• Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    I’ll repeat this.

    ProTip: Leave a bag of bags in the car. When you shop, use a cart. Skip the bagging at the cashier and have them just put everything back in the cart. Bag at your car in peace and at your own pace. The cashier will appreciate you. The bagger will appreciate you. The other shoppers in line will appreciate you. Most of all, your nerves will appreciate you.

    • Noxy@yiffit.net
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      2 months ago

      +1 on leaving bags in the car

      And this concept of bagging at the car just blew my mind

    • Thorry84@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      We have this awesome thing in a lot of places where you can use a scanner and scan as you shop. You can put the bag in the cart and bag while you shop. When you get to the self checkout, you can use the scanner and instantly pay for everything and be out within seconds. I pay with my phone so just a touch is needed and I’m out of there. If you are the carry bags kind you can even take the bag out of the cart, return the cart to the correct place and walk to the car with the bag. It’s so fast and efficient.

      I’ve become so spoiled I actively avoid places that don’t have such a thing. And I hate people who have a full cart at the self checkout and scan everything much much slower than the regular checkout with a person who’s job it is to do that. It’s fine if you have like 5 items and just scan them quickly at the self checkout. Anything beyond that really should be scanned during the shopping or just go to the regular checkout which is designed to handle a lot of stuff.

    • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 months ago

      Other people bagging stuff for you is a thing? I have never seen it in my life in Europe. Unless you have a disability then to me it just seems like adding extra work to the workers for no real purpose

      • dontgooglefinderscult@lemmings.world
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        2 months ago

        We usually have dedicated baggers in the US, though many stores switched to having the cashier do it due to the ‘labor shortage’ during the pandemic. It’s basically a jobs program, usually given to disabled or older applicants that management wants tax credits for, but don’t actually have a use for; also teens that otherwise would be too costly to train if they’re only being employed for the summer.

        Capitalism breeds innovation in how to pretend labor is necessary for everyone to do.

  • burgersc12@mander.xyz
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    2 months ago

    Some places have banned single use plastic grocery bags, its not uncommon in my area to see at least a few people use reusable bags now.

    • Telorand@reddthat.com
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      2 months ago

      Not banned in my area, and I use reusable bags anyway. So do other people, though it’s still uncommon.

    • phorq@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, it’s been banned in New Jersey for the last couple years. It was a cool overnight shift and it’s just second nature to just leave reusable bags in my car now for when I need them.

      • RebekahWSD@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I only miss the single use plastic bags because they were the perfect size for bathroom garbage can.

  • mwproductions@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I was just thinking about this yesterday. In Washington state, they passed a law awhile back where stores can still give out plastic bags, but they have to be “reusable” (which means they’re thicker, which means they use more plastic) and they charge you 8¢ per bag. Most people just pay the 8¢ per bag and walk out with half a dozen of them. I assume they’re throwing them away at home, because I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever seen someone actually reuse these bags.

    How does this reduce plastic waste? If anything the amount of plastic being thrown away has increased. The per-bag cost far too low to incentivize people to bring their own. Some stores offer a rebate if you supply your own bags, but it’s usually 5¢ per bag, which is also too low of an incentive. So what we have is performative “feel good” legislation that ends up making the problem worse. As usual.

    • Drusas@fedia.io
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      2 months ago

      I’m a Washingtonian and have thought the same. It has led to more people bringing their own bag(s), though.

    • fuzzzerd
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      2 months ago

      In Chicago we did the same thing, but we only charge $0.07 per bag, and they’re the exact same crappy plastic bags we had before.

    • cynar@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      A plastic bag tax came into for in the UK a few years back. The fee was minimal, but it was still remarkably effective. It’s not the amount, its the fact you have to pay at all. Most people have transitioned to using reusable bags. It’s made a significant dent in plastic bag waste.

    • /home/pineapplelover@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      The proper way to do this was get like nice cloth bags that cost much more maybe like $10 or something so people actually get the message

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Maybe but those $10 bags are so expensive that you’ll never be able to use them enough to be worth it. At least with a 10¢ plastic bag I’m invented to reuse it plus only a few uses is already better for the environment (they are a lot thicker than the older disposable plastic bags but I don’t know how to quantify that)

        • /home/pineapplelover@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          Let’s say you buy groceries every week of the year. That’s $10/52 = $0.19. If you use this for 2 years then it will be less than a 10 cent bag.

