Plastic Bags | Pad Patter 7.3

[IntenseMagic]

I was watching an Instagram story the other day from someone I know who lives in New Jersey. She was talking about how, where she lives, they have just done away with plastic bags at the grocery store. I know this is the norm in other parts of the US as well, but I'm curious as to who still lives in an area that uses plastic bags and where they have done away with them. We still have them here and I would honestly miss them if they went away. I use them for so many other things after they come home from the store, like diapers, cat litter, picking up dog messes, etc. I get the "whys", but they are really useful for things other than carrying the groceries.

Does your grocery stores still use plastic bags?
Do you use them for other things?
If you do keep them and just so I don't feel alone, do you have a designated spot that has all your bags down inside one bag?

 

[HavaDrPepper]

Yes, both the grocery and Wal-Mart still use plastic bags here.
Yes, I have used them for dog poop. Probably for other things as well that I can't think of. One of my scrapping friends used to collect them for the breeder she got her dog from. The breeder has large dogs so has an extensive amount of poop to clean up. The dogs are also bred to specifically become therapy dogs so she keeps them longer than most breeders and even after going to their home family, the dogs come back to the breeder for training. So think of having a bunch of over 100 pound dogs to clean up after...

I have some hooks Dad put in the garage that I will hang one bag on. Then I just put them in there until I return them to the recycling bin at Wal-Mart. They had actually stopped accepting them during the pandemic and started back up in the last 9 months. So in the last month I took 12 of the bags stuffed full to Wal-Mart. The only time they go in the garbage is if they've been used for something besides groceries.

 

[littlekiwi]

It’s been a number of years since the government here mandated plastic bag free. I use reusable bags when I go shopping now, it’s second nature to take them as I head out the door!

 

[KimJ]

We still have plastic bags here as well. We reuse what we can and the rest get recycled. When our city switched recycling companies they didn't take them for a while but then added them about a year later. During the gap, we took them to store drop off recycling. And yes, we have a bag of bags hanging on a doorknob in our kitchen.

 

[rach3975]

At our stores they're available but there's a surcharge for them. Plastic bags have become the bane of my existence, LOL. We do grocery delivery, and unfortunately they pack the entire order in plastic bags. Every week we get another 10+ plastic bags that I won't throw away but that our recyclers won't take. They build up in the garage for months until I finally get around to taking them to the store, but our store's bin for them is small and usually close to full so I can only put in a few weeks' worth at a time. We save a few to use, mostly to line small trash cans with. I keep a reusable bag in my purse and a few more in the car, so I almost never get plastic bags when I shop in person.

 

[ArmyGrl]

Yes. Yes. And yes.

I use the used bags as garbage bags for the bathroom. The extras go back to the store - their recycle bin.

 

[Aerobigirl]

Plastic bags are still available. Any bag in a store, paper or plastic, is five cents.

I bring my own bags about half the time. When I forget and have to purchase a bag, it gets used for something else - bathroom trash bag, kitty litter, clothes for goodwill, beach trips (wet shoes and wet toys go in), recycle cans.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

They're still available here but we usually get the paper bags at the grocery now. I really like them and re
use them a lot for carrying things around. All the other stores still have plastic bags and yes, I'm a re-user of plastic bags, too.

My mother-in-law had the cutest thing - it was a cute, fabric holder for plastic bags and looked like an old woman. It said "Old Bag" on it.

 

[Karen]

All of the stores around us still have the plastic bags, so we still use them. I use them again as bathroom trash can liners and for all sorts of other things too. Our church also uses them in mass quantities. They cut the bags into strips and make them into "plarn" (plastic yarn) and then crochet them into thick mats and give them to the homeless. They are very useful for getting homeless people up off the ground and keeping the dry and warm off the cememt. So the ones that I don't use, I donate to church.

 

[tanteva]

Have been using fabric bags for years now. There are still plastic bags in the store, but they are really expensive. I buy a "better" kind of plastic bags for trash, but to be honest, we don't have much trash. Recycling is huge in Sweden, and we sort almost all trash. We're a family of 3 and we usually only half-fill out bin in a month.

