Have we talked about this? banning plastic grocery bags

[hornblower]

Free bags are rare here. Most places charge & the effect is that people bring their own.  I have a variety of bags & they're easy to use. 

I have a big one similar to this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016-Reusable-Shopping-Bag-Portable-Grocery-Tote-Bag-Large-Travel-Outdoor-Nylon-Eco-Bags-Environmental-Folding/32626789037.html  . It's machine wash & hang. It's made of the same type of fabric as those old rainjackets that folded into a pouch were made of - a light but very strong nylon. 
 

[hornblower]

and to put it in context about WHY this is such a good thing to do 

http://www.plasticoceans.org/film/

[SparklyUnicorn]

You know what? Screw the environment. Just use plastic bags. It's easier. 

 

LOL

 

Ok

 

Thanks Mom.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Free bags are rare here. Most places charge & the effect is that people bring their own.  I have a variety of bags & they're easy to use. 

 

I have a big one similar to this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016-Reusable-Shopping-Bag-Portable-Grocery-Tote-Bag-Large-Travel-Outdoor-Nylon-Eco-Bags-Environmental-Folding/32626789037.html  . It's machine wash & hang. It's made of the same type of fabric as those old rainjackets that folded into a pouch were made of - a light but very strong nylon. 

 

 

Now these would be perfect if they could be run through the dryer.

 

The price is sane too.

[Tenaj]

We use them for all kinds of things around here so if they ban them, I would end up buying the same amount of small plastic bags and the exact same amount would end up in landfills anyway . . .don't quite see the point of that.

[Pawz4me]

I'm ambivalent.

 

I have probably 15 reusable bags but I never take them into a store. I re-use a LOT of the plastic bags I get (poop bags for the dog, for scooping the cat's litter box, lining bathroom trashcans). So I'd have to start buying bags for those things but it wouldn't be a huge expense.

 

The ones I don't use (the ones that have holes or tears) get taken back for recycling. It's not like it's a big problem to grab them and take them back.

 

It does seem to take much longer for cashiers/baggers to deal with reusable bags.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Pawz4me

[bibiche]

and to put it in context about WHY this is such a good thing to do 

 

http://www.plasticoceans.org/film/

 

Commie pinko.

[MercyA]

now I need help finding stretch denim....

 

I haven't started sewing and I'm already raving annoyed.

 

https://www.fabric.com/find?SearchText=stretch+denim

https://www.etsy.com/search/craft-supplies-and-tools?q=stretch+denim&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US&explicit=1

Edited November 17, 2016 by MercyA

[hornblower]

actually my favourite way to shop if I have the car with me is with these bins. They're like shopping baskets. They fit into the big carts.  They're easy to fill up, easy to empty. 
http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2016/10/green_bin.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg

Edited November 17, 2016 by hornblower

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm ambivalent.

 

I have probably 15 reusable bags but I never take them into a store. I re-use a LOT of the plastic bags I get (poop bags for the dog, for scooping the cat's litter box, lining bathroom trashcans). So I'd have to start buying bags for those things but it wouldn't be a huge expense.

 

The ones I don't use (the ones that have holes or tears) get taken back for recycling. It's not like it's a big problem to grab them and take them back.

 

It does seem to take much longer for cashiers/baggers to deal with reusable bags.

 

Yeah I personally find the fact they take longer to be a lame reason, but people are very impatient so you become one of "those people" when you bring them.

 

What would be fine with me is being allowed to just put the stuff back into the cart and then putting the contents in some crates in my trunk and doing it that way.  Stores get very twitchy when you want to do that.  But that would be something I wouldn't have a problem with. 

[kitten18]

I was assuming that the ban on plastic bags was for the large bags at the checkout, but bags for produce and meat were still available in those departments. Is that not correct?

Yes, I think they're still available. I bought a package of meat on Sunday and put it in a plastic bag.

 

 

My area of L.A. county (unincorporated area) has had a plastic bag ban for (I think) 4 years now. I don't think the stores were allowed to give paper bags as an alternative. I can't remember for sure because only a few stores were in the unincorporated area.

 

I just have to remember to take my bags in everywhere now. I went to walmart the other day and forgot them in the car. I just threw everything in the cart (at the self-checkout 😉) and packed it in bags when I got to the car.

