THE PROBLEM:
Tyler and I go shopping about once or twice a week, running various errands around town. He's become accustomed to my insistence on hitting up two different grocery stores: Sunflower Market for our produce, and Smith's for everything else. About once or twice a month we also run to Costco, Walmart, etc. I'm not sure how many of you have this problem, but it seems as if by the time we get everything put away in the house, Tyler and I are up to our ears in plastic grocery bags. It's frustrating because we don't know where to put them! I've been storing them in a huge plastic bucket underneath the sink, but have yet to actually "recycle" a plastic bag by using it for something else.
Facts from reusablebags.com:
♥ According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
♥ Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
♥ Each high quality reusable shopping bag you use has the potential to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic bags over its lifetime.
THE SOLUTION:
I've decided our family needs to join the revolution and "go green" with the fabric/canvas/reusable bag option. However, I can't find anywhere online to get 5 or 6 plain canvas bags; everywhere only seems to offer them in bulk of 100 or more. I was tempted to go with Sunflower Market's reusable bags (they were 25% off this week), but seeing them in person changed my mind. The bags are tiny (you'd need fifteen of them) and their branding is ugly. (I love the grocery store and their prices, but it's clear they don't spend their money on brand identity. Plus, I wouldn't feel comfortable carrying around a Sunflower Market bag in Smith's.)
Alas, I found these beautiful, colorful, HUGE Baggu bags for $7 each; what a bargain! They've been featured in dozens of magazines, and every review only has exceptional praises. They are large, strong, and hold 3 grocery bags/25 lbs in each one (14 x 23 x 5). The best part? They fit right into your purse! They fold up (or squish, if you're lazy like me) into a neat little bag you can simply throw in your purse. Another benefit is that these will be perfect for the beach/pool, carrying around toys for little kids, a picnic, etc. They're pretty versatile. Anyone else care to go green? Here they are on Amazon.com with free shipping.
♥ Using one baggu for one year replaces 300 to 700 plastic bags.
For nice little facts about the Baggu, click here.
>>EDIT: I also found these beauties at flip & tumble. They are the same price, and hold the same amount--25lbs, but are smaller (12 x 14 x 5). These roll up into little balls (see below).
3 comments:
you can bring in old grocery bags to Smith's and they have a drop off where you can recycle them : )
and if they don't have it at smiths i am alomst positive they have it at walmart.
Alicia and Logan...sounds good, but you aren't getting the point. The point is to eliminate plastic bags entirely. Recycling won't do that. In Europe, they don't have plastic bags, and if they do, they charge you for them. People just bring their own reusable bags and take their purchases home in it. Plastic bags don't need to exist.
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