Random Acts of "Greeness", Just BAG it!

Thankfully, there are a lot of great companies out there that offer terrific alternatives that still allow you to have the durability of plastic; unlike some one time usage paper options that seem to bio-degrade right before your eyes.

There is a line called Encore recyclable products, I usually suggest you get these through PrintMyThing.com under their "Green Products" category. They have really durable plastic bags (& paper - if that's your thing) that have 25% post consumer recycled material. They are 100% recyclable too, which minimizes what goes in the Earth each year. Now if I could only get my local grocery stores to purchase them. I guess I will have to keep bringing my own until they do. Every little bit helps though right?

Many people still have the mentality, I'm only one person, how much can I really effect? ...or I will be dead (sorry to get so dreary) in 50 years what do I care? For these people we could argue all day, it's almost like politics, but the smart thing would be to just do our part to make up for those people who make it harder for everyone else. We don't have to change everyone, but we can pick up the slack for the ones that haven't quite caught on yet.

GREEN should be "happy" , not something we beat people over the heads with. Otherwise, we totally miss the purpose of "saving" anything. Together we will be able to show everyone how we can and do make a difference. Through our leadership and example, eventually everyone will want to join "Club GREEN", they will only wish later that they had made the decision sooner. It's our jobs to remind them it's never too late do their part, no matter when they decide to wake up.

We need everyone's help!

Candice

I like to think every little bit helps. Although I do wonder sometimes just how much an impact the individual really has against the flood. One less package thrown away is a bit discouraging compared to the mountain of garbage everyone else throws away. I think this idea is what keeps people from going green. Granted, I am not going to let that idea stop me :P

I am glad to see reusable (and recyclable) bags becoming a bit more popular. I would like to see retailers get behind this. Perhaps a customer discount program to encourage people to use their own bags is in order. I wouldn't mind saving 2-5% off a purchase in return for using a tote bag. Of course, retailers would be worried about theft with everyone lugging around their own totes.

There's a Whole Foods just down the block from Huddler HQ and we frequent them quite a bit...they have this thing where you can either get five cents off your total or a token for every bag you bring.  Then you can take your tokens (if that's what you choose) and put them in one of three little donation boxes.  There are two boxes for some San Francisco arts organizations and the one that's usually the most full (and I must admit, the one that I stick my tokens in) is for grid alternatives.

Of course, 2-5% off my total would be nice too.  But I like the idea of donating just a little every time I save Whole Foods a bag.

Safeway gives 3 cents off per bag, when they remember.  I like the donation idea.

On a related note, it really bugs me how wasteful people are with plastic bags.  Like you buy tic tacs, and they put them in a plastic bag!  And each item seems to need its own plastic bag.  It annoys me.

The co-op we shop at donates 5c per bag you bring in to a food shelf. That always makes me feel good about bring in the bag.

I generally agree that being/doing something green should be "happy" and easy BUT... some things that we as a society need to do are not going to be easy or happy.

Our local Whole Foods store takes at least 10c off your purchase (maybe more but I am not sure right now) if you bring your own bag. We do that anyway at every store and it really is not the crowd that shops at Whole Foods that needs the incentive, but it's a nice little reward. Trader Joe's enters you in a drawing (if they remember). Aldi, has been charging for bags since the beginning. More supermarkets should do that though. I also love the donation idea!

Edited by eris - Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:41:39 GMT

Donations are a wonderful idea. I still think that the main problems behind not adopting byob (bring your own bag) is theft fears and sheer laziness and thoughtlessness on the account of the public.

I worked at a grocery store for 9 years and was shocked at how many people would request a bag for a gallon of milk or even just a bottle of pop! I always found it oddly funny how angry they would get when they had to request a bag for a single item.

What I found most interesting was the fact 70-80 + year old people would often bring their own bags or not want their groceries bagged versus the younger groups who wanted everything bagged. Perhaps this conservation done by the elders is an offshoot of living through the Depression.

If that is the case, I think that the current economic problems the US and the world is facing could be a good thing in the end.