[HomeAgain]

actually my favourite way to shop if I have the car with me is with these bins. They're like shopping baskets. They fit into the big carts.  They're easy to fill up, easy to empty. 

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2016/10/green_bin.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg

 

I could totally get behind using those!

[Katy]

One thing that does work for me at Aldi is to bring a plastic laundry basket.  It fits in the cart and is easy to wipe out with antibacterial wipes.  It doesn't work well for heavy things, but works really well for everything else.

 

Meat-wise I typically only buy frozen fish at Aldi though.  I buy chicken breasts or chicken tenders by the case for a discount at Sam's Club and a fraction of a cow at the butcher (huge discount).  Both are already wrapped and frozen, so the risk of cross contamination is low, but you must have a chest freezer to make that work. 

[MEmama]

Most of the groceries here charge for bags. I'm all in favour of bag bans, but I've always taken my own. My mom used to bring her own bags back in the 70s and 80s when no one was doing it. Used to befuddle the cashiers, much to her annoyance. But now it's pretty much expected in our area anyway.

 

I keep bag of bags in my car, and I always have one in my purse. I don't see what the big deal is; I suspect people will get used to it quickly once a charge is placed on throw away bags. I carry things out in my hand if for some reason I don't have on me.

[SparklyUnicorn]

actually my favourite way to shop if I have the car with me is with these bins. They're like shopping baskets. They fit into the big carts.  They're easy to fill up, easy to empty. 

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2016/10/green_bin.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg

 

I like this idea. 

[regentrude]

Scratching my head on the "food poisoning" issue. My parents have been using reusable bags for 70 years without issue. It's not like Germans are dying in masses because of contaminated shopping bags.

[Aura]

I don't particularly like the typical reusable bags that are sold in stores around here, either. My favorites are the canvas bags, and the mesh/string bags. Both are machine washable (at least, the ones I have are, but I don't put them in the dryer because I'm afraid they might shrink).

 

I really like the string bags because they take up so much less room for storage and really expand, but you do have to be careful not to put something like eyeliner or lipstick in them (depending on the size of the mesh), but anything that small can usually be put in my purse.

[poppy]

We have miles and miles and miles of plastic clouds in the oceans from current bag use.  It is very stupid for us as a society to continue on with what you know is harmful when there are easy, cheap alternatives.  That are SLIGHTLY less convenient, but, don't pollute the food we put into our bodies.  I'm in camp "it's a no-brainer".

[JustEm]

I am all for the ban of plastic grocery bags. I really wish they'd do it everywhere.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't consider the fact they cannot be washed to be slightly less convenient.  That's really a deal breaker for me.  I buy a lot of meat.  So you know...chicken in the bag...more chicken in the bag.  Maybe next time cucumbers in the bag.  Nope...they need to be actually washed.  Washing a bin would be easy enough.  Washing some floppy bag by hand, not so much.  I could wipe the bin out after to dry.  I cannot do so with a whatever material they usually are bag.

 

Requiring people to purchase bags though doesn't curb the problem much.  I go to two stores that don't provide free bags.  They sell bags and so most people buy bags.  BUT what I like about those stores is they don't have issues with you just putting the stuff back into the cart and wheeling that out of the store.   Other places? No.  I've tried.  The cashier doesn't get it.  The store gets twitchy.  You make a scene.  It's stupid, but yeah if people aren't used to it they don't deal well with it.

 

 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

https://www.fabric.com/find?SearchText=stretch+denim

https://www.etsy.com/search/craft-supplies-and-tools?q=stretch+denim&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US&explicit=1

 

I almost missed this!  Thank you!

[poppy]

I don't consider the fact they cannot be washed to be slightly less convenient.  That's really a deal breaker for me.  I buy a lot of meat.  So you know...chicken in the bag...more chicken in the bag.  Maybe next time cucumbers in the bag.  Nope...they need to be actually washed.  Washing a bin would be easy enough.  Washing some floppy bag by hand, not so much.  I could wipe the bin out after to dry.  I cannot do so with a whatever material they usually are bag.

 

Requiring people to purchase bags though doesn't curb the problem much.  I go to two stores that don't provide free bags.  They sell bags and so most people buy bags.  BUT what I like about those stores is they don't have issues with you just putting the stuff back into the cart and wheeling that out of the store.   Other places? No.  I've tried.  The cashier doesn't get it.  The store gets twitchy.  You make a scene.  It's stupid, but yeah if people aren't used to it they don't deal well with it.

