# Lame rant....grocery bags, WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937 "2003-09-16T13:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/21 "2003-09-16T21:26:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\* I think most stores do this so that the cards don’t get soiled by anything else that may be in the larger bag. \*\* Too true. I can’t tell you how many greeting cards I have had ruined by a leaky DVD… No, there is just no substitute for common sense in the check-out line. **spooje** , when we lived in Boulder, not only did I use canvas shopping bags for groceries, I got paid for it! King Soopers would give you a nickle credit for each bag! Trader Joe’s has great cavas shopping bags, you might pick some up. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/22 "2003-09-16T21:54:33Z")
I second the motion for using your own bags. I have quite a few of the canvas ones and love them. Grocery people don’t seem to mind loading them up either. I used to have a handy-dandy basket for grocery shopping, too. it was about the size of a rectangular “clean laundry basket”. Worked great! Again, the packing boys were amused, but didn’t mind. The insulated bags are GREAT if you’re gonna be walking home in warm weather - my parents have a nifty one that has a retractable handle and wheels! ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/23 "2003-09-16T22:06:25Z")
I agree that shops/cashiers in the US are bag-crazy. Living in the UK years ago I got into the habit of bringing my own bags (because they charge you for them there - a great idea IMO). I’ve kept up the habit since moving back to the US and have developed a collection of canvas bags - mostly “book” bags from conferences and trade shows, etc. - that I keep in the car and bring to the grocery store with me. Most stores will give you a credit of .02 to .05 per bag that you bring yourself, but at everyplace except Fresh Fields, I have to remind/educate the cashier of this policy. (Usually I don’t becuase it makes me feel a bit cheap over what amounts to maybe $.12 and I’m doing it for the ecology, not the $$ anyway). If I just have one or two items at a non-grocery store, I’ll usually say “no bag please.” The cashier will look surprised, but generally comply. What has happened more than once and REALLY irked me is I’ve said “I don’t need a bag, thanks” a bit late and the cashier is already putting the item in a bag and then they take the item out of the bag and THROW THE BAG IN THE TRASH RIGHT THERE AT THE COUNTER. I mean it’s not even wrinkled! God forbid the next customer gets a “used” bag. Is it somehow contaminated? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/24 "2003-09-16T22:11:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EJsGirl \* > \*\*I can’t tell you how many greeting cards I have had ruined by a leaky DVD… \*\* Yeah, don’t you hate it when your Collector’s Edition of _The Devil In Miss Jones_ leaks all over the birthday card you bought Grandma, and you don’t notice until she starts giving you funny looks over Thanksgiving dinner? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/25 "2003-09-16T23:30:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sperfur \* > \*\*Two uses for plastic bags: > > 1 - roll them up into tiny little balls, wrap the handles around the balls over and over until you have a compact little ball. Throw it at a kitty. Once you have enough of these, you can throw balls at kitties for 1/2 an hour before you run out and have to collect them all. > > 2 - kitty potty collection. Double or triple bagged - scoop the kitty litter into them and dispose. \*\* Use #1: Great idea! Now I have something to do Friday when I’m trapped in the house by the hurricane. Thanks! Use #2. I use the long bags the newspapers come in for _that_ job. I even have a special scooper that they fit over. You “scoop and tilt” and it rolls right into the bag. Grocery bags… I prefer the paper bags, too. I especially prefer the paper bags with handles. I save the plastic bags and use them for lots of things. I use them for small trash can liners, and I take them to work (nursery school) for “accidents.” We can put pee-pee pants in them (and tie then shut!) to go back home. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/26 "2003-09-16T23:30:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sperfur \* > \*\*Two uses for plastic bags: > > 1 - roll them up into tiny little balls, wrap the handles around the balls over and over until you have a compact little ball. Throw it at a kitty. Once you have enough of these, you can throw balls at kitties for 1/2 an hour before you run out and have to collect them all. > > 2 - kitty potty collection. Double or triple bagged - scoop the kitty litter into them and dispose. \*\* Use #1: Great idea! Now I have something to do Friday when I’m trapped in the house by the hurricane. Thanks! Use #2. I use the long bags the newspapers come in for _that_ job. I even have a special scooper that they fit over. You “scoop and tilt” and it rolls right into the bag. Grocery bags… I prefer the paper bags, too. I especially prefer the paper bags with handles. I save the plastic bags and use them for lots of things. I use them for small trash can liners, and I take them to work (nursery school) for “accidents.” We can put pee-pee pants in them (and tie then shut!) to go back home. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/27 "2003-09-17T00:44:09Z")
Thank god. I thought I was the only one from the bizarre looks I get from grocery clerks. To make things worse, I ask for single, not double-bagged groceries. As I explain to the bagger, if it’s so heavy that it needs to be double-bagged, it’s too heavy for me to carry. Of course, as someone else said, if you put no more than one heavy item in each bag, this is easy. I even sort the groceries as I put them on the belt (can you say “OCD?”) – frozen and refrigerated things together, detergents and such separate from fresh foods in case they spill. I rush to get everything on there so I can quick get to the end and start bagging and supervising. If I try to left the bag into the cart and it’s too heavy, I tell them sweetly, “Oh, dear. I won’t be able to carry this into the house. We’ll have to redo this one.” ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/28 "2003-09-17T01:07:55Z")
