Do you use paper, cloth or the store's plastic bags for groceries?

Here in Northern CA, we try to reuse/recycle all paper and plastic. Many cities mandate it. We have canvas bags, but when I have groceries delivered the charge is 10 cents per bag, paper or plastic.

I saw this photo recently and it was heartbreaking. Plastic balloons and straws taken from the stomach of a dead gull, that killed it:
Balloons Straws kill birds.jpg
 

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Plastic... which I reuse as storage and/or trash bags.

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I use cloth. I have 5 or 6 of them, one is quite big and heavy duty.
But I put meat and cleaning supplies in (separate) bags before putting them in my cloth bags.
 
If I have a large order I bring my own cloth bags. Our store has such flimsy plastic bags and paper bags that rip at the seams. I ask for paper and plastic when I have a small order. If I get them home in one piece I separate them and use them as liners for my waste baskets and the paper goes in the bottom of the bird cage.
 
I prefer the stores plastic bags then use them as bin liners but, since they started charging for them, I use my own cloth bags, I spend enough in the store without financing their advertising !
 
One warning about cloth bags: I once had one stolen at the supermarket, after I had filled it with groceries, had paid for them, and was busy with the check-it-out-yourself machine, dealing with the credit card, etc., and turning my back for a few seconds on the cart with the groceries in it.

I didn't mind so much their stealing the groceries, figuring that if they're that poor and hungry, let them have them, but the bag they stole was a favorite of mine, bought on vacation, which I really loved. Since then, I have never brought a bag I cared about to the grocery store. I use their own recycling bags, which are good strong totes, but ugly. Nobody would want to steal them.
 
Sunny said:
One warning about cloth bags: I once had one stolen at the supermarket, after I had filled it with groceries, had paid for them, and was busy with the check-it-out-yourself machine, dealing with the credit card, etc., and turning my back for a few seconds on the cart with the groceries in it.

I didn't mind so much their stealing the groceries, figuring that if they're that poor and hungry, let them have them, but the bag they stole was a favorite of mine, bought on vacation, which I really loved. Since then, I have never brought a bag I cared about to the grocery store. I use their own recycling bags, which are good strong totes, but ugly. Nobody would want to steal them.
Click to expand...

That kind of story to me is very sad. I would love to buy a new bicycle but would have to bring it inside or it would be gone overnight.

I have an older used one and it enables me to take off the front wheel. So I have had it for awhile. That's really bad here. It's an epidemic.
 
When Sue and I go shopping we take with us our backpacks. When we finish shopping, after checking out, we load our backpacks with the groceries and catch local bus .

When we need a LOT of groceries which usually occurs once a month, our Son takes us shopping at Costco.....
 
I still use and reuse the grocery stores disposable bags until they eventually become my trash bags.

My state is looking at banning the single-use bags so I did purchase two upcycled cattle feed bags similar to the one pictured below.

I also have a smaller handmade patchwork quilt bag that could be used for a bread and milk run.

I don't really know why I haven't started using them.

s-l640.jpg
 
not just plastic bags -but plastic everything is causing the ocean and fish to die rapidly everyday ' about time all countries industries in the food chain abolish this material..
or will end up to our necks in it ..bring back the proper carrier bag we had years ago, just make them stronger '
 
Since the introduction of a charge for disposable bags, we always go armed with a selection of reusable bags. These are either cotton or reinforced vinyl. We buy brightly coloured ones on our travels and 'retire' the old ones when they wear out. I miss the free, but flimsy, ones that the supermarkets used to supply free. They were great in the camper for gathering rubbish or keeping dirty laundry till we got home or to a washing machine.
 
When I shop at Walmart or Dollar Tree I get plastic bags (which come in handy for a few things). But wanting to be environmentally conscious I got some cloth bags which of course I forgot to take with me or either we'd wind up making an unplanned supermarket stop while running other errands. About 80-85% of our shopping was done at Costco which doesn't have bags so we use their empty boxes. A new supermarket opened right around the corner from the apartment and now that my husband is gone, I'm doing more shopping there because their prices really do rival Walmarts and I hate to ask my son to take me shopping too often because he's working long hours. I have a miniature, folding rolling cart that I take with me so I don't have to buy their bags and it's been working out great.
 
Cloth. Austin had a law that stores could not give out plastic bags. Many smaller stores ignored it, and last year it was found to be in violation of state law. I got in the habit, though, when the bigger stores were following it, for a few years.
 
Our own cloth bags for larger shopping trips; the store's paper or plastic bags (or none) for smaller purchases. Cloth grocery bags can be a great source of contamination for food so they do need to be washed frequently and replaced every so often. New plastic and paper bags are generally considered to be hygienic.
 
aldis charge for the bags plus 25cents for the grocery cart---you get the quarter back if you put it in the right place----so they dont have to pay a teenager to get the carts
 

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