# Paper or Plastic? Or bring your own? Which do you choose? How green are you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327 "2007-04-23T16:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [April 23, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/41 "2007-04-23T20:37:35Z")
I get paper bags and re-use them for groceries until they wear out or get torn or soiled. Once in a while I get plastic bags just to use for trash. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/42 "2007-04-23T20:39:10Z")
I have a green canvas bag my supermarket sold as a “green” promotion. I use it because I have to walk my groceries home, and it is stronger than paper or plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/43 "2007-04-23T22:04:29Z")
I hate them, but I get plastic. I use them for kitty poop. Five litter boxes get scooped twice a day, so I use all the bags I get. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/44 "2007-04-23T23:46:40Z")
[QUOTE=Boscibo] I hate them, but I get plastic. I use them for kitty poop. Five litter boxes get scooped twice a day, so I use all the bags I get. [/QUOTE] 5 boxes scooped twice a day…whata good parent! 🙂 [QUOTE=Jodi] Unless I’ve been completely wrong about WhyNot, she’s not likely to be anything “Man” unless the disguise is so complete it includes a change of gender [/QUOTE] :o oops 🙂 When I don’t keep up with everyone on the boards, I get genders wrong. Obviously. 😃 ---
**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:** [April 23, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/45 "2007-04-23T23:57:17Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] (Why can’t I get my spiral light bulbs in a simple cardboard box instead of those damned indestructible plastic hang-on-the-hook packages that I have to cut open with scissors, wrecking the scissors and gashing myself on sharp plastic?) [/QUOTE] I hate those shrinkwrapped packages. I think that they should be tamper-evident, but all packages should be easily opened by the consumer without special tools. ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/46 "2007-04-24T00:07:25Z")
Typically use reusable plastic bags here, unless I forget. You have to pay for bags here now, light plastic ones are 15cent, the heavy duty ones are around €1. Ive never seen paper bags, here unless you count wine bags! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/47 "2007-04-24T06:09:17Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I’d like to see actual cost breakdowns of how much profit comes from the impulse-buy temptation racks at the checkout stands. [/QUOTE] I actually _plan_ to get breathmints off those racks. I put them on my list and everything. I just like having breathmints around, and it’s not like they sell them anywhere else in the store. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327/48 "2007-04-24T10:34:50Z")
We are charged for plastic bags at the grocery here, and paper is only usually used for bakery goods. I use reuseable light fabric shopping bags that are also sold by the grocers. A portion of the saleprice goes to environmental concerns. They make an insulated zipped one too, that’s good for frozen stuff. Like the ones [here.]([http://www.ecobags.com/Our\_Products/The\_GreenBag;jsessionid=ac112b2a1f43dfd244eff701441896e087cc4c5ec5cd.e3eSbNyQc3mLe34NaheQc34SaNv0?gc](http://www.ecobags.com/Our_Products/The_GreenBag;jsessionid=ac112b2a1f43dfd244eff701441896e087cc4c5ec5cd.e3eSbNyQc3mLe34NaheQc34SaNv0?gc) lid=CO\_5p\_uU24sCFRpIhgodbWunVQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-or-plastic-or-bring-your-own-which-do-you-choose-how-green-are-you/401327.md?page=2)