Very odd question but I’m just thinking about when I’ve visited the US, I didn’t really see anyone walking around with reusable bags. This could just be the states I’ve visited (New England and NC).
Paper bags (pretty cool) were still a thing in these states in some stores but when we went to Walmart and target, everyone I saw used their plastic bags. Just curious if you guys have reusable bags being sold as I didn’t see any lol.
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On the west coast, most states have banned disposable plastic bags. You still can get plastic bags from clothing stores but they’re typically thick enough to legally be “reusable”.
In the grocery stores especially, it’s reusables or paper bags only. Reusable bags are very common.
They banned disposable plastic bags in stores here in New York.
Ironically, this led to a rise in pollution.
Yes, we have a whole pile of them. We usually keep a few in our cars as well.
Yes, I always use reusable shopping bags. I prefer Envirosax or Loqi brand because they’re strong, roomy, come in fun designs, and roll up small so I always have a few in my bag and car and I can easily stick them in a coat pocket so I’m never without.
This varies by state, because different states have different laws on when stores can provide bags.
In my state, New York, it’s been the law for a couple of years that grocery stores cannot provide single-use plastic bags, but can (but do not have to) provide paper bags for a $.05 charge. So in the last five years or so, reusable bags have become much more common here. I try to always have one with me.
In the neighboring state, New Jersey, they implemented an even more stringent law within the last year or so where grocery stores cannot provide any bags at all, even paper ones. So there, reusable bags are even more common than where I live.
In states with no laws regarding this, stores will still usually give out plastic bags.
I have more reusable bags for shopping than seems reasonable for anyone to own.
In Denver, you have to pay to use plastic bags. So most people try to use reusable bags. I lived in the UK (London) for five years, so it’s the same here in Denver as over there. I actually think it’s easier to find somewhere to buy a reusable bag in Colorado compared to when I lived in the UK.
Yes. The local supermarket chain, Market Basket, sells some of the best reusable bags ever. I actually use them more often for other stuff because they are so well built.
They still have plastic and paper bags though.
I have probably 15 reusable bags. I’m really forgetful and I’ll bring my groceries into the house and then forget to return the bags to my car by the time I go on my next grocery run, so it’s definitely for the best. That said, in the little town I live in (outside of a bigger city), I am definitely an outlier and almost never see anyone else using reusable bags.
Reusable ones, although it is difficult to take this shit seriously when we’re cutting down entire forests to burn in powerplants in Europe. Absolute insanity.
[https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/07/us/american-south-biomass-energy-invs/](https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/07/us/american-south-biomass-energy-invs/)
They banned plastic bags in NJ in 2021. Now I have 30 of those reusable shopping bags in my trunk.
I’m still using up all the plastic bags I stored under the sink, for dog poop and bathroom trash.
I have some for Aldi. Otherwise, my local Walmart has a recycling bin for plastic bags, so I use some for trash bags and take any left over to that recycling bin.
Even places where plastic is common, many grocery stores give discounts for reusable bags because it’s one less thing they have to pay for. If you’re like me and have to go to the grocery store 3 times a week, no reason not to take the discount.
I do, but that’s because I shop at Aldi’s.
Yes for when I go to Aldis. When I go to my local grocers for other things I get plastic bags because they’re free and I use the for cat litter cleaning and bathroom garbage bags. Every Midwestern house has a bag o bags under the kitchen sink lol.
I’ll out myself as one of the bad ones. I have a few reusable bags but I’ve never remembered to put them in my car. We do like having the plastic bags though for bathroom trash cans and cleaning litter boxes.
They banned plastic bags in New Jersey, so I have a bunch of reusable bags for food shopping. My problem is remembering to take them when I go to another store, such as Target. I keep a few in each car, just in case (although I usually forget to bring them inside the store!).
We keep them in the trunk of our car and forget to fetch them half the time.
Reusable bags exist but not a lot of people use them.
My local grocery also sells reusable produce bags that I use.
Problem is it’s all still made of plastic even if it is thicker. So it feels kind of like we’re just kicking the can down the road a bit. It’s better but only if used consistently enough to make up the difference in production of those heavy bags. And even as a fairly conscientious person I forget them sometimes.
I use a sturdy woven grass basket for my groceries when I shop in person, especially at the farmer’s market, but most of the time, I order my groceries for curbside pick-up where they’re loaded straight into plastic bins I keep in the trunk of my car for the purpose.
In 2010 the District of Columbia became one of the first jurisdictions in the country to impose a bag tax of 5¢ for plastic bags as a way to change people’s behavior. Plastic and paper bags are still available, you just have to pay for plastic. In my experience I see more people using reusable shopping bags than using plastic or paper. Personally, if I don’t have my reusable bags on me, I’ll opt for paper.
They’re readily available but I don’t know many people who bother to use them outside of places with some form of legal mandate in place against the single-use plastics.
Even there a lot of people just pay a few cents extra for the paper bags and get on with things.
The city I live in banned plastic bags in 2014, but then the state made banning plastic bags illegal 🙄 but the grocery store most commonly used in our city kept the plastic bag ban in place
The city of Austin banned plastic bags for awhile but the State Supreme Court declared that unconstitutional for some reason. So we didn’t have plastic bags for years but now we do again.
The plastic bags are reuseable in states wanting to better the environment.