 

I bring crates, not floppy bags.  Easy to carry, easy to sanitize.

[Miss Peregrine]

Trader Joes bags are washable and inexpensive.

[JustEm]

I've never had a problem not bagging things. I haven't bagged my 30 count of eggs, milk, cans oil, or any bulk item in years. Smaller things get put in reusable bags or boxes if I brought one. Strange that stores would give you trouble about that. I wonder why that is a big deal to them

 

The biggest problem with moving to no plastic bags is that cashiers are not properly trained in how to bag reusable bags. I can place my things on the register to make it easy for them but they still don't bag correctly. So either I walk them through it, have to bring an unreasonable amount of reusable bags, or I end up with unnecessary plastic bags.

[hornblower]

 

That's really kind of where I am seeing things.  SO, the bags that I put in my bathroom trash can, I would still have to put a bag there, so now the bag is a Hefty trash bag instead of a Meijer grocery bag. I need to put the swimsuits in something, so now the suits go into a ziplock instead of a Meijer grocery bag.

 

 

Um, what's the purpose of only accepting clear bags?  That seems even more controlling that banning plastic bags.  I am kind of weirded out by idea that the trash people need to be able to see what is put in my trash. 

Actually, why do you need a plastic bag in the trash can? Why not just empty directly into the can, then empty that one into the big one? Not all garbage needs to be bagged, and esp not in individual bags. Wash out the bin with soapy water. 

 

For wet suits, you can use things like these dry sacks https://www.rei.com/product/786438/sea-to-summit-lightweight-dry-sack-x-small

 

 

The purpose of clear bags in some municipalities is that where they have mandatory recycling, your garbage doesn't get picked up if it's got recyclables in it. 

 

We have mandatory curbside composting & recycling.  No food waste or green matter in the garbage.  Bins for compost, paper, plastics & glassware. Our garbage bins are automated now so we don't have the clear plastic rules but that's the reason for them... 

Edited November 17, 2016 by hornblower

[iamonlyone]

For things like loose produce, I use lightweight lingerie bags (the kind you can put delicates in when you wash clothes). I found packs of three bags for a dollar at the Dollar Tree.

 

Regarding the issue of holding up the line while the cashier fills the bags: while the cashier is scanning, I hang my bags on the handles of the bag dispenser so they are positioned and open. It seems like this cuts way down on the bagging time since the cashier doesn't have to fight with the bags lying on their sides.

[MEmama]

I've never washed a bag, and I'm not sure why you'd have to? Most of mine are older than my son.

 

Whole Foods has or had terrific cloth bags. I think I spent maybe 7$ on one and I've been using it around 15 years.

 

I use a basket at the farm market, but I don't usually take it to the grocery because it's not as convenient to keep in the car or for heavy items like multiple milk containers. In NB a lot of people used small recycling bins with handles.

[JustEm]

I haven't replaced grocery bags with other plastic bags. For bathroom waste bins I purchased bins that can be washed out after dumping the trash out into a bigger bag. dog waste goes into paper bags and then directly to the outside trash bins. Anything else, like soiled clothing while out or wet swimsuits goes into a lidded Rubbermaid container I keep in the trunk of my car. That gets washed and wiped down when it needs it and goes right back into the trunk.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Actually, why do you need a plastic bag in the trash can? Why not just empty directly into the can, then empty that one into the big one? Not all garbage needs to be bagged, and esp not in individual bags. Wash out the bin with soapy water. 

 

For wet suits, you can use things like these dry sacks https://www.rei.com/product/786438/sea-to-summit-lightweight-dry-sack-x-small

 

 

The purpose of clear bags in some municipalities is that where they have mandatory recycling, your garbage doesn't get picked up if it's got recyclables in it. 

 

We have mandatory curbside composting & recycling.  No food waste or green matter in the garbage.  Bins for compost, paper, plastics & glassware. Our garbage bins are automated now so we don't have the clear plastic rules but that's the reason for them... 

 

I use them for cat litter.  I tried buying lunch bags for that (although for the big clean out that doesn't work).  The bags get wet, break open, and then on garbage day the garbage dudes spill half the shi* on the ground.  It's lovely. 

