paper or plastic

The BBQ Pit
1

no this is not a rant about the virtues of one over the other, although i do believe it’s absurd to use little plastic convenience store bags to carry home two weeks worth of groceries. those plastic bags are appropriate for a tube of toothpaste, a (small) bag of chips, and maybe a coke.

my rant is - why is there still this conflict between the checkout folks, who prefer to give me 10 plastic bags with 3 items per bag because they have an easy to load dispenser, and me, who wants 4 bags big enough and sturdy enough to hold more than 2 items without spilling all over the hatch of my car?

why after this long, haven’t the grocery folks met with the bag folks and come up with a bag that’s convenient for them to load and practical for us to carry? i’ve actually had a checkout gal roll her eyes when i requested paper. it’s not like i stopped by for some shaving cream…i have $100 worth of groceries here! some of these items alone will not fit into one of those tiny bags and you’re upset that i asked for paper? how much longer is this going to continue?!

2

I just can’t stand the way they roll their eyes at me when I ask them not to put my 12 pack of diet coke(or something equally heavy) into a bag. I mean, it’s not like I can carry the bag by the handles that way. And man, those plastic bags multiply in my apartment. I think they’re freakin’ rabbits or something. There is one store here that has great bags…Whole Foods always uses paper, and the big ones have handles on the top. Dang those rule.

3

I tell them to put the large paper bag insideof the plastic bag. That way it doesn’t fall over in the trunk and I get handles to carry it with also. That will teach them. :smiley:

4

Sometimes I think the Walmart people get commission on the plastic bags they give out. Must they put 2 items in a bag? I’m always having to ask them to “fill the bags, please”.
And my plastic gallon jug of milk doesn’t require it’s own bag, either - it’s got a handle, thanks.

I’ve gotten the same looks asking for paper, Lsura, so I just deal with the plastic and bring them back for recycling.

Another thing I’ve noticed in my local supermarkets: it’s some type of crime to bag your own groceries. I mean, they literally come running over with looks of panic if you start bagging your own stuff. “Oh, Oh, I’ll get that, sir!”. (and for cryin’ out loud, stop calling me “sir” and “mister”. You see me every damn week, and I’m not an old man! Well, I guess if you’re 16 I am.)

No, I’d prefer to bag my own stuff. Does it take a brain surgeon to put all the cold stuff in one bag, or not put cans in with bread, etc. And stop flinging my fucking pears around, while we’re at it!

And another thing…ah, forgetaboutit. I could start an entire supermarket bitch rant here. Hey, if you want paper, then demand paper. If you get a look, go over to customer service, find the store manager, and complain. You might even get free coupons and stuff.

5

another issue re: plastic bags. If your hands cramp up (like mine do), those plastic ones really, really, really REALLY hurt. Do they hurt? you betcha. so I prefer the paper (unless I have my teen with me to carry them).

6

If they ask, I ususally reply: “Either one, I’m bisackual.”

runs away

7

Some people complain when we make them heavy, or DON’T put the diet coke twelve packs in bags…
BTW-plastic bags make GREAT free trash bags. WE ALWAYS use them at my house.
The best idea? Buy your own canvas bags and bring them. They’ll hold a lot.

Also-to people who help bag their own stuff-BLESS YOU! I LOVE YOU!

8

not from my experience. they are to trash bags what they are to grocery bags - little inconvenient wastes. those plastic bags they give out at my grocery store will hold one empty juice container and one frozen dinner box. anything else you throw in them will end up on the floor. paper bags make much better trash bags. they stand up by themselves under the sink and have nice wide openings to throw stuff in.

9

The plastic bags make great trash bags for me, too. I use them for lining in the little trashbasket I have in the bathroom. It holds a lot of trash, as my bathroom trash is mostly tissues, Q-tips and other similiar items. I simply grab the hanmdles when it is full and voila! Out it goes!

10

The plastic bags are great for putting in the car for trash. Drive through packaging, that soda you carried out with you, all the little junk that accumulates in a car. Just toss it in the bag, next time you see a dumpster, it’s gone.

11

“Paper or plastic…”

Let’s see, do I want to kill a tree or pollute the environment. :smiley:

My store doesn’t seem to care which I choose. Yours must be rude (explitive deleted).

12

In the store where I work, we use paper bags that have handles unless the customer asks otherwise.

Like Guinastasia said, people complain if the bags are too heavy, so we make them light enough to carry easily.

And the company may have policies about not wanting people to bag their own things. I never cared if people wanted to bag their own though.

13

I usually prefer the plastic ones. since I am stationed at FT Drum, NY, it is usually raining or snowing and the plactic keeps the stuff dry, allows me to put the bags in the sled for winter shopping (from the store to the truck), has the handles to run coard through to keep the bags from spilling in the bed of the truck and I can carry more bags into the house then with paper. then we have bags for trash, kittie litter and to carry the bottles and cans for recycleing.

if you live in the snow belt then you know how hard it is to push the cart through the parkinglot that has an inch or more of slush/snow. this is why I bring the sleds in the truck and then park a bit farther from the store, the people up there can’t park in the snow.

