I’m still trying to understand what’s so hard about carrying a string bag or a reusable grocery bag in your backpack, purse, or briefcase.
You’re assuming everyone can afford a backpack, purse, or briefcase. 
(Seriously, though, I don’t get it, either.)
If you recycle all paper/plastic/metal then you are doing it wrong, because not all paper/plastic/metal is recyclable. Your supposed minimization of waste does not change the fact that you are recommending a practice that is not conducive with keeping that waste contained while it is transferred and stored.
Never mind that not everyone has the option of taking out loose trash. My building doesn’t provide access to the dumpster and forbids loose trash down the chute.
A lot of people don’t carry backpacks, purses, or briefcases.
Even if it’s necessary they’ll need them?
Okay, then I don’t understand what’s difficult about carrying your previously-used plastic bags wadded up in your pocket when you’re going shopping. People manage to carry a lot of plastic dog poop bags in their pockets. Some of them have dog poop in them, yet that seems not to be a problem.
Where I come from, carrying random plastic bags in your pocket is something crazy hoarder type people do.
If it’s know that they’ll need them, then that’s one thing, but there are literally an infinite number of things that one might need, and one can’t be expected to carry all of them. Even paretoing it down, in the end it seems to be only women with huge, full, handbags who tend to carry a bunch of stuff “just in case.” A lot of Dopers keep jumper cables in their cars in the even they’ll need them, but very few of us walk around with garlic in our pockets in the event of vampire attacks (although I suppose at least one of us walks around with a nutmeg for good luck).
When I said to my dog-owning mother that no, I would not pick up dog shit with my hands, she rolled her eyes and rejoined, “You don’t pick it up with your hands, you pick it up with a bag.” So which of us was crazier?
I do not buy anything I do not know how to reuse or recycle properly. If the packaging isn’t recyclable, I don’t buy the thing. I have been inconvenienced at times but either found a way around it or to do without.
The bag ban is why I shop at the CVS now as they still use plastic bags. Then on the drive home I throw the bags out the window since most people are deprived of the joy of littering. I do it for the rights of the people.
Here in Colorado if I use the self checkout lane I can octuple-bag my groceries. Maybe I can work out a deal with my bag-deprived CA friends. Black market business op?
I’m not a dog person.
There’s always newspaper. That’s what we used when I was a kid.
You’re not saying you care what other people think about the contents of your pocket, are you?
However, if you are going shopping, in a place that has a flipping bag ban, then that’s when I think you’ll definitely know in advance that you’ll need to do something different and, I dunno, bring something reusable to put your purchases in. But maybe that’s just me.
Plus you’re helping the poor!
Seattle’s had a bag ban for a few years now. There was some squawking at first, but I haven’t heard anything lately. I don’t know about non-homeless poor people, but the homeless don’t appear to have any trouble getting bags.
Well, yeah, but there are a lot of comments about people who make unplanned, spontaneous shopping trips.
A 10¢ charge doesn’t sound unreasonable under those circumstances.
Except to the OP, who seems to view that as an unreasonable burden either on poor people in general or himself specifically.