Supermarket Rant…well not really a rant.😁

[Kwami]

Get this: In Brooklyn, they don't even have paper bags to buy PERIOD. You HAVE to buy the $1.50 reusable bags. I went to three different stores in different parts of Brooklyn at separate times. None of them have paper bags. I guess they don't get tourists or out-of-towners who haven't brought their own bags.

I had the same experience at Target on Oahu. They only sold reusable bags.

 

[5disneymama]

I was shocked when I learned the cost to the stores can be close to 40 cents per paper bag! So even then they charge 5-10 they are taking a loss. Crazy!

 

[DizneyFamof4]

I haven't seen a free bag in like 5 years.

And I did not even know groceries stores were charging for them. LOL I live if Florida so it's free

Who knew stores were still using paper bags lol

They seem very impractical because if you do a huge shop, how are you supposed to handle them all? I get using the cart at the store, but at home you’d have to make 10 trips to get them all lol

I agree. Just last night I was able to carry in 8 bags of groceries in 1 trip. I remember with paper bags, that you had to make sure you had a hand underneath especially if it was heavy so the bottom would not break away. It would have taken me a minimum of 3 trips if I had paper. I save all of our plastic bags and every couple of weeks and take them to our grocery store because they have a recycling container just for plastic bags right outside their door that we always drop our bags off at.

 

[jo-jo]

We get a number of bags from charities. But I have some heavy canvas bags that are 30 years old. Sold from a grocery store that closed about 15 years ago.

Our local township has said you need to pay, but yet when I do a Walmart pickup, there is no charge. It drives me crazy trying to use reusable bags at a self checkout and get error messages over and over.

 

[starlite_]

And I did not even know groceries stores were charging for them. LOL I live if Florida so it's free

Nice to know I guess.

 

[Genie+]

I was in HomeGoods in NJ last night buying some lovely, low, wide dinner bowls. I had planned on it, so I brought a big cloth bag with me. But, when I asked the cashier for extra paper to wrap the bowls, she said they ran out. (Customers really did raid the dishware aisle.) I was staring at the gift wrap across the aisle for $5 a roll and thinking I'd have get that. Then I asked how much the paper bags were. I thought even at 10¢-50¢ a bag it would be cheaper than spending $5 on a roll. She said FREE! I was in shock. I was able to get 5 extra paper bags to wrap up everything before tucking into the cloth bag.

Yeah Homegoods, TJMaxx, Walgreens and most others are giving paper bags if you want. Mostly just grocery stores no.

 

[slo]

@HeatherC - that would annoy me too. All the grocery stores by me do not charge for bags, except for Aldi. I used to own a small business and there are certain expenses that are a part of doing business and bags at a grocery store are one of them. I didn’t charge my customers for every little thing. All this is just my opinion of course.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We, as of yet, do not have this issue. I know when I'm going into Aldi or Costco they do not have bags period and that Aldi has ones they will charge for. On the other hand paper is not common anymore and hasn't been for a very long time, a place here and there may have them but not like the olden days of "paper or plastic" questions.

Frankly I wish Walmart would reduce the amount of plastic bags they give us when we do grocery pick up. I like having the bags but a packet of taco seasoning does not need its own bag either.

 

[tony67]

It's annoying but its becoming common practice.

Its been like this in Europe for a while.

My biggest frustration is:
1 - they are making the paper bags smaller so you need more paper bags.
2 - places that use plastic bags are using lower quality ones - so in the past I would use them again for things and now I cant as they are basically worthless - lucky if I get home without them breaking

 

[mi*vida*loca]

@HeatherC - that would annoy me too. All the grocery stores by me do not charge for bags, except for Aldi. I used to own a small business and there are certain expenses that are a part of doing business and bags at a grocery store are one of them. I didn’t charge my customers for every little thing. All this is just my opinion of course.

In NJ it’s that plastic bags are now banned so stores can’t even sell them or give them away. Big box stores are selling reusable bags now. Most small businesses aren’t selling any bags. You either bring a bag or carry your stuff out with you.