In politically-correct Seattle, I tend to run into the opposite problem. I ask for “plastic in paper” and they look at me like I’m James Watt. ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/29 "2003-09-17T02:34:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cowgirl \* > \*\* > Also, I used to buy a dozen bagels every week at this one bagel store. Same place, same clerks, every single week. They put the dozen bagels into a big paper bag, and then (every single week) they put two plastic bags into the paper bag, in case I wanted to put some bagels in the freezer. And every week I said “No plastic bags, please, I have plenty at home.” Every week. Same clerks. \*\* Great Canadian Bagel right? I love that place. The local one closed, and now I can’t get my cheese bagel sammie. Have you ever tried their chocolate chip cream chese? Mmmm. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/30 "2003-09-17T03:07:18Z")
> [@](#): > > I even sort the groceries as I put them on the belt (can you say “OCD?”) – frozen and refrigerated things together, detergents and such separate from fresh foods in case they spill. During my brief and unprofitable stint as a bagger at an Air Force commissary, this is how we were taught to bag…cold stuff together, non-foods separated from food items. We could put non-foods in with canned foods if we absolutely had to, but we were encouraged to use separate bags. We were also taught that we could have ONE layer of canned goods in a bag, and the rest of that bag needed to be filled with light stuff. I still arrange my groceries on the slider that way. As a side benefit, if the bagger packs everything the way I’ve sorted it, it’s much easier to put stuff up when we get home. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/31 "2003-09-17T03:19:25Z")
Exactly. It’s not that complicated a concept. I guess it’s just too much to ask of somebody who’s probably not getting much more than minimum wage, though. ---
**Author:** ![corndog\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@corndog\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corndog_man)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/32 "2003-09-17T05:04:20Z")
I am the opposite. Plastic bags are wonderful as trash bags. I store them in my cabinet for future use. Never have to buy garbage bags. When I lived in Korea, I went to the store for the first time. I noticed the cashier not bagging my stuff. I realized that bagging was my responsibility and I had to pay for the bags. The bags were less than a penny USD, but I ended up going back to the apartment with a bunch of near worthless coins (the 10 won coin). ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/33 "2003-09-17T06:14:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\*This is very common. Not the look as if she’d been slapped, but the use of a separate, smaller bag for the greeting cards. I think most stores do this so that the cards don’t get soiled by anything else that may be in the larger bag. Makes sense to me. \*\* What? They were going to get soiled by the _Friends_ DVD? That’s the only other purchase I made that day. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/34 "2003-09-17T21:33:01Z")
I understand that. But these people are trained to use separate bags for cards every time. Hell, they’ll probably get bitched at by their managers for not doing it. Also, the plastic from which CD cases are made (and in fact, most plastics) are prone to static build-up. Static build-up means dust, and dust means dirty greeting cards. And a _Friends_ DVD is rancid enough to soil _anything_. Probably knock a buzzard off a gut wagon, too. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/35 "2003-09-17T22:42:12Z")
I always bring my own re-used double-bagged paper bags. 2 or 3 times a year the bagger will automatically start using plastic. I just tell them to do the rest in my bags. I don’t understand the “paper bag in a plastic bag” thing, either. The handles on the plastic bag only come up about halfway on a paper bag, making them useless. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/36 "2003-09-17T22:46:10Z")
You think it’s bad being served by dense grocery baggers, so thank Og you don’t have to work with them. I did have a few intelligent and witty baggers during my time working as a cashier at a local supermarket this summer, but unfortunately, the intelligent ones tend to get promoted to cashiers pretty quickly, leaving me with a few total wastoids. I would tell stories if I hadn’t repressed the memories. ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/37 "2003-09-17T23:30:19Z")
In Ireland the government intorduced a bag levy on all plastic bags, 15 cent. Anyway most people still forget to bring bags with them and therefore have to buy one of the plastic kind your all talking about… And so they buy one, and fill it right up to the top. Then they walk aout two feet from the checkout and bag splits, handles break and everything is all over the floor. Then they come back and make some sort of comment like: The bag you gave me broke. Seriously what do you expect is going to happen? So basically thats why they double bag or use more bags then you think is needed. Although separate bags for some cards and a DVD is kinda nuts. We dont have paper bags for groceries either, I dont think any grocery stores in Ireland do as Ive yet to be in one that does, not that Ive gone on a tour of grocery stores or anything. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/38 "2003-09-18T05:24:15Z")
I save them to line the couple little trash cans I have in my apt. I have lived in the apt for 2 months and I have 360,000 bags so far 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/39 "2003-09-18T05:42:56Z")
We still have places around here where you can return plastic bags for recycling, so we just don’t worry about it, collect them and return them every couple of months. The newspaper bags are the perfect size to slip over your hand to pick up dog doo-doo so there’s a chronic shortage of those around here since we have two enthusiastic doo-doo producers. But what’s with those spinning plastic bag holders at places like Wal-Mart now? The checkers drop one item in a bag, and SPIN! Then they drop one item in the next bag, and SPIN! Then they drop one item in the third bag and SPIN…and then they start giving you nasty looks because you haven’t cleared away the bags they’ve already filled yet. It just gets nuts. But every time I think WE over-use packaging, I remember shopping in Japan, where I’d buy an item that was packaged in plastic, wrapped in cardboard, and the clerk would take it, wrap paper on it and TAPE it, then put it in a paper bag, and often put that paper bag into a shopping bag! I sometimes ended up with FIVE layers of packaging on ONE small item! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937/40 "2003-09-18T06:30:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ccwaterback \* > \*\*I save them to line the couple little trash cans I have in my apt. I have lived in the apt for 2 months and I have 360,000 bags so far 🙂 \*\* You must shop in my area. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lame-rant-grocery-bags-wtf/201937.md?page=3)