          Now let’s say your a wasteful person, and actually spend $10 every single trip, you’re gonna be tossing a cloth bag, which isn’t as bad as plastic.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Or the 10¢ plastic bags are now reusable …. Now I’m getting into the habit of reusing them, and the cost is rapidly approaching zero. They’re still plastic, but that also means they are lighter, more compact, and they’re an improvement in that I do re-use them many times. It means that yes, I’ve accumulated 100 in my trunk so I always have enough and I’m not afraid to throw one out if it is contaminated

            When the cloth bags first came out, I typically saw them for more like $1. Maybe I’m spoiled by that expectation

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, I do that because it was difficult to get into the habit of bringing bags with me. Now I probably have over 109 10¢ plastic bags

      But I do reuse them. I’m getting good at remembering to bring them and haven’t had to buy more in months. However sometimes it seems like I’m the only one. I’ve had cashiers be confused about them so it probably really is rare.

      My biggest concern is portability - I can fold up these plastic bags and carry a few in pretty much any pocket, but how would I carry cloth bags? Do I need to invest in cargo pants just so I can use reusable grocery bags?

      • mwproductions@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I keep my reusable bags in the car, so when I drive to the store I already have them. If I have to carry them anywhere… Well they are bags after all, so I just put them all into one bag and boom! Bag of bags! And then once I’m in the store, they just go into the basket or cart. Sometimes if I know I’m only buying 1 or 2 items, I’ll just bring a single bag into the store and carry it around with me.

        There have been a few times where no baskets have been available, so I’ll just put the stuff I’m buying directly into the bag, and then take it all out when I get to the checkout counter. It feels weird to do, but no one has ever seemed to care.

  • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    Why America tho? There have been reusable only bags in grocery stores for a long time now.

    • ursakhiin@beehaw.org
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      2 months ago

      In Austin, there was a short period of time where all grocery stores were legally required to ditch plastic bags.

      A successful campaign strategy for city council right after that was to run against the plastic bag ban because people kept forgetting their reusable bags. Everybody agreed they are bad but individualism and a sense of laziness prevailed. This is America.

    • EtherWhack@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Depends on the state/area.

      I know at least in Georgia (US), they still had those tissue paper thin bags at Target when I was there on business earlier in the year. They may have had reusable bags that you could buy didn’t notice any), yet I didn’t see a single person using one.

    • Alice@beehaw.org
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, but depending on the state, they’re not widely adopted. A lot of people aren’t going to spend the extra money for reusable bags unless they’re forced to.

  • thedarkfly@feddit.nl
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    2 months ago

    I went to stay a couple of months in the US and of course I brought my reusable bag to the übermarket. The cashier didn’t want to fill it. She insisted to use single-use bags :|

    • Ephera@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      I have these reusable nets for fruits & veggies, and I always figured I’d encounter a cashier at some point, who’ll say “Excuse me, you need to be destroying the environment, otherwise I cannot weigh these”.

      Thankfully, I have not yet (here in the Europes), but the self-checkout register at one of the shops genuinely has a step programmed in where it asks you, if you’re using a reusable net or similar. If you click “Yes”, it has the nerve to ask you to remove it before weighing. And it’s just like:

      Meme which says "I'm gonna pay you 5ct to fuck off".

      Thankfully, self-checkout registers can be easily lied to, so I just tell it that my veggies are unpacked.

      • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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        2 months ago

        Those reusable nets have weight unlike the nearly weightless cling wrap-like ones. Of course you could ignore the instructions when going through self-checkout, but they’re literally trying to charge you less via a more accurate weight! Based on your meme I realize you understand this, but I’m emphasizing it for others…

    • Alice@beehaw.org
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      2 months ago

      My local grocery store doesn’t have a self checkout and I swear they must assume they heard me wrong when I ask them not to bag things. :(

  • poVoq@slrpnk.net
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    2 months ago

    How dare you taking away jobs from the people that put your groceries in plastic bags at Walmart /s

  • Acters@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I guess I’ll be the one to mention Costco, and the recycleable boxes I take home instead.

  • Boomkop3@reddthat.com
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    2 months ago

    I have some reusable plastic bags at home. Perhaps I should use them to take the pile of reusable plastic bags to the trash

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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    2 months ago

    I bring my own reusable bag nearly every time I do grocery shopping. But I also live in NYC, which might as well be a different planet compared to most of the US. It’s a five minute walk (on sidewalks! Big ones!) to the grocery store.

  • Ioughttamow@fedia.io
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    2 months ago

    I use them all a second time as a wet bag, refuse bag, etc. not perfect but better than just tossing them right away

    • omsai@reddthat.com
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      2 months ago

      I usually have to double or triple bag them because of how easily they tear, especially for wet bags.

  • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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    2 months ago

    Lol i started seeing people in my store use the same kind of trolly bag. I feel like a trend setter.