So how's the "bring your own bag" to the grocery store program working out? (Reston: purchasing, live)

[Claire2900]

I used to never give it much thought until I read it takes 100 years for those plastic bags to decompose. Don't know if this is 100% accurate, but it does make you pause and think how hard is it really to switch to reusable bags?

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by twinmma

The problem with buying poop bags is they are expensive! They are around $10 and when you have a large dog like mine that goes 4 times a day, that gets really expensive!

Just to interject a side note: it's not normal for a dog, regardless of size, to go that many times a day. I would suggest speaking w/a vet on the dogs diet.

[preppyglam]

I don't live in NoVa, but us Californians are pretty bag savvy. What I did, since I kept forgetting my bags, is everytime I forgot them- I would make myself buy the reusables. I now have them stashed everywhere (and I gave a few away). I always have enough bags and I remembered them a lot quicker/got into the habit quicker because I didn't want to have to spend an extra $5 dollars every time I was at the market. It worked!

[normie]

Originally Posted by preppyglam

I now have them stashed everywhere (and I gave a few away).

I like the idea of using them as gifts. There are a lot of occasions where I need to give inexpensive thank you gifts. Little tokens that are just a few bucks, that you give to people when you call them on stage to be acknowledged. We used to give out certificates for a free cup of coffee at Starbucks but that's gotten old. This could work well, because I can work the virtues of the bag into the speech as a comparison to the virtues of the person.

[normie]

By the way, Wegman's has sent out coupons for free bags. They're actually really nice bags. I got the one with the green peas on it.

[emacco]

I actually prefer to bring my own bags and have been doing so for years. I now have quite a large variety of different kinds of bags (one of my favorites being the one made from recycled water bottles that I got from Whole Foods) and keep them all together in a larger "refrigerated" bag (from Wegman's) that zips closed to keep food chilled (or frozen if you place freezies inside). I keep the bag near the door so when I head off to the store I literally pick it up on my way out. I also love the option of scanning my items as I shop (available at most Giant stores I believe). I can pack my own bags the way I like and check-out is zip-zip easy!

[normie]

Originally Posted by emacco

I keep the bag near the door so when I head off to the store I literally pick it up on my way out. I also love the option of scanning my items as I shop (available at most Giant stores I believe). I can pack my own bags the way I like and check-out is zip-zip easy!

It's amazing how quickly you adjust to a new way of doing things. I bring my own bags now and wonder what to me so long to try it.

[ajzjmsmom]

I put my bags in my trunk so I don't forget them, both Shoppers and Giant gives you 5 cents for every bag you use so not only are you helping the earth you also save alittle money.

[oneasterisk]

I've just started doing this this year and it's working out pretty well. I keep the bags in my vehicle so they're handy. On my trip to OBX I used them at the local Food Lion and the bagger was kind of clueless. He didn't realize that these were my bags and I'd rather use them than their bags. It may have been because he was a foreigner from South America. They had a lot of foreign nationals working there, not just South Americans but Eastern Europeans. I figured there was a work exchange program of some sort.

The same bags came in handy for bring back some extra stuff from our trip.

[SteelCityRising]

I started bringing reusable shopping bags along with me as soon as I moved to Virginia in early-2009, and I haven't looked back since. I just read an article in the Washington Post stating that the Potomac River is the cleanest it has been in decades, and marine life is now becoming much more plentiful. I saw very little garbage in the river as I went kayaking last weekend. I remember all the DC residents hee-hawing when this $0.05/bag surcharge went into effect, proclaiming they'd all retreat to shop in Virginia or Maryland, but now nobody even mentions it.

Want to think of it in another light? The less plastic bags used means less petroleum being refined to produce these bags, which might ultimately lead to lower home heating fuel prices in the winter. Judging by the Giant in Reston's Northpoint Village Center, which I frequent, over half the people here in North Reston have converted to reusable shopping bags. That's a good sign.