 

[dotcomkari]

We still have them here and we have a huge hamper if used ones that we reuse for many things such as lunchs...dog messes. Gift bags. Shopping..wet swim suits. Packages.... dying hair... cutting hair. Crafts. .

 

[IntenseMagic]

Yes, both the grocery and Wal-Mart still use plastic bags here.
Yes, I have used them for dog poop. Probably for other things as well that I can't think of. One of my scrapping friends used to collect them for the breeder she got her dog from. The breeder has large dogs so has an extensive amount of poop to clean up. The dogs are also bred to specifically become therapy dogs so she keeps them longer than most breeders and even after going to their home family, the dogs come back to the breeder for training. So think of having a bunch of over 100 pound dogs to clean up after...

I have some hooks Dad put in the garage that I will hang one bag on. Then I just put them in there until I return them to the recycling bin at Wal-Mart. They had actually stopped accepting them during the pandemic and started back up in the last 9 months. So in the last month I took 12 of the bags stuffed full to Wal-Mart. The only time they go in the garbage is if they've been used for something besides groceries.

I need to check to see if our Walmart has started accepting them again. I never think to pay attention when I go in there (which is seldom anymore since I have discovered how much I love curbside pickup LOL)

It’s been a number of years since the government here mandated plastic bag free. I use reusable bags when I go shopping now, it’s second nature to take them as I head out the door!

I am afraid it would take me forever to remember them. I'd have to have a stash in every car lol

We still have plastic bags here as well. We reuse what we can and the rest get recycled. When our city switched recycling companies they didn't take them for a while but then added them about a year later. During the gap, we took them to store drop off recycling. And yes, we have a bag of bags hanging on a doorknob in our kitchen.

We don't have any kind of recycling pick up here, but I sure wish we did!!

At our stores they're available but there's a surcharge for them. Plastic bags have become the bane of my existence, LOL. We do grocery delivery, and unfortunately they pack the entire order in plastic bags. Every week we get another 10+ plastic bags that I won't throw away but that our recyclers won't take. They build up in the garage for months until I finally get around to taking them to the store, but our store's bin for them is small and usually close to full so I can only put in a few weeks' worth at a time. We save a few to use, mostly to line small trash cans with. I keep a reusable bag in my purse and a few more in the car, so I almost never get plastic bags when I shop in person.

Do they charge you the surcharge when they deliver the groceries? Seems a bit unfair if they do because you don't have a choice what kind of bags they use. I also use them for all the small trash cans in my house.

Plastic bags are still available. Any bag in a store, paper or plastic, is five cents.

I bring my own bags about half the time. When I forget and have to purchase a bag, it gets used for something else - bathroom trash bag, kitty litter, clothes for goodwill, beach trips (wet shoes and wet toys go in), recycle cans.

Yes, wet stuff. I use them for that as well.

They're still available here but we usually get the paper bags at the grocery now. I really like them and re
use them a lot for carrying things around. All the other stores still have plastic bags and yes, I'm a re-user of plastic bags, too.

My mother-in-law had the cutest thing - it was a cute, fabric holder for plastic bags and looked like an old woman. It said "Old Bag" on it.

I think I need that bag holder!!

All of the stores around us still have the plastic bags, so we still use them. I use them again as bathroom trash can liners and for all sorts of other things too. Our church also uses them in mass quantities. They cut the bags into strips and make them into "plarn" (plastic yarn) and then crochet them into thick mats and give them to the homeless. They are very useful for getting homeless people up off the ground and keeping the dry and warm off the cememt. So the ones that I don't use, I donate to church.

Ok, that's a really cool idea! I did not know you could make mats out of them!

Have been using fabric bags for years now. There are still plastic bags in the store, but they are really expensive. I buy a "better" kind of plastic bags for trash, but to be honest, we don't have much trash. Recycling is huge in Sweden, and we sort almost all trash. We're a family of 3 and we usually only half-fill out bin in a month.

