# I HATE plastic grocery bags **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239 "2013-07-22T19:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/41 "2013-07-24T01:42:39Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I don’t know where you live, but I’m in northern California, and was at Raley’s. Alabama ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/42 "2013-07-24T03:17:31Z")
The bag boy at Walmart asked me which I preferred: paper or plastic I told him it didn’t matter to me, whatever he wanted to use was Ok. He replied: “Sorry, baggers can’t be choosers” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/43 "2013-07-24T08:46:14Z")
For the most part, we use reusable bags for the groceries. Not the cheap ones you buy for a couple of bucks, we’ve got the padded ones, and some of them are insulated as well. If you’re going to be bringing home cold stuff in a Texas summer, this helps a lot. We just grab the bags when we grab the list. Every now and then, we might get a paper bag. This bag replaces the old, tattered bag in the living room, which Charlie the cat uses as his Lair. Each of the cats has his or her own Lair, according to personal preference. Shadow likes to Lair in his Nest (a rectangle of fleece with built up edges), Sapphire’s Lair is the back of the den couch, and Chaos has claimed my husband’s bed AND his footlocker (it’s upholstered) as her Lair. Charlie prefers paper bags, though. Charlie also likes to knock over trash containers, but we put weights in the bottom of them, so he can’t do that any more. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/44 "2013-07-24T14:15:31Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Um… when the earth was young, we kids made _our own_ book covers from paper bags. > > “Mom, will you make me a book cover?” > > “No.” > > I never bothered to ask, I knew I’d make my own book covers. I was a spoiled child… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/45 "2013-07-24T19:12:29Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Um… when the earth was young, we kids made _our own_ book covers from paper bags. > > “Mom, will you make me a book cover?” > > “No.” > > I never bothered to ask, I knew I’d make my own book covers. Hell, I ENJOYED making book covers, and I would have resented it if my mother had tried to make mine for me. When I was actively playing D&D, I made book covers for my books, in order to protect them. In fact, maybe I should dig out some kraft paper and colored pencils and make some book covers for some of my more beat up hardbacks. Making book covers is fun! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/46 "2013-07-24T19:19:18Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > He replied: “Sorry, baggers can’t be choosers” This kid’s got management potential! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/47 "2013-07-25T02:40:18Z")
There’s no such thing as paper over here. You’ll take plastic and you’ll like it. But they do make handy garbage bags at home. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/48 "2013-07-25T02:53:05Z")
Got into a conversation with a checker and another customer while at Winco today (paper and plastic both available, self-bagging, reusables available for purchase as well). Both of them were aware of places where plastic bags have been banned. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/49 "2013-07-25T03:39:19Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I know I will feel like a jerk, but the next time someone sneaks plastic on me when I’m not looking I will insist they re-bag it into paper. :eek: I can’t imagine doing that. The most I’ve done is consolidate items when they have given me 1.5 bags per item and I can’t stand it. But that was in the days before I started firmly saying “No bags” and just putting everything back in the cart naked. (The stuff, not me; I definitely have bags.) I do this at self-checkout too, but it can be a hassle when they have to scan my coupons for me, and key in things like bagels. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/50 "2013-07-25T05:11:23Z")
It’s been 9 months since the plastic bag ban went into effect in our county. We used the bags for cat litterbox cleanup and ran out around Christmas. Fortunately, we were visiting my sister-in-law who lives in a Bay Area suburb where they still give out plastic bags. She had a bunch she was happy to get rid of - score!! Ran out of those in early July. Were feeling desperate until my husband got a birthday present from his sister - a cardboard box full of plastic bags. Yay!! Hopefully it will last us until we can go visit her again. 😃 When they started charging $.10 for the paper bags I stopped using them for our recycling. It took me a while to find a plastic bin that fit under the sink, but I eventually did. The funny thing is that $.10 is a pittance, but boy do I try hard to not have to pay it. And I’ve seen a ton of people walk out of the store with arms full of groceries instead of paying for a paper bag. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/51 "2013-07-25T06:13:41Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > OK, I know some will be quick to come in and tell me how they use their own cart or re-usable bags… I’ve got about a dozen of these bags but never have them with me when I decide to stop by the grocery while out. This isn’t about you hippies. 😛 Send those bags to me. We use our canvas bags every week, and it’s wonderful to _know_ that none of our groceries will end up splattered on the garage floor due to a torn paper/plastic bag. Although I admit I could use a haircut. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/52 "2013-07-25T13:22:50Z")
