It's no longer "paper or plastic"

I first got a couple of cloth bags from the Second hand store, and then I had a couple that I got later on, one when I joined a book club, and one for the cruise we took a year or so ago. I got the rest by buying them at Superstore, or getting them free when I purchased so much or got them at a discount. The only time we get plastic bags is when we are shopping at Roman or Home Hardware, or when I am shopping at a department store. We use the recyclable bags for groceries. They are now offering taller ones to put in the large stuff like the large boxes of cereal. I do not like the plastic bags as they are not strong enough and they never make them big enough.

Hey reiny~What a good recyclist! Nope, I don't bring my own bags! I get the plastic for my trash cans! I have a couple of small trash cans that I use for the bathroom and bedroom and one near my computer! You would think I lived in a big house, but it's only a three room apartment!lol So I just take the plastic bags when I go to the store and use them and get more! I'm sorry, I'm not a good recyclist (if there's such a word!) They never gave any of those bags away here. They do sell some for $1, but they don't give anything away!

I always bring cloth shopping bags with me when I go shopping. A lot of people here do too. The government are putting rediculous taxes on plastic bags. Its now 22c for a plastic carrier bag now and when you add up the cost of bags for a weeks groceries it can cost a fortune. The cloth bags hold a lot more too when you pack them properly. :-)

I shop at Aldi's for as much of my grocery shopping as I can, and I re-use the paper bags there. I just unload my groceries when I get home, fold the bags and put them right back into the trunk of my car for the next trip. I've got some bags that I've used probably a dozen times or more. The only other store I frequent is WalMart, and most of the cashiers would rather put each item in a separate bag it seems, rather than save anything. I've bought things like large pails or trash cans and told them to just scan the items and put in the can and keep the plastic bags, and they look at me like I'm nuts. It's funny, because now WalMart has shopping bags for sale at the checkout line too. They have that handy-dandy carousel that holds the bags while they fill them, so unless they get more room in that area to accommodate greener alternatives, I think most cashiers won't do it.

It seems like nearly every store sells those bags now, but I haven't actually seen anyone use them, including me. I can reuse plastic bags for garbage bags so at least it's not a total waste.