Are we phasing out paper bags?

[alphaboi]

We haven't gotten any shipments of paper bags in over a month . Then we got a bunch of these little paper bags (like the state stores use for wine). We cannot ask people if they want paper; we just give them plastic unless they request otherwise. It's actually kind fun seeing their reactions when they ask for paper then see us start cramming stuff into tiny paper bags. Rumour has it that the companies wants to offer only plastic cause they're cheaper. Of course back-to-school season is starting so that might have something to do with it.

[Erin]

I hate the plastic bags. The kids at the local grocery store always overfill them, even if you ask them not to...and those bags have the structural integrity of tissue paper. They tear so easily.

They always seem to get ticked off when we ask for paper bags...dont know why, you can put more stuff into the paper bags, and the bags stay standing (usually) when you set them in your car. Instead of having six plastic bags for my groceries, they can probably get everything into 4 paper bags.

[CanadaGirl]

I hate paper bags. They get all spotty if you have something greasy in them, they rip easily, and are just bad for the environment. (those poor trees). Plastic bags are stronger, have handles, and are reusable many many times. You can even wash them!

[Kiwi]

me and kyle use cloth bags (Im a bit of a hippie throwback for a few random things)

so much stronger than plastic or paper

[Worker-Intellectual]

My bet is a conversation like this happened in a corporate boardroom somewhere...

Big Boss: "All right, we need to find ways to cut costs."

Suit 1: "How much are we looking at?"

BB: "As much as possible, we need to deliver more money to the shareholders."

Suit 2: "By the shareholders, you mean us, right?"

BB: "Yeah"

Suit 3: "How about we cut our own salaries? I mean, we're already making like 50 times what the average employee makes."

An awkward silence, followed by laughter

BB: "Good one, Bob. But seriously, how should we do this?"

S2: "Well, each paper bag costs a tenth of a cent more than a plastic one, maybe we could get rid of those?"

BB: "Good idea, but how should we go about it?"

S1: "How about we just stop sending the stores paper bags without telling them?"

BB: "Excellent, very non-confrontational. I like that. But we still might have a problem with customers who want them."

S3: "How about we send the stores tiny paper bags so when the customers ask, they still have paper bags, but they are useless little things so customers stop asking for them."

BB: "Genius! But what about the baggers? Won't this inconvenience them"

S1: "when have we ever cared about the baggers?"

BB: "Good point. Then it's settled, we will stop sending plastic bags, and only send out those little tiny ones that the liquour stores use for wine."

[alphaboi]

IhateCrappyTire, I wish we had a clapping smilie.

[tonydanza]

I hate paper bags. They get all spotty if you have something greasy in them, they rip easily, and are just bad for the environment. (those poor trees). Plastic bags are stronger, have handles, and are reusable many many times. You can even wash them!

Plastic is actually worse for the environment because it's not biodegradeable if you throw it away like paper is.

[purplecat41877]

We cannot ask people if they want paper; we just give them plastic unless they request otherwise.

We have the same policy where I work. Apparently, some of the baggers ask anyway either because they're used to it (we didn't always have the policy) or they weren't informed.

[Worker-Intellectual]

IhateCrappyTire, I wish we had a clapping smilie.

Thanks... although it's not so much that I rock (which I do), but that I've worked in retail too long

[Tanizaki]

I hate paper bags. They get all spotty if you have something greasy in them, they rip easily, and are just bad for the environment. (those poor trees). Plastic bags are stronger, have handles, and are reusable many many times. You can even wash them!

Well, paper comes from trees that are specifically grown for becoming paper, so there is no environmental danger, any more than making bread is bad for the environment by depleting wheat.

I prefer plastic because of the handles.

[Zinjadu]

We haven't had paper bags at our store in years.

And yet... some regular customers still ask: have you gotten any in yet? when will you be getting some?

I know our plastic bags are way too thin, so I never overfill them, and always double-bag the heavier stuff - I'm a good cashier!

[HYHYBT]

IhateCrappyTire, I wish we had a clapping smilie.

Probably not worth making an official smilie, but you can always save the address and use it as an IMG.

I don't know about the biodegradability of either; if I remember rightly, nothing breaks down much in a landfill anyway, and the plastic bags take up less space... either way, I prefer them because, sure it may take six instead of four paper bags, but then I loop the handles of all six plastic bags on one hand at once and still have the other free to open the door, while four paper bags is at least two trips to the car.

[Ree]

I don't know about the biodegradability of either; if I remember rightly, nothing breaks down much in a landfill anyway, and the plastic bags take up less space...

I believe that they have shown paper does break down faster, but there is still no solid timeframe on how long it actually takes for plastic bags to break down. Not only that, but as the plastic breaks down, it releases potentially toxic particles into the environment.

Many of the newer pastic bags are made from a formulation that lets them break down more quickly, but I find that makes them a little weaker and they tear more easily. (Some are worse than others, of course.)

Paper bags also cost a lot more to produce compared with plastic.

It's not just biodegradability that is an issue with the plastic bags, though.
Loose bags flying around in the environment can cause other damage.
Animals have died from eating the bags, and they can't digest them properly, or they will choke on them or get strangled by them.

Drains and ditches get clogged with random bags floating around on the breeze, causing stagnation.

If people reused the bags, there wouldn't be such a problem, but because people don't want to bother, the estimate is that consumers use 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags per year worldwide.

I like Kiwi's solution.
In our town, becaue landfill space has become a major issue, a local environmental group has produced a cloth-type reusable bag.
A number of local business donated moeny to help with the cost of producing them, and their logos are stamped on the front.
The bags are for sale in various places around town.
They cost a little over a buck, and they are really strong and roomy.

I bought one, and when I went to Australia recently, I used mine as my carry-on. I put my purse inside, as well as a few little things I thought I would use.

On the way back, because I had bought so much, I ended up packing a lot of the more fragile treasures in it, and put my purse over my shoulder.
The bag weighed close to 15 lbs.
It was really sturdy and durable and held everything quite nicely.

I kept thinking that, with my luck, the grommets would end up breaking and the handle would snap, but it held up all the way home.
Try doing that with a plastic or paper bag.

[Rapscallion]

Ireland brought in a bag tax - about nine pence or nearly twenty cents per bag. Usage dropped by about ninety percent overnight, and people started to re-use them.

Funny how legislation about money gets peoples' attention.

Rapscallion

[Dreamstalker]

I noticed that recently (until 2 years ago I had no idea why our friends in Co. Clare took such good care of the cardboard boxes in the mudroom).

Some grocery stores here have "5 cents off your total for each bag reused", but I think that charging customers for clean bags would get the message across faster.