 

And I can't fit the garbage can from the bathroom into the sink. 

 

Here with recycling you can just throw the stuff in marked bins.  They don't require bags.  In fact they really don't want you to put it in bags. 

[Tap]

We use them for all kinds of things around here so if they ban them, I would end up buying the same amount of small plastic bags and the exact same amount would end up in landfills anyway . . .don't quite see the point of that.

.....because not everyone reuses them.  I don't have a reason to reuse the vast majority of the plastic grocery bags I am given.  I maybe reuse one bag a month, and that is for some random obscure thing.  The last time I remember grabbing a bad to reuse, was when my daughter had a Halloween skirt that kept dropping glitter everywhere.  I wrapped it in a plastic bag to put in the bin for next year. That was most likely the only bag reused in 2 months. 

 

Some of the examples given in this thread that people reuse bags for...but we don't

I don't have pets,

We don't line the bathroom garbage bins.

Our lunch boxes fit our lunches

We wrap wet swimming suits in the towels

etc

 

 

On the pet note, because a plastic bag makes sense and does not have a simple work around.....the plastic bags for pet waste can be purchased in a compostable form.  They may take a year to break down, but they will eventually. They are also smaller, so less waste there too. 

Edited November 17, 2016 by Tap

[JustEm]

I've never washed a bag, and I'm not sure why you'd have to? Most of mine are older than my son.

 

Whole Foods has or had terrific cloth bags. I think I spent maybe 7$ on one and I've been using it around 15 years.

 

I use a basket at the farm market, but I don't usually take it to the grocery because it's not as convenient to keep in the car or for heavy items like multiple milk containers. In NB a lot of people used small recycling bins with handles.

I have a single bag that I use for meat products that does get washed if the meat juices were to leak onto them, which has happened once. Other than that bag I see no reason to need washable bags.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I thought the bags could be recycled too.  I throw them in the recycling bin.  Some stores have recycle boxes for them.  I'm not saying everyone does it, but I do.  I don't throw them out unless I put something gross in them.

 

 

[MEmama]

Actually, why do you need a plastic bag in the trash can? Why not just empty directly into the can, then empty that one into the big one? Not all garbage needs to be bagged, and esp not in individual bags. Wash out the bin with soapy water.

 

For wet suits, you can use things like these dry sacks https://www.rei.com/product/786438/sea-to-summit-lightweight-dry-sack-x-small

 

 

The purpose of clear bags in some municipalities is that where they have mandatory recycling, your garbage doesn't get picked up if it's got recyclables in it.

 

We have mandatory curbside composting & recycling. No food waste or green matter in the garbage. Bins for compost, paper, plastics & glassware. Our garbage bins are automated now so we don't have the clear plastic rules but that's the reason for them...

I looooved curb side composting in NB. :). Weirdly they didn't offer glass recycling (seriously, there was no one in the entire province to process it) so we used to haul all our glass down to Maine or NS when we visited. I just couldn't throw it out! Lol

 

Everyone should have access to mandatory recycling and composting, IMO. Terrific, simple solutions that make sense and make enormous impact.

[MEmama]

I have a single bag that I use for meat products that does get washed if the meat juices were to leak onto them, which has happened once. Other than that bag I see no reason to need washable bags.

Yes, that makes sense. We don't eat meat but that sounds like a simple solution.

[umsami]

I wish we'd ban them because I am horrible and remembering to bring my own bags.  I have enough reusable bags for the entire hive, but have some weird mental defect when it comes to actually remembering to bring them, either from the house to the car (after I've used them), or the car to the store.

 

I'd say I honestly use them maybe 35-40% of the time, which is horrific. 

[creekland]

We call them "urban tumbleweeds."  I'd love it if they were banned and would vote accordingly.

[hornblower]

..

On the pet note, because this one being a plastic bag makes sense and does not have a simple work around.....the plastic bags for pet waste can be purchased in a compostable form.  They may take a year to break down, but they will eventually. They are also smaller, so less waste there too. 

 

Yes, I have dogs & I poop scoop. My bags are small & compostable.  You can actually compost dog poop. You just can't use the compost on any food producing part of the garden. 

 

 

We're nowhere near plastic free here but we try.   

 

 

We need to look at the problem of garbage, solid waste management, and plastics pollution, and stop being so self-centered and focused on our own convenience. Honestly, where do you think all this plastic goes? 