14

Really, paper is more biodegradable.
But it IS a great idea to use the same bad each time (a sturdy bag of course).

15

the store itself isn’t rude - it’s actually well laid out and user friendly. the problems are 1) that its management doesn’t teach the cashiers that you don’t offer a service and then make the customer feel like they’re inconveniencing you to ask for it, and 2) that paper or plastic is still even an issue for those of us who like large sturdy bags for both groceries and trash. they should at least supply larger plastic bags!

16

I am sooo with you here. Some of these kids want to use a different bag for each item. I always say 'Fill ‘em up to the top’, but they never do.

17

The cashiers at my local grocery store always look at me funny when I ask them to fill my backpack. They ask me why, and I tell them I don’t have a car, and have a twenty-minute walk home. Then they look at me like I’m crazy.

So then I have to teach them how to fill a backpack (no no, put the cereal box in first, at the back. Then load in all the cans and heavy stuff, then put lighter stuff on top until it’s full). So they put the stuff in plastic bags (filling them normally), and then put it in my backpack, with the plums under the cans. Morons.

18

Boy, zwaldd, I think you’ve really hit on something here.

I agree with almost everything that’s been said here.

I can’t stand that they put three items max in each plastic bag. The biggest offenders are, IMO, the ones that automatically put a paper bag inside a plastic one. Nice when you’ve got some heavy stuff but not always necessary. Why not just go out and clear cut some forrest with some gas-powered machines and save us the trouble?

I do prefer plastic over paper because it has handles - most paper ones don’t (except for Wild Oats/Alfalfa’s). But they do appear to breed in the dark in the kitchen cabinet. And they work well for bathroom trash bags, but certainly not in the kitchen.

And how tough is heavy-first-then-light, and hot-with-hot/cold-with-cold? Maybe that’s why they only put 2 items per bag, because then they’re in effect mostly obeying these rules. Of course then you’ve got to figure out how to pile all those little bags in your trunk so they don’t 1 ) roll around, and 2) smash each other.
My solution: I use all the canvas “book” bags that they give you for free at conferences, etc. for carrying groceries - they have handles and are strong and reuseable. But I must be the only person in all of New Jersey who brings her own bags because EVERY TIME, no matter what supermarket I go to, I have to say “I have my own bags” and then fend off the surprised/weird look and remind them to give me my .02 credit per. (Not that I care so much about the .02, but it’s become a sticking point with me.)

I think in the USA we are bag-crazy.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ll be in a shop, carrying multiple bags from other purchases, and buy ONE thing and have to tell the clerk “I don’t need a bag”. I often get a look like “Why wouldn’t you want one? Doncha know they’re FREE?”

Why can’t it be like in the UK where they typically charge 2-3p per bag for their bags if you don’t bring your own?

The worst is when I say “I don’t need a bag” but don’t say it quickly enough, so the clerk has already grabbed a plastic bag, so then he/she justs balls it up and throws away THE UNUSED BAG!

I know I’ve probably put way too much thought/energy into all this. But somehow I feel we’re all just going to burn in hell for all this wastefulness.

19

wireless - very few stores do that in the UK these days…but we have:

Sainsbury’s - which gives you a penny back for each bag of your own that you use (apparently someone intelligent (eek) at the supermarket worked out that since it cost them 2p per bag, this saved money, made customers feel valued, made them environmentally friendly since encouraging reusing the bags & if they put a charity change box up on the walls, most people put the penny in there so they also appear to support local charities AND save money at the same time). I hope they gave him/her/it a huge bonus!

Bag for life - these are larger plastic bags with good handles & cost 10p each. But when they wear out, you hand them in at whichever supermarket that you bought them from & they replace it with another of them for free.

In addition, in most stores, you pack your own bag unless you ask for help for some reason, so you can load them however you want to. Sainsburys even have a little bar code scanner at the entrance & you can scan your own shopping as you go round the store, packing them into carrier bags or smart boxes (like those storage boxes, they have specially adapted trolleys for them) as you & just hand the scanner in at the end & it feeds into the till & you are packed and ready to go - saves about 20 minutes off the shopping time too. They do a random rescan to keep people honest(ish).

In addition, I use my carrier bags for bin bags, rather than pay for plastic bags that rarely fit the kitchen bin! You can just tie the handles up & take it to the dustbin when it is getting full or smelly.

This doesn’t feel very pitlike…

20

When you have the munchies:
Go into gas station conveniece store
Purchase doritos, etc.
Get little plastic bag
Go back to car
Open glove compartment
Place each handle of plastic bag over corner of glove compartment door
Close glove compartment
Marvel at your new in-car garbage can.