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Dooood, I have been answering "neither" for years

Rarely do I get high on my green horse... but I seriously thought myself so clever when as a teenager shopping with my mom I would answer "neither" to the baggers and then whip out my duffle bag.

 

However, I am FAR from eco perfect.  To prove that, I took this quiz, called My FootPrint, which tells you just how many planets we would need if everyone on the planet lived like you do.  As I walked down this path to eco-enlightment via a computer tool, I became excited to see my results -- I guess getting a little high on my green horse.  I don’t eat meat; I recycle; I drive a 25 mpg Jetta  only when horseback won’t get me there; and of course - I don’t choose between paper or plastic because I bring my own bag to the supermarket.  I welcomed the opportunity to assess my ecological footprint.   

 

The results are displayed like this:  "if everyone lived like you, we would need __ planets." My score, in large thanks to air travel, is 3.9 planets!  I found a shallow ‘victory’ for at least coming in below the average ecological footprint in the US:  6 planets. 

 

Beyond this pointing to the fact that we can't smooth out the world's inequalities by making the poor much richer (because if everybody lived like the average American it really would take 6 planets to meet all our needs), it told me that we all have to find a big bang for the buck way to travel in class… green class.  So, now I am committed to offsetting my air travel emissions.  Emission offsetting means that you purchase a corresponding number of trees or clean energy credits to neutralize your carbon contribution from your flight.  But that is a different tip.

 

Off to order reusable, sassy shopping bags for Ideal Bite... let me know if you want to preorder one... they are going to rock. - Jen

Posted by: jboulden on 09/07/2006
related tip
Answer: Neither. Shopping bags create an insane amount of waste for something that's often in our lives for fewer than 5 minutes (store to car, car to house). Next time you grocery shop, BYOB (bring your own bag).
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Tammi  on February 07, 2007 at 12:03 PM 31
I called my local Walmart today to see if the bags taken back to the store are actually recycled. I got a semi answer of "they send them to a company but I don't know the name of it". I emailed the manager of the store to see if I can get a better answer. My only problem with using cloth bags is the price. In a normal shopping trip (which is 2 to 3 times a month) I can have 50 shopping bags or more. I can't afford to buy that many cloth bags nor will I waste gas by making more trips a month. Anyone have a better idea?
Ashley  on February 07, 2007 at 01:31 PM 32
I used to work in a natural grocery store and I would always answer "neither" to people wondering which was the better choice. It surprised me how many people didn't know it was better to reuse bags, or at least hadn't thought of it. Tammi, I have had a lot of luck finding cheap reusable totes. I look for them everywhere, and when I find cheap ones, I buy a bunch of them. There are also a lot of cheaper options that aren't necessarily cotton. I've found recycled PET ones, hemp ones, etc. And they are often available as give-aways if you find yourself at a trade show or even a community event. Also try your local liquor store, they often need strong bags because they sell heavy stuff. Aaaaand, you might find that when you start using reusable totes, you will need way less than 50 because they are bigger, stronger and can hold a lot more groceries! Finally, you could always just reuse the plastic ones, especially if you get them from places like Whole Foods or Wild Oats where they make fairly heavy duty ones that are intended to be reused. Hope this helps!
Susan  on February 14, 2007 at 02:52 PM 33
For Angela who makes few trips to the store and brings home a lot...try using large cardboard boxes with hand holes cut into them. They are sturdy and reusable. When they wear out, recycle them. You can probably ask the grocery store clerk for some. They only break them down and recycle them (I hope) anyway, so they'll give them to you for free...nothing to buy.
Lilly  on March 08, 2007 at 03:49 AM 34
Better yet, rather than purchase a tote bag, donate to an environmental organization. They frequently offer tote bags/backpacks/messenger bags with a donation. You get the bag, support a good cause, and the next time you donate, you can tell them to skip the "free" gift and have them use all of your donation for supporting the organization as you already have your nice grocery bag.
Chris  on March 08, 2007 at 12:11 PM 35
So how do I print this biter tip regarding reusing bags, so I can post it at my local Trader Joes? Each time I try to print a tip it just prints the outside border of the page and none of the printed article. Someone please help! Chris
tammy  on March 09, 2007 at 04:14 AM 36
i live in Shanghai and have made it my mission to do all i can to promote the use of tote bags. you would not believe the plastic bag waste here! my european friends swear by "Freitag" bags. they are expensive, but they are made of recycled tarps, and are super sturdy and just freaking cool! i opt for canvas totes from expos and whatnot that i have received for free. but i think a lot of u.s. grocery stores now sell cheap totes for less than $5. or, as suggested, make your own! easy to do, highly personalised, and just super cool! i love the idea of stashing plastic bags in film canisters! so good to see other people as irritated by plastic bags. PLASTIC BAGS BLOW!! :P keep on keeping green!
Randolph  on March 15, 2007 at 09:40 PM 37
Please, don't tell me.... I have been religiously saving my plastic bags and bringing them back to the store's big barrel outside that says "Recycle bags here" for years. What happens to those bags? I thought they got turned into park benches and decks. After reading all the posts above I have a sick feeling I've been duped.
John M  on March 23, 2007 at 02:12 PM 38
I like to use the Trader Joe's paper shopping bags because they work as garbage bags at home, eliminating the need to buy plastic garbage bags
Kristen W.  on March 25, 2007 at 03:22 PM 39
Are there companies that accept non-recyclable plastic bags to use in furntiture, etc.? I checked patagonia and tried to google this but have not had good results. Thanks.
Brian  on April 01, 2007 at 12:34 PM 40
I've always wanted to use the cloth bags instead paper, but I haven't come up with a solution yet on how to sort my recycling for the city to pick up. They require it sorted and bagged for easier pick up (glass,plastic,paper, aluminum). I use my paper grocery store bags for this purpose. Anybody have a creative solution? Thanks
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