Paper or Plastic? No Thank You!

[william]

We use about half and half cloth reusable and plastic bags from the store. We 'recycle' the the plastic bags, using them to line our indoor rubbish bins.

Now I don't know of any substitute for 'waterproof' plastic rubbish bags, other than more environmentally friendly biodegradable plastic bags, if these exist, and I am sure something like this must exist by now? So then why aren't shopping bags simply made of this stuff?

Maybe they are, not sure, but what anoys me is that lately our plastic bags have become a lot thinner and ridiculously weak, to the point that it is a gamble whether they will survive the trip home to even be useful as a trash bag. eg. A 2 litre milk bottle fallen on its side will easily tear a hole. If the bag is torn then it is not 'recyclable' as a rubbish bag and is a total waste.

So what does everyone else use for trash bags? Are you simply buying the same number of plastic bags anyway, substituting for what you used to get for free with the shopping? Or buying more heavy duty bags that take longer to break down. Or were the plastic bags in your country not suitable for reuse in the first place? Or anything else? I would really be interested to hear what you think about this. :-)

PS: I am speaking from an Australian perspective here.

[Matt Johnson]

My wife & I have 4 reusable bags. Not totally plastic bag free on the shopping yet, but going in that direction.

[ChrisS]

I was shocked yesterday! At the end of the checkout line, I saw that this guy was putting big fluorescent labels on EVERY large item I purchased. Whoa... I stopped him immediately. All that these labels stated was basically "Thank you for shopping at Fry's". I complained to the manager - big time! He'll mention it to his superiors. What a waste!!!!! If any of you here shop at Fry's, be watching out for this. I can only hope this little marketing scheme blows up in their face. Please pass it along folks. To make it worse they asked for a charitable donation while they are wasting all this money and paper going through these huge rolls of ugly orange labels! What an absolute joke! Geesh!!!!!!

[B.G._schmid]

Well, the reusable bags are definitely "in" these days! My wife and I have two now. I love the grocery stores that provide these for the customers too! If you're a grocery store or some other kind of store looking for the reusable style shopping bags check out greenbagpromos.com or bulktotebags.com
Both of these sites have good options for those types of bags.

[whodefu]

I must say that I use plastic bags but when I take my shopping out I put them back in the car for the next time I need them, I also use them instead of trash bags in the home, at least if you use them twice it is much less of an impact, I never use paper bags...

[thegreenlivingplace]

I think it is great that everyone is deciding to say NO to paper or plastic. It's a great step froward. But...Paper bags (paper of any kind) requires soooo many chemicales to produce (anyone living close to a paper mill will atest to this, they smell the chemical every day) that they are not much better than plastic.

The plastic bags are bio-degradable, it only takes 1000 years for them degrade back.

Just something to think about...I keep a cooler in the back of my truck. When I go shoping, I decline any bag, I ask the cashier to place the items in another buggy. Then take them out and unload the buggy into the cooler. When I get to the marina parkinglot I set the cooler in the dock cart and wheel it to the boat to unload.

No paper, no plastic and NO foul.

[Dr Eco]

I use to work in a liquor store and had a select few of regular customers who demanded two plastic bags per item to ensure they would not loose their stock through a bag split. My sister now works in a supermarket and has reported similar customers. Anyone got a good analogy she can give to those who request two plastic bags (without her getting fired)?

[newton]

Yeah absolutely! my office mates are like having a campaign against plastic since... the beggining i think.i first think they are exaggerating but when watch CNN i realize they are telling the truth. it is indeed is getting worse. use reusable instead guys.its not a loy of work to do

[litesol]

I always use reuseable bags. They're not only good for the environment, but they're stronger. (They look nicer too.)

[Earthhugger]

I make my own reusable bags for shopping from old cloths and other material I find around my house. It saves you money and is a great way to reuse old stuff around your house.