trunk as soon as the groceries are unloaded! Otherwise I would be in the same situation as Colleen.

[aklap]

[nancw]

I use reusables 99% of the time. I keep them in my truck and put them away immediately after use (well, throw them onto the hood of my car through the kitchen door so I HAVE to put them back ). I love them. I always donate the $.10 bag credits.
I keep a few plastic ones around for trash can liners and cat box cleaning.


I also like to bag my own stuff at the store. I must have been a bagger in a previous life. I'd almost take a part-time gig at Whole Foods just for the 20% discount!
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Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, yeast and 99% grain-free

[ostrich]

[NorthernElf]

I'm afraid we use plastic 100% of the time - but we recycle 100% of the time as well.

When I go to the grocery store I come out with 8-10 bags of food and stuff (family of 5). Our store doesn't have a paper bag option. Part of the move to go green has to include alternatives - financially conducive alternatives, IMHO. I haven't got around to buying cloth bags AND I've never seen anyone use them at my store either. I like having my stuff packed for me too.

Lazy and cheap ??

[nancw]

All of the HFS's in our area offer reusables for $.99. I actually bought mine at Walmart - they are black and say "Paper or Plastic? Neither"
I do this weird shopping loop of King Soopers (Kroger), Whole Foods then Walmart. It's like moving through three separate worlds in one tour.
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Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, yeast and 99% grain-free

[The Edifying Conscience]

[ostrich]

[aklap]