[Ali in OR]

We have had a plastic bag ban in our city for a couple of years now (and many cities in Oregon have this--it's not statewide, but it's common). How it works here:

 

-THIN plastic bags like you get (used to get) at the grocery store checkout are banned. Retailers can use thicker plastic bags, like the kind a clothing store might issue. This was important to a local bookstore in our rainy climate--they need to package their product appropriately.

-Large paper grocery bags cost 5 cents. Stores have to charge it--they can't choose to offer them for free. It's amazing how many people want to avoid a 5 cent charge. If they forget their bags, they often just load groceries loose into their car.

-Stores can offer a small paper bag for free.

-The produce department and meat department still have plastic bags available for those items. I always bag my raw meat.

-Takeout restaurants and pharmacies can still use plastic bags.

 

Trader Joe's bags are great. I have a couple of canvas bags I've had since young adulthood--maybe 25 years old now. An insulated bag is helpful for cold stuff-I have one from TJ's. Every store here sells bags, and the health food stores and TJ's have some nice quality ones that aren't very expensive. The flimsy fake fabric bags that cost $1 at the checkout counter are not my favorites--I recently culled those out of my bag collection.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Ali in OR

[hornblower]

I thought the bags could be recycled too.  I throw them in the recycling bin.  Some stores have recycle boxes for them.  I'm not saying everyone does it, but I do.  I don't throw them out unless I put something gross in them.

 

That really depends on your local facility. Many cannot recycle plastic bags & in many communities you're not supposed to put them into the recycling bin.  You have to know your local rules. 

 

In Vancouver, crunchy hippy land with, as I've said, curbside composting, we cannot put plastic bags or those foam take out containers or trays into our curbside blue recycling bin. They have to be taken to specific depots by the consumer. 

 

 

[Carol in Cal.]

I live in CA.  We had already had charges for ALL bags in many municipalities--ten cents in some, and twenty five in others.

 

I don't believe in recyclable plastic.  All that means is that the plastic has stuff incorporated into it that makes it break down into smaller pieces, not that it actually loses its fake plastic identity.  So recyclable plastic just is driven more pervasively into the environment.  It doesn't compost, it doesn't truly break down chemically; rather, it just gets smaller and smaller until it's everywhere, like dust.  This is immensely counterproductive.

 

So I'm willing to not have plastic carry out bags as long as we can still put wet items into local bags at the meat or veggie departments, to avoid cross contamination and to protect our other stuff from general muckiness.  I have two waste baskets in my bathrooms that are designed specifically to use plastic carry out bags as liners, and I will have to use something less convenient in those spaces, but it is worth it--it's a relatively small sacrifice, and one that I'm willing to make.

[poppy]

Yeah...there's gross stuff going in that trash can, I am absolutely using a plastic liner in that.

 

I reuse grocery bags to carry wet suits in. I get them, so I reuse them. If I place I lived banned plastic, I would decide on some other way.

 

I am SO not ok with your description of mandatory recycling/composting.

I do line my small trash cans but I don't take out the liner every time. I dump the contents into a garbage bag and reuse the liner several times.

 

I've lived in communities with no recycling and ones with mandatory recycling . No recycling in a breeze. Mandatory recycling is not a big deal. Just use a different trash bin for recyclables .

[creekland]

We have mandatory curbside composting & recycling.  No food waste or green matter in the garbage.  Bins for compost, paper, plastics & glassware. Our garbage bins are automated now so we don't have the clear plastic rules but that's the reason for them... 

 

I wish we had mandatory recycling here.  So many people don't care.  It's really sad.  Our family goes out of our way to recycle what we can - even sometimes (often?) gathering other people's recyclables out of the garbage - or before they hit the garbage - to recycle them.

 

There is so much unnecessary stuff in our landfills and oceans, etc.  If only more people cared (another sigh).

[JumpyTheFrog]

I am not convinced that banning plastic bags is all that awesome for the environment since all I am doing is replacing the plastic bags I am reusing with plastic bags that I am not reusing. And, as many have suggested, lots of people just buy the bags anyway.

