Eco Tip Wednesday ~ Re-Bag It!

Did you ever stop to think just how many non-biodegradable plastic bags your local grocery store goes through in a week? Okay, on a big trip, you use maybe 8 to 10. Multiply that by all the people that were in line with you…then all the people who shopped there that day, then think about all the stores across the country and all the customers. Man, that’s a lot of bags! And do you know where they come from? Oil. Yes, those thin, flimsy bags are made from oil that we import from other countries. I don’t need to go into the reasons why we shouldn’t be depending on said countries for oil…but what I will say is this:

Most stores these days are offering 99 cent reusable bags AND they’re paying YOU to use them! That’s right…Shop Rite, for example, pays you 2 cents per bag that you bring back to the store. Even if you bring 10 and fill up only 2, they still give you 2 cents per bag that you brought. I’ve seen these bags several stores so far and they are usually green (Wegmans has froo-froo black ones) and have the stores’ names on them. Sometimes the cashiers don’t even know where they keep them but they’re usually on and end cap or right near the registers. Costco even sells a set of three large ones for about $3.50 for your bulk items.

After using my canvas and green reusable bags for quite a while, I kept getting angry at myself for using the plastic produce bags. So I ordered some of these great mesh ones made by remarket of Etsy. They have a nice draw string on them and they are see-through so the cashier can read the produce stickers. I love them and plan on never using plastic bags at the grocery store again. Oh, and don’t stop at the grocery store…I take my reusable bags everywhere I shop…Target, the fabric store, Kohl’s, etc.!