Why does everyone think about the garbage problem when talking about plastic bags? What about the contribution to global warming that plastic bags make. Billions of barrells of oil go into making these throw away items, and as it turns out, paper bags contribute twice as much to global warming as plastic bags do. Unless we want climate change, we are going to have to switch to a lot more reusables and scoop our poop into compostible plastics made from corn.

I always thought that the brown-bagging of everything at bodegas, especially all kinds of drinks, was sort of a communal effort to make public drinking easier: See, if the only people who drank from brown bags were the ones sipping booze, a brown bag would be a tip-off (or so my theory goes), but when people are drinking Snapple and water out of little bags (as I have often seen them do), cops don't have probable cause to make the person show them what's in the bag. I learned the hard way, though, that if the bag is too small to conceal the alcoholic nature of the beverage, it will not protect you from a $50 ticket for having an open container of booze on the subway (at least they didn't get me for minor-in-possession, since I was only 17 at the time).

Check this out.

There was an article yesterdays NYTimes about how Kenya is making eclogical advancements in plastic bag waste, but forcing people to use only the biodegradeable plastic bags.

Kenya's Nod to Ecology:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/international/africa/14nairobi.html?oref=login

I think the reason Duane Reade employees will give you a bag is because A) they are trained to do so, and breaking the standard protocol, even for the use of logic, will get them in trouble with the boss B) the are not paid to think, and expending effort to deviate from said standard protocol, which by now is muscle memory, will only cause them to have some degree of a breakdown, and C) bags are free advertising for the brand, and are an invaluable marketing tool especially in a urban, bag-oriented environment like NYC. Would Starbucks be so popular if it didn't come in easy-to-spot cups? Prolly not.

Now, regarding the bag tax, I totally agree. Some ghetto supermarkets charge for the bags and if you frequent them, you bring the same old bags back. Those are usually much better made and sturdier. I think an alternative to this would simply be not giving one by default, and only if the customer asks for it. Also, a recycle scheme would be nice. Bags are recyclable but don't cross people's minds. Shame, because there are so damn many of them.

My solution is to invent a machine that chops em up into confetti and then use that to stuff pillows and mattresses instead of feathers or foam. Hypoalergenic, no?

I use 4 bags per DAY picking up poop from my two dogs, and changing the kitty litter once a week. I would have no problem paying 5-15 cents each. So, I love them, otherwise I have to buy poop baggies. If the bag is paper or otherwise not suitable for poop-scooping, I reject it and put bought product right in my backpack. I never got any attitude for refusing a bag! Never ehard of that.

I use my plastic bags for the little wastebasket in my room, so I always appreciate it when a clerk gives me one. I throw out a lot of trash, so they come in handy. Also, when I brown-bag my lunch, I usually use a plastic bag.

Save-A-Lot charges for its bags, so that's a de facto bag tax. Personally, I always use a packable nylon duffel bag for my weekly grocery run. Never breaks like some plastic bags have, much more comfortable webbing handles, and I don't have plastic bag clutter or a guilty conscience.

The best bag for cat and dog poo is the blue plastic bag the NY TImes comes in (home delivery). Sturdy, opaque (!!!!), and sweetly rectangular -- the perfect shape for scooping poo, tying a knot in the bag, and flinging the bag slingshot-style into the bin.

Ironically, I just came back from a week in Colorado. In Rocky Mtn national park, we had trouble actually finding a piece of garbage. People there seem to pick up trash for fun (or scouting points - not kidding we saw at least 4 groups desperately hunting for the nonexistent trash). Maybe we can get a "pickin up other people's garbage is fun" campaign going in NYC?

funny, but I used to work at the virgin megastore, and i would always ask people if they wanted a bag with their purchase. most people would say "yes," and look at me like i was an asshole while shoving their not-good-for-picking-up-poop virgin bag into an enormous backpack. new york is full of people looking at you like you're an asshole.

also, one of the reasons people at stores (corporate stores with logos on bags) is that it's a great way to advertise. i think my old boss would say that a virgin bag floating on the waves at the beach is great because it might remind someone to go shopping later.

funny, but I used to work at the virgin megastore, and i would always ask people if they wanted a bag with their purchase. most people would say "yes," and look at me like i was an asshole while shoving their not-good-for-picking-up-poop virgin bag into an enormous backpack. new york is full of people looking at you like you're an asshole.

Breeding ground for mice? Someone please elaborate! I decline bags whenever possible, but sometimes I need them and when I get them home, they get stuffed into a drawer, the contents of which eventually get hauled to the local grocer, who has a drop off point for recycling them. Am I unwittingly setting myself up for some kind of rodent problen?

None of you have ever had to work as a cashier (or in a similar retail environment), have you?

I can't wait to knit that bag out of old plastic bags... what a great use for the ol' plastic bags besides, of course, using them to collect cat litter.

i'm constantly saying "IDON'TNEEDA BAG!!" to cashiers and baggers. most of them seem too anesthetized by the job to spend *too* much energy giving me dirty looks. still, they do seem chagrined. the guy at the bodega says to me "you're going to CARRY it?" and shakes his head as though walking half a block with a half gallon of milk is just completely beyond him. but them more we say it, the less strange it'll seem to people eventually, right?

go bag tax!

First World Problem. Jeez, people, so you tell the guy you don't want a bag and he thinks you're a loon? Big deal! Is he going to tell Mr. Big about that crazy loony Carrie what won't take a bag? Just say "I don't need a bag, thanks." It's not that hard. I do it all the time -- even with my iPod on!

as much as i love bashing San Francisco (great way to start out a comment, eh?) - at least they recycle plastic bags at most supermarkets.

what the hell? why cant NY do the same?

You know who always brings their own bags to stores? Robbers. They're very paradoxical citizens.

the accumulation of plastic bags is an excuse for taking up a new hobby...

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_needle_arts/article/0,2025,DIY_13768_3059465,00.html

Doug says: "I typically say I don't need a bag, but every so often a quick-draw employee acts faster than I can speak. Sometimes they don't even pay attention and put it in a bag anyway. Occasionally when I've taken something out of a bag and handed the bag back to the cashier, the cashier usually throws the bag away anyway."

YES! That happens to me so often. You have to say "I don't need a bag" the SECOND you put your item on the counter. And I've come to ignore the nasty looks, although I find it astonishing that the cashier in EVERY single type of store I go into gives me dirty looks when I say I don't need a bag. Why do they care?

The city of Sydney has a program where they give away cloth bags to residents to take with them to the grocery store. I love that idea!

In my native Germany bags cost 10 cents at the grocery. Everyone brings their own bag. It is no big deal. You don't get a discount for having brought the bag, merely a penalty if you don't. Whoops, your bad, so you pay. Also in Germany recycling is done on a much larger scale due in no small part to the high deposits charged on some glass and plastic containers. In order to assure they are returned, a store will charge an extra 20 cent deposit for each bottle or jar (including things like jams and jars of yogurt).