Green Daily

Hi. I love that you wrote about this and got so many hits on Digg. In response to your post, I wrote a post on THE TOP 5 EASIEST WAYS TO REMEMBER YOUR REUSABLE BAG.

You can view it here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-zaleski/plastic-bag-plague-five-_b_83335.html

Or Digg it here:
http://digg.com/environment/SACK_UP_5_Easiest_Ways_to_Remember_Your_Reusable_Bag

Thanks again GreenDaily for a great post. Most of all, thank you for bringing attention to this issue.

Peace,
Olivia Zaleski

no bags? jesus christ.

You can't go from offering bags to nothing. You think that would hurt their business just a tad bit at first? Baby steps...baby steps.

This is what the deep-discount own-brand grocer Aldi does. They will let you use a box, if they have an extra from goods they've received, but they don't have bags for you. At all.

I protested this move at my own local Whole Foods: a recycled paper bag has avoided some waste, but took even more energy to produce than the same bag in non-recycled form, and way, way more energy than the plastic bag. The argument against plastic bags has mostly to do with their effect on wildlife.

So definitely... reusable bags are the way to go. But there's even a problem with that: gas prices are so high that inflation is becoming a problem in other areas, and overall, even with cost-of-living raises, everyone I know has less spare money than they did a year or two ago. If someone has a tight budget, they can probably afford reusable bags, but maybe only one every week or two.

(& if the argument is "People with that kind of budget aren't shopping at Whole Foods," it's not correct. In some communities, Whole Foods is one of the cheaper organic/health food outlets. They seemed like a budget paradise compared to our local Wild Oats, though they are more expensive than Trader Joe's on a lot of things.)

Actually, it would be even better if the incentive model is reversed: Rather than offering a bag credit if you bring your bag, make customers without their own bags pay a small amount, say 10 c, for a paper bag. Then you'll really see people remembering to bring bags.

Then clean your own. Most stores provide antibacterial wipes for that reason. Or even better...shop on line and have your food delivered. Then you won't have a clue who touched it first.

I wish out Kroger offered that. None of the stores near me (Houston) offer any incentives.

There was just a story last night on NPR about this, and the issue is definitely becoming deeper than just an answer to the question of "paper or plastic?" Yes, paper bags do take more energy to produce, ship, etc. Yes, there are more than a trillion (I can't remember the exact number - but it's a LOT) non-biodegradable plastic bags produced each year, many of which end up in bodies of water harming living creatures. I don't think eliminating plastic bags or paper bags is the answer - charging for bags (as they do in many if not most European countries) is a great way to raise consciousness and encourage people to bring their own bags. It's also a great idea to give rewards if you bring your own. I've started using cloth bags as much as possible, and it definitely feels good at the end of the day. When I do get paper bags, I reuse them. When I get plastic bags, I take them to the dog park for poo-bags, or i take them back to the grocery store where they recycle them. It's less of a question of what is better or worse, paper or plastic, and more of a question of the excess to which we use these products. Less is better.

actually this will cost WFM more....when I worked there last year paper bags were costing about 8 cents each and plastic at about 3 cents....with paper having nearly 7-8 times the weight and space as plastic, thats higher shipping costs...and those paper bags were NOT made from recycled paper, so I assume these new paper bags will be even pricier.

so actually this will COST WFM money not save it