Grocery store without bags?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by caseyfacey • Jun 15, 2014.

  1. caseyfacey

    caseyfaceyActive Member

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    If you've been to Ikea, you would notice that they don't have plastic bags. You either bring your own, carry your things out by hand, or buy their canvas bags to put stuff in. That's all fine and good people because most people don't buy that many little things at Ikea. it's usually all furniture.

    But today, I decided to stop at the grocery store Aldi on my way home. Went inside, and immediately noticed that over at the checkouts there were no plastic bags. It was just like Ikea! This was such a pain for me, because I didn't have any bags with me, so I had to go somewhere else, as I was doing a lot of grocery shopping. I guess I would still go back, but I don't own enough canvas grocery bags for a huge trip. I'll have to get some more.

    What do you think about this? Do you appreciate the "green" effort or is this just a pain?
     
  2. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I hate it when stores don't have any bags. Some stores at least have them, but they charge for them to discourage people from using them. Bottom Dollar (discount grocer) does this, they charge 5 cents per bag (which is reasonable). Plus the bags are actually heavy duty, not those tissue-paper thin bags that split all the time - so you could re-use them if you don't happen to have any of the cloth reusable bags.

    I almost always forget to bring those reusable bags with me whenever I head out. And in addition, many times I decide on a whim to swing by the grocery store on the way home from something else, in which case I definitely don't have them on me. Plus, those cloth bags are not very sanitary when you are transporting packs of fresh meat home, which often leak all over the place.

    If I have to keep running my washing machine to keep cleaning these reusable bags, at some point it feels like I am wasting more electric energy and polluting the ground water with phosphates and other chemicals, just to avoid using some plastic bags.
     
  3. whnuien

    whnuienActive Member

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    Though it is a good intention for the grocery to raise awareness to the "green campaign" but it is still annoying to me because they are selling stuff so at least provide something for their customers to carry their bought items back. The contradiction of the service is just not making sense to me.

    I do always bring my own grocery bag though but I've seen a lot of other customers getting angry and annoyed because they've got nothing to carry their things back unless they pay for the bags at the counter. Sometimes I wonder if these groceries stores are just taking an advantage of this green campaign to actually make more money by charging customers for the bags.
     
  4. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    I have my own reusable bags, but sometimes I forget them at home, so I would be upset if I went to a supermarket and they had nothing for me to carry my groceries in. It's cool that they want to help the environment but if a customer forgets their bags, the store should at least have some paper bags on hand.
     
  5. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I think if forgetting your bags at home inconveniences you once, then I don't think you'll forget them the next time you go shopping.

    I'm not one of those extremist conservationists but I'm with the supermarkets on this one. Yeah I know shoppers will be annoyed that there are no plastic bags available but I'm sure they already anticipated that. People will always resist change then embrace it once they realize that it was good for them in the first place.
     
  6. caseyfacey

    caseyfaceyActive Member

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    I sometimes think that as well!
     
  7. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    I wish that were the case for me! I've forgotten them numerous times and I'm always kicking myself for it. It IS an inconvenience, but it's not like it's impossible to get around, so it's not the end of the world either.
     
  8. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    My city has banned plastic bags for most larger retailers including grocery stores. The smaller stores have more time to put something in place, but eventually they will have to give up plastic bags too. There is a 10 cent charge for paper bags. I have plenty of reusable bags, but there are times when I have to stop by the store unexpectedly. Sometimes, I have to bite the bullet and buy a bag.
     
  9. Lostvalleyguy

    LostvalleyguyActive Member

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    If I got to the point of paying and the store have no way for me to carry my stuff, they would be restocking and I would not be back. I don't mind paying a few cents for bags as I normally take reusable ones but sometimes buy too much for the bags. Today, however, I made a snap decision to grab a few groceries on the way home and I was driving someone else's car - no bags. Had the store had none, I would not have shopped.

    While I applaud the effort to be more environmentally friendly, having no bags is going too far. I don't mind being environmentally responsible but it isn't the job of the store to force it down my throat. There will always be some store that provides bags and many consumers with switch their shopping habits accordingly.
     
  10. ChanellG

    ChanellGActive Member

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    I do appreciate the "green" effort, and I have lots of reusable bags. I have a large, really sturdy canvas one, and some lighter totes and a bunch of the ones they make from recycled plastic bottles. I prefer the kind that are washable because I use mine to carry fresh foods.
     