 

I have noticed that plastic bags are a good chunk of the litter we see along roads. (Most of the rest is fast food stuff, soda and beer bottles, or cigarettes/packages.) That reason alone makes it worth thinking about banning them. Besides, even if many people on this forum reuse them regularly, a large percent of the population doesn't. Even if some people choose to buy bags for their trash cans, the total amount of bags used will greatly decrease.

 

Like others have mentioned, Aldi is the only place we regularly remember to bring our reusable bags. For those who have trouble finding bags they like, about twice a year Aldi sells plastic shopping baskets, like consumed versions of the ones stores use. We mostly use them for library books, but they'd be great for groceries, too.

Edited November 17, 2016 by HoppyTheToad

[Carol in Cal.]

I wish we'd ban them because I am horrible and remembering to bring my own bags.  I have enough reusable bags for the entire hive, but have some weird mental defect when it comes to actually remembering to bring them, either from the house to the car (after I've used them), or the car to the store.

 

I'd say I honestly use them maybe 35-40% of the time, which is horrific. 

I used to do this!  I would bring the bags and forget to bring them into the store.  Finally I realized that I hate hauling them around in the store, so I leave them in the car intentionally.  I have a big canvas bag full of little grocery bags, some reusable and some not, in the trunk of both of our cars.  Then when I check out, I ask the cashier to load everything back into the shopping basket, wheel it out to the car, and load it into the bags out there.  It's nice, I can sort between perishable and nonperishable items so the bags are easy to prioritize.  Once I get home, I take all the bags and put them into a bigger one that I hang on the front door knob to take out with me the next time I drive.  

[lailasmum]

Here (UK) you pay a small amount if you want to use a plastic bag. It's not that hard to get used to taking bags with you. I do keep a ton extra in the car in case I shop unexpectedly but it's just become habit to grab bags now. We have two types of bags mostly. One type is a thick canvas/jute type and one is a wipe clean surface but I'm not sure what it's made of. You can also buy heavy duty plastic bags. Anything like meat is put in small thin plastic bags to avoid spills. We've been using reusable bags for several years and we've never had problems with spills and I actually wonder if that's because the structured reusable bags are stronger and protect your food more.

 

One supermarket used to have a crate system which worked really well but stopped for some reason. I still see people using them though and that was well over a decade ago.

Edited November 17, 2016 by lailasmum

[JumpyTheFrog]

It's great that some people are willing to use cloth diapers and do other things for the environment. However, if the Pareto Principle applies, it is likely that 20% of possible changes would account for 80% of the improvement. I don't know which changes would give us the biggest bang for our buck, but whateve they are, to realistically be effective, they have to be easy changes. It will be much easier to get large numbers of busy people using cloth bags for shopping than cloth diapers.

[Angie in VA]

Since my teenager recycles and not always as efficiently as I'd like him to, I don't think plastic bags are easier. I do like them for meat, though, but we're working hard on not buying much meat from stores, instead buying it in bulk, and that's usually frozen, as a PP said. 

 

I like these bags. They stand up, fold flat, hold ~30# (I think) and are a breeze to use. 

 

 

[hornblower]

I don't want to force people to use cloth diapers.  My way works for me.  I am perfectly happy to let others do things their way and have no desire to try to ban disposable diapers or wipes or plates etc. 

 

And that's the problem. If we all do our own thing, the world is destroyed. Sometimes the group has to act in concert. 

 

There are actions which have global repercussions. Leaded fuel, CFC's, vaccinations, garbage, etc.

 

They're not just your problems. Unless you keep your garbage on your own property & deal with it all yourself...but even then, you're contaminating ground water & air around you & affecting others. 

[Anne]

Reusable bags are my favorite tourist trinket to myself - I have reusable bags from around the world and the country - they make me smile every time I pull one out!

 

I must say that I don't wash them unless something spills or they look gross - everything perishable that goes into them is *in a bag* of its own, so I'm not sure where the problem comes up? Maybe I'm just a failure at sanitation 101???

 

Anne

[Luckymama]

Petroleum-based products are so last century.

 

I would be in favor of a ban on plastic bags here. I have used reusable bags for more than a decade. I have one dedicated to meat that gets washed each week (I buy most of my meat at the farmers market May-Nov; we are getting our annual half-pig delivered this week).

 

We don't line bathroom trash cans (just the kitchen, one a week). We don't have pets. I use canvas bags for swimsuits and wet towels. I keep one bag in a pouch in my purse at all times for unexpected purchases.