They charge you for the bags AND have no other options? That just doesn’t set right in me gulliver. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/53 "2013-07-25T13:24:02Z")
I don’t drive, so I do almost all my grocery shopping by bus. I have a small collection of canvas bags, but mostly I use a rolling storage bin that I’d picked up at Staples. By now, most of the clerks at the stores where I shop know that I just want my groceries packed into the bin, but occasionally I get one who automatically starts dropping things into a plastic bag as she rings them up. I tend to avoid the self-checkout because it forces me to just pile everything on the platform; then after I’ve finished paying I have to load everything into my bin, It’s much faster to use the regular lanes. Occasionally I’ll get a bagger who starts loading things into the bin, but they almost always do things like put the cat litter on the side instead of near the wheels, which results in an unbalanced load. I’d rather they just let me do it myself. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/54 "2013-07-25T21:34:01Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > They charge you for the bags AND have no other options? That just doesn’t set right in me gulliver. There are other free options – bring your own bags or no bags. ---
**Author:** ![Zago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecccb3/32.png) [@Zago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zago)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/55 "2013-07-27T22:35:30Z")
We have mandatory curbside recycling here (but they don’t take plastic grocery bags). Since cardboard/paper needs to be bundled I like to get paper bags for that. The only thing I use the plastic for is for cleaning the litter box. We have to take the plastic bags back to the store to recycle. Self check-out, I loathe. Even if I have to wait in line it’s generally faster to have an actual person scan and help bag, and if I’m lucky, there might even be a bagger. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/56 "2013-07-27T23:21:44Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > When I was actively playing D&D, I made book covers for my books, in order to protect them. +1 Paper Bag of Book Protection? ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/57 "2013-07-28T01:31:40Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > To continue the hijack, I don’t do self-service on political grounds. It is a clear attempt to reduce costs by reducing the workforce (and of course the reduced costs are not passed over to the consumer). I’d rather people had jobs. Hell, I’d pay more for people to have jobs. I guess I have to disagree. The grocery businesses is very competitive. Of course the reduced costs result in lower prices. Lower prices that attract customers. A well-run business will profit from more customers. As far as giving people busywork jobs just to be able to say “they’re employed” goes, I’m not sure that works out in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/58 "2013-07-28T02:07:49Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > +1 Paper Bag of Book Protection? Looks for the “like” button. Today, I gave my canvas bags to the bagger and he still put my stuff into plastic bags. When I told him that I wanted to use my canvas bags, he put the bags into my bags. I politely told him that I was using canvas bags because I wanted to save plastic trees, so he took my stuff out of the plastic bags, packed my canvas ones and then threw the bags in the trash. There are not enough :smack::smack::smack: to express how I felt at that point. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/59 "2013-07-28T03:04:46Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > To continue the hijack, I don’t do self-service on political grounds. It is a clear attempt to reduce costs by reducing the workforce (and of course the reduced costs are not passed over to the consumer). I’d rather people had jobs. Hell, I’d pay more for people to have jobs. Do you avoid self-service gas stations on the same principle? ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239/60 "2013-07-28T07:21:10Z")
Man, I’m like the direct opposite of the OP. I’m not sure I could even GET paper. They never ask, anyway. Plastic is just fine for me. It almost never tears. It’s easy to handle. I don’t have trouble with stuff falling out in the trunk (it’s called careful packing and driving sanely.) I use them for all sorts of trash duty as others have mentioned. I also wouldn’t be able to pack a weeks worth of groceries into my bicycle trailer without the flexibility and moldability of plastic bags. Whether it’s the bike or the car, I almost never have to tie a bag closed. As far as self-checkout is concerned, I love it! It’s just plain old fun to “play cashier.” The kids have fun with it, too. It also affords me the ability to bag things the way I want them bagged.\* It also allows me to avoid the inattentive to downright rude cashiers that seem to plague the Walmart we most frequent. I have never had a real issue using the checkout either. The scale system is very easy to work with. There’s also nearly never a line since most people choose to be checked out the old fashioned way. \*I forgot that part of the advantage of having more plastic bags than you would paper bags is that it’s easier to fix the bag boy’s packing mistakes, not to mention quicker. In conclusion: 1. Plastic bags rule 2. So does self-checkout 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-plastic-grocery-bags/664239.md?page=2)