Plastic Grocery Bags--Do You Fold Them?

[katilac]

There are so many things in the household that come packaged in plastic that I have no difficulties finding bags to dispose of cat poo without acquiring plastic grocery bags. I use the bags from any packaged groceries or toiletry items. (We don't have a bulk store, so rice, sugar, nuts, carrots, etc come in plastic bags.)  And then there are bags from misc stuff we order online. 

 

I'm trying to picture this; I'm going to have to take a second look after my next trip to the store. I can't readily think of anything that comes in a plastic bag that I can tie off, other than maybe rice. It needs to be tied off for sure because cat poop plus 90 degrees and 90% humidity is not a great combination. Plus my sugar doesn't come in a plastic bag, neither do my toiletries - I don't think a big shopping trip would yield more than a couple of plastic bags from packaging, but I'm going to walk around my pantry and take a look. Every bit helps for sure. 

 

Sure if you only have one cat it's pretty easy to find other things. 

 

 

Yeah same here.  I've got two cats and multiple boxes.  

 

 

I feel y'all. Four cats, scooping twice a day. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wouldn't say it's weird if you're shopping in a way that minimizes plastic. That's great!

 

I have gotten pretty good at eliminating the grocery bags and I'm working on eliminating produce bags, but I still seem to accumulate a bunch of plastic from other sources. Just in the last 24 hours, I have gotten plastic bags from:

 

a package of corn tortillas

a package of coffee filters (usually I get a brand that comes in a cardboard box, but I was at a different store)

a package of rubber bands

something in an Amazon box, can't recall exactly what

a bag of coffee beans

 

I don't think we would normally have so many in one day, but gosh, they just keep coming. Of course, I will recycle all of them. Except the coffee bag -- I don't think those are recyclable because they aren't thin-film.

 

It IS rather nuts that pretty much everything comes in a plastic container.  Someone here recently mentioned buying the store bakery bread because they put it in paper.  They used to here, but not anymore.  Now they use plastic.  Seriously I cannot think of anything that I buy that does not come in plastic of some sort. 

 

[katilac]

I just scooped cat poop into an empty frozen chicken bag. Be proud, y'all. 

[regentrude]

I'm trying to picture this; I'm going to have to take a second look after my next trip to the store. I can't readily think of anything that comes in a plastic bag that I can tie off, other than maybe rice. It needs to be tied off for sure because cat poop plus 90 degrees and 90% humidity is not a great combination. Plus my sugar doesn't come in a plastic bag, neither do my toiletries - I don't think a big shopping trip would yield more than a couple of plastic bags from packaging, but I'm going to walk around my pantry and take a look. Every bit helps for sure. 

 

We have to put the garbage into a large black garbage bag inside the garbage can so it can be picked up. That means I do not have to tie the cat waste bag; folding it down is fine, it just needs to hold the cat waste so I can carry it from the litterbox to the garage where I put it in the garbage bag inside the can. That bag will be tied before pickup. Our garbage is collected weekly; odor is not an issue. 

(Actually, there is no reason the baggie has to be plastic at all; paper would be just fine, since using cat litter there is not moisture issue)

 

I try to avoid plastic, but a ton of things are packaged in plastic without alternative (nearest bulk store is two hours away).

Rice, lentils, quinoa, brown sugar, Moreno sugar, cereal (bag inside the cardboard box), nuts, dried fruit. All frozen items. Packaged produce (apples, carrots, baby cucumbers). Specialty breads. Sanitary napkins, dishwasher pellets, toilet paper (one plastic wrapper for the package). Bird seed, cat food (paper bag, but lined). Grass seed, fertilizer, driveway salt. 

Then there is the non-grocery stuff ordered online. Everything is bagged. Every item of clothing is sent in a plastic bag. Electronics. 

 

I reuse ziplock bags and reclosable bags from things like rice, but I do not feel comfortable washing and reusing if they had raw meat in them, so they get another life as cat waste bags.

 

Probably not enough for lots of pets. But since I started consciously looking for things I could repurpose, it was eye opening how much packaging waste one brings into the home.

Edited March 14, 2018 by regentrude

[Seeking Squirrels]

We stick a bunch at a time into another plastic bag till it’s full, then we tie the top and forget to bring the whole thing to the store for recycling.

 

This exactly. I hardly ever make time to fold my laundry, I'm definitely not folding plastic bags. 

[katilac]

We have to put the garbage into a large black garbage bag inside the garbage can so it can be picked up. That means I do not have to tie the cat waste bag; folding it down is fine, it just needs to hold the cat waste so I can carry it from the litterbox to the garage where I put it in the garbage bag inside the can. That bag will be tied before pickup. Our garbage is collected weekly; odor is not an issue. 

  

 

Probably not enough for lots of pets. But since I started consciously looking for things I could repurpose, it was eye opening how much packaging waste one brings into the home.

 

Our big garbage can is outside, no garage, so tying the bags is a necessity here when it's hot. Which is almost all of the time. 

 

Not enough for lots of pets, but it can make a dent at least. If the bags are kind of long, like cereal bags, it might be enough to just roll the top over several times. 

[kewb]

I fold them to stack at the bottom of the garbage cans in the bathrooms and the kids rooms. That way, when I take out the garbage the next bag is ready and waiting.

 

The rest of them get smooshed into a dispenser. Or gathered into one bag that I eventually return to the store for recycling.

[Melissa in Australia]

Zombie thread

[LucyStoner]

Regular thin plastic grocery bags have been banned for years around me.  They made a brief comeback in the pandemic.  If you don't bring your own bags to the store, they sell you 8 cent paper or "reusable" plastic bags that I think would be far too thick to fold and have stay folded.  The reusable plastic bags, which many people get and few people reuse, have significantly more plastic than the old bags that were banned.  Classic case study in unintentional consequences to a government policy.  I rarely see people using their own bags at the store so I suspect that we are consuming far more plastic in this county than we did before.    

All that is to say that I don't fold these bags and haven't used them regularly in a long time.  When we had them regularly, I had a holder for them on the wall that you just stuffed them all into and then pulled out like a kleenex when it was time to reuse them for something.  

Most of the time we go to the store, I use my flip and tumble reusable bags.  If I am without those and get a bag, it's paper or one of the "reusable" plastic bags.  These don't store compactly but I do have a few stuffed into another one of them.  

ETA: ugh, I replied to a zombie thread.  

Edited November 24, 2022 by LucyStoner