Reusable Bags: Don’t Go to The Store Empty-Handed
Reusable Bags: Don’t Go to The Store Empty-Handed
September 27, 2013 by Taylor Studios
When it comes to grocery shopping, I am a control freak. I have a list, I’ve got a game plan, and this is no time to lallygag. Which is why I love the self-checkout option. I can bag my own groceries, and my apples don’t get bruised! In addition, I can use cloth and woven bags without slowing down a cashier. In the big box store I frequent, the cashiers only have the plastic bag carousel available, and that makes it easiest to pack items as they come across the scanner. Not the most efficient process, which leads to the cashiers using way more plastic bags than I can stomach. I can’t ban plastic bags myself, but I can reduce the demand. So can you.
The title of this post refers to making sure I have reusable bags with me when I leave the car, after checking I have my keys and my wallet. All the big chains sell reusable bags for a good price, and they’re often given away as promotional items by events and organizations. I get a ridiculous thrill whenever a reusable bag falls into my lap. Score! And the cloth ones can last years. I’m still using a canvas bag from Channel 25 WVIZ in Cleveland that my mom reinforced the handles on twenty years ago. Most of the bags today are woven plastic, which don’t absorb spills like canvas, and if you take care of them, they’ll last years, too. If you want to get a better quality bag, the options are expanding every day. They can be , , or made from .
Why avoid plastic bags? They don’t easily degrade in a landfill, and if they do breakdown, it’s only into smaller pieces of plastic. As I mentioned earlier, even if they can hold more, cashiers underpack them, which means you can have a dozen or more each trip. They are so cheap, stores don’t mind double bagging a liter of pop. They tear easily, which cuts down on how much you can reuse them. Softer plastics (such as shopping bags) contain plasticizing chemicals (which keep them flexible) that can leach out into water, which is why seeing bags floating in a river or a lake always makes me cringe. People who think nothing of dropping their trash anywhere just let the bag fly away in the wind, soon to be stuck in a bush, tree, or fence near you.
Bag proponents (most from or connected to industries that make plastic bags) have focused on studies showing how little people wash their reusable bags as proof that they can make us sick. This seems a rather desperate angle to take. Most of the food we buy is packaged already, and any bare produce you purchase should be washed before consumption. If you are worried about germs in your bags, by all means, wash them.
I’d end with a photo of the mess of reusable bags in my trunk, but no one should have to see that. If you haven’t tried reusable bags, I urge you to do so. If you are in the habit, how many do you have in your car?