I wish my area would get more serious about recycling! We have to haul it somewhere if we choose to do it and not too many take the time to do that.

We still have them here and we have a huge hamper if used ones that we reuse for many things such as lunchs...dog messes. Gift bags. Shopping..wet swim suits. Packages.... dying hair... cutting hair. Crafts. .

Dying and cutting hair...forgot about those!

 

[michelepixels]

I think Fredericksburg City stopped using plastic bags just at the beginning of this year but my county, Spotsylvania, still does. I'm not sure because I don't do much shopping and I've been using re-usable bags regularly at the grocery store for over a decade.

 

[rach3975]

Do they charge you the surcharge when they deliver the groceries? Seems a bit unfair if they do because you don't have a choice what kind of bags they use. I also use them for all the small trash cans in my house.

No, that seems to be the one time there's no bag surcharge. I don't really know if they're exempt or if the Giant pays it for delivery orders (well...hides it in the cost of the groceries instead of making it a separate line item). When we do pickup at the store they use paper, and I wish their delivery service would switch, too.

 

[meganmecrazy]

Does your grocery stores still use plastic bags? Yes, most of the stores in my area still use plastic bags.
Do you use them for other things? Yes we do! For quite a few different things like Kari mentioned above!
If you do keep them and just so I don't feel alone, do you have a designated spot that has all your bags down inside one bag? Of course! lol

 

[Nemla]

In Malta the plastic bags the stores use have to be 100 % recyclable. Which means they are useless for most other things apart for lining your bins with. They literally break down and turn into something resembling large confetti in about a year or two,so you can't use them to store things like craft or wool in...Also the charge is about 20 cent for 1 flimsy bag. So here everyone have sturdy reusable bags,and only get the store plastic bags if they have forgotten one. Most big supermarkets sell you a large sturdy reusable bag for about 75 cents. It lasts for years.
On deliveries many use boxes.
Now as for plastic bottles,.....don't get me started.....

 

[jk703]

I'm in NJ... and I'm learning to carry bags. I'm in the process of: "crap, I forgot my bag and I gotta carry all of this" or "Oh, yay I didn't forget the bags!" Soon it will be second nature.

We have no plastic bags, or plastic straws. I am actually more sad about straws. I carry my own when I plan on using it all day for for multiple hours (like a BBQ).

We order our groceries, and they charged $2.00 fee for bags in general. They had really nice and sturdy bags (def more than $2 value) up until yesterday. Now, they switched to that meshy fabric material. Still useful, but not as sturdy.

BUT... what am I going to do with all of these fabric bags after I have 100, lol! At least with the plastic I was able to pick up dog droppings in the yard and for bathroom garbage. I may have to try the fabric one for the garbage lol!

 

[AJK]

I was watching an Instagram story the other day from someone I know who lives in New Jersey. She was talking about how, where she lives, they have just done away with plastic bags at the grocery store. I know this is the norm in other parts of the US as well, but I'm curious as to who still lives in an area that uses plastic bags and where they have done away with them. We still have them here and I would honestly miss them if they went away. I use them for so many other things after they come home from the store, like diapers, cat litter, picking up dog messes, etc. I get the "whys", but they are really useful for things other than carrying the groceries.

Does your grocery stores still use plastic bags?
Do you use them for other things?
If you do keep them and just so I don't feel alone, do you have a designated spot that has all your bags down inside one bag?

Yes we use them. Yes we also store them under the kitchen sink. I've seen on Pinterest that one can weave things with plastic bags, but haven't tried that yet! Lol.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Stores still have them (Fairfax County, VA), but the county charges a 5¢ per bag tax. Half the time I forget my reusable bags, so I end up loading my groceries back into my cart, then bagging them at my car.

I too have a bag for my plastic bags and either use them for other things, or when my bag of bags gets full I return them to the store for recycling ... although I'm not sure they actually get recycled.

 

[Sokee]

We do still have plastic bags, also paper bags in stores. There are bins in the lobby to recycle the bags. I rarely use plastic as I have my own washable bags that I bring into stores.