  11. Neperon

    NeperonActive Member

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    I have been through the same situation and the only choice then i had was taking the trolley to my car and put the whole stuff directly through hands lol it was so dumb but had no other choice so yeah this is the way how it is and it is necessary to be dealt with properly.
     
  12. Strykstar

    StrykstarActive Member

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    Did Aldi have those large canvas bags at least? I can't imagine they wouldn't have any bags at all.
    I don't mind this trend, I already have 3 of those big bags in my car and always bring a couple when I go in for shopping, they're also useful for carrying other stuff around, since they're so resilient.
     
  13. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    Going green should be taught but never forced on people. Sure, you help mother nature and save a little cash by not buying yet another bag, but what happens when you forget to bring one from home? If you bought many things and don't have the car with you, you'll be forced to leave your groceries there and go shop someplace else I guess. Thus, I'd say the no bag policy is a major pain and a potential time waster.
     
  14. Nickchick

    NickchickWell-Known Member

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    I think that's what it is. They want you to buy recyclable bags and yet they don't realize that plastic bags are not only used to pick up after your dogs but in your trash can as well. Now sure you could buy a pack of trash bags or doggie poo bags but who has the extra money to buy them all the time? I sure don't. I think they're actually encouraging people to litter because some people are not going to bother buying packs of bags.
    Plus you have to wonder what's next if we're going to eliminate plastic/paper bags. Are we no longer gonna get free plates and napkins at food establishments too?
     
  15. Ruth B.

    Ruth B.Active Member

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    I feel this way also. There is a natural grocers chain (and that's it's name also, kinda funny to me) in one town close by, and they don't have any but they have boxes available. Then there is the Aldi's, same thing. I don't like it really. I miss not having a paper option really. The quote sums it up for me too. Thanks.
     
  16. 003

    003Well-Known Member

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    It's pretty much common these days that groceries don't give bags or provide their customers plastic bags in particular. And I for one really agree to this. I think it's a very simple way to contribute greatly for the sake of the environment which in turn for the sake of us. Through this practice we are able to save a lot of money from lessening the production of plastic bags. More than that, we are also saving the Earth, and make it still a good place to live for the next generation.
     
  17. JoanMcWench

    JoanMcWenchActive Member

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    I apologize if this has already been approached but I can handle this problem for you very easily. Aldi has the option of purchasing bags. but let us say you are as frugal as I am: You can take any of the boxes they have in the store and load your groceries into them. It's fantastic when you get a reasonable sized box for cans and a huge one for your light items. You get better at box choosing with time and experience BUT if your Aldi is ultra cool they might have a crate filled with boxes collected by employees.
     
  18. Tiara Murphy

    Tiara MurphyNew Member

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    I know that at my Aldi, you can buy bags for like 5-10 cents. I love it. I bring my oodles of green bags with me in my car wherever I go. I think more stores should jump on this. We destroy our planet over a matter of convenience and it drives me bonkers. Some people I'm sure do recycle their bags when they're done, but the vast majority won't. I also don't know if I'd say that they actually do this to be green but more at Aldi to save money. Just like the quarter in the cart, I think it's how they keep costs low.
     
  19. MindyT

    MindyTActive Member

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    Aldi does have bags that you can purchase if you forget yours at home. They have plastic, paper, and the reusable, canvas bags for sell anytime. I always have 5-6 canvas bags in my van in case I decide to go grocery shopping. I have more at home too. Many times, I take any empty or half empty box off the shelf at Aldi's and use them for my groceries. Almost everybody does it. This is very helpful with the canned goods. There is even a large metal crate near the registers that have empty boxes. I take as many as I need. This helps the store get rid of all the excess cardboard too.
     
  20. lovemwaf

    lovemwafActive Member

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    I think that this is ludicrous. When people buy products it creates a problem as they need to be able to carry them out of the store. That's why the plastic bag industry have grown so much and there was a lot of plastic bags available. But from going to having a solution that was working to know solutions at all for me seems like we're taking a step backwards. If it's really about the environment that I would suggest Brown bags. Bags are biodegradable and so they would kill two birds with one stone. You would be able to protect the environment. But also your customers would be very satisfied as they would not be stranded and not have any solutions to how they are going to carry the groceries out of the store.