Thursday, March 05, 2009

Plastic Bag Recycling Clogging Up

I'd wondered if plastic shopping bags might end up in the same predicament as other recyclables. Looks like they are, according to today's Times- Standard, with fewer places accepting them for recycling.

I'm not one that thinks plastic bags are all that bad, as some do, but I do get a bit tired of having to deal with all the ones the wife brings home with her when she goes shopping. I kept suggesting she make some of her own reusable shopping bags but, for some reason, she never has.

I usually use paper bags but a few weeks ago I broke down and bought one of those shopping bags the stores were forced by the state to make available because some people didn't want so many plastic bags being used.

I bought my shopping bag at Winco. They only cost something like 89 cents and I figured I could use it when I go to the store to buy just a few things.

I love that bag! It can hold a lot more than you would think from just looking at it folded. I'd bet it could carry more than a paper shopping bag, at least if you take weight into consideration, and I'd also bet I could put a weeks worth of groceries into one or two of those bags.

One neat thing about having that bag is I don't have to hassle with a shopping cart most of the time I'm not doing weekly shopping. I just go straight in the exit door, bag in hand. I put whatever I'm buying in the bag and unload the bag at checkout and put everything back in again once all is paid for. Then sling the bag over my shoulder and walk to the truck.

Give those Winco shopping bags a try and you won't want to go shopping without one.

7 Comments:

At 12:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

And at Winco you get a nickel back for each of your own bags that you use.

 
At 1:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My wife and I just started using those winco bags recently, and love them.

 
At 2:01 PM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

"And at Winco you get a nickel back for each of your own bags that you use.".

Funny you mention that. I was just in Winco a couple hours ago and the checker guy mentioned that. He said it was 6 cents off, though.

I'd heard they gave you credit for using your own bag but never knew how much until today.

 
At 6:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Co-op gives the same credit for bringing your own bag.

 
At 8:58 PM, Blogger Carol said...

So does Eureka Natural Foods.

 
At 10:33 PM, Blogger Just a Small Town Girl said...

I love my Winco bags! I just have to remember to put them back in the trunk of my car when I am done!

 
At 8:34 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

"The Co-op gives the same credit for bringing your own bag.".

I wonder how often they give you credit, at least at Winco? That last time I was at Winco was the first time the checker ever made mention of me using my own bag. The credit showed on my receipt.

I went out and found the receipt for the last time I went to Winco before that and there's no credit for the bag. I suspect much of the time they don't notice.

As an aside, so far it looks like Winco has the least expensive bags at 89 cents each. Connie said JoAnn Fabrics has bags at around a dollar and Grocery Outlet has bags at 99(?) cents. She also said the Grocery Outlet bags looked real small compared to the Winco bags. Rite Aid offers real small bags, too, although I never noticed the price.

I'm going to buy four more bags at Winco today. One more for me and three for Connie.

I asked Connie how many bags she wanted and she said two or three. I mentioned that she usually comes back from Grocery outlet with between 6 to 8 plastic bags. She said that was because the checkers fill the bags at Grocery Outlet and they only put a few things in each bag. She wouldn't need so many bags if she fills them herself.

Hmmm??? Hadn't thought of that. Maybe they do that to sell more plastic bags?

 

Post a Comment

<< Home