I have a bunch of reusable bags in my trunk that I take with me. I still forget sometimes and have to bag my stuff in the cart at my trunk. It’s a pain at times but I’m getting better at remembering.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I’m in NJ. No free bags but I don’t have to pump my own gas. If I’m in Philly I will cross the bridge on E so I can go to a NJ gas station. If they ever make us pump our own gas I will cry.

I hear ya, sister!

Jersey girls do not pump their own gas!

 

[Imzadi]

I was shocked when I learned the cost to the stores can be close to 40 cents per paper bag! So even then they charge 5-10 they are taking a loss. Crazy!

No, they aren't taking a loss. They buy paper bags by the pallet full. It probably costs them 1¢ a bag. Bags used to be given for free for decades. The retailers all absorbed that cost. That was just part of doing business. It's ridiculous that the customers are now being charged for a service that they used to have to provide. They are making a PROFIT when they charge 40¢ a bag.

 

[fla4fun]

I will not pay for bags, reusable or otherwise. I will put my groceries in the car bagless first. Fortunately we still get our choice of plastic or paper at no charge right now. I am not adding another load of laundry, with all the added expense, to use reusables, and I am not using reusable bags that have held chemicals, meat, or produce without washing them. I don’t worry about contaminated plastic bags when I am just using them to line trash cans around the house. With three bedrooms and three bathrooms, I go through my weekly haul of plastic bags easily.

 

[disneyseniors]

Wow, OP, I am amazed of the amount of posters who have to pay for paper bags, or any bags.
I wasn't aware of that happening at all.
Our stores ask if we want paper or plastic. They have plastic recycling bins in the stores which is great.
I just recycle the paper ones, but mostly use plastic.

 

[robinb]

Aldi is the only place that charges for bags around here. I don't mind it, prefer reusable. But, it would be nice if they had a place, in store, where people could drop off their bags they no longer need - reusable, paper, plastic, and then you could fish through there for a bag if you forgot your own. Like Costco has for boxes. I shop mainly through Instacart so I have, no lie, 100+ brown paper bags tucked into each other in my basement. I would gladly donate these to somewhere that people could benefit from them.

I know that my local St Vinnie's (St Vincent de Paul) thrift shop is always looking for paper and plastic bags for people's purchases.

 

[tony67]

40 cents seems high to me. The best info I could find was "On average, retailers pay 3 cents per plastic bag and 7 to 10 cents per paper bag for standard plastic bags" that seems high as well.

That said -some states or localities are setting a minimum of 5 - to 10 cents per bag (that is also taxed) and I assume in some cases the fee goes to the state or locality.

 

[georgina]

Plastic bag recycling is not terribly effective at recycling them. They need to be banned, along with single use plastic bottles.

https://abc7ny.com/target-walmart-recycling-recycle-plastic-bags-abc-news-recyclable/13290905/

ABC News put dozens of trackers in plastic bags for recycling. Many were trashed.​

Less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled worldwide, data shows.

 

[Imzadi]

Warning: If you get these Target store reusable bags for 10¢ each, be careful when carrying them on rainy days or if you get water on them. The bright red dye comes off onto your clothes. It stained my new black pants and black jacket. I HAD to get it off. I spent THREE hours of my life I will never get back soaking and scrubbing the dye off with first isopropyl alcohol, then finally Dawn Powerwash which removed the rest.

I'm suspicious of all these degradable bags now made of this material. They shouldn't degrade while still USING them and for the first time.

 

[Imzadi]

Plastic bag recycling is not terribly effective at recycling them. They need to be banned, along with single use plastic bottles.

https://abc7ny.com/target-walmart-recycling-recycle-plastic-bags-abc-news-recyclable/13290905/

ABC News put dozens of trackers in plastic bags for recycling. Many were trashed.​

Less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled worldwide, data shows.

Yes, I was about to post that. What a scam.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Who knew stores were still using paper bags lol

They seem very impractical because if you do a huge shop, how are you supposed to handle them all? I get using the cart at the store, but at home you’d have to make 10 trips to get them all lol

Wegmans only has paper bags (well, at least the location near me does. YMMV) so I always make sure to bring my reusable ones there. They're the ones without handles which I find inconvenient but I guess that's just a me thing since I'm usually one of the only ones to bring reusable bags in there.