Step 1 Bring reusable bag
Step 2 Buy something for 20 cents
Step 3 ???
Step 4 Profit

Kroger, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's offer a similar discount, though I think it's $.05 per bag. Meijer might do it too, though it's been a while since I remembered to bring in reusable bags with me.

I wish kroger would start doing this. I still have tons of their old plastic bags from before I bought the reusable ones.

Misleading headline.

/Bad Subby!

Drizzit: I wish kroger would start doing this. I still have tons of their old plastic bags from before I bought the reusable ones.

The last time I brought in reusable bags to my local Kroger, they gave me a $.05 credit per bag, though it may have been capped at $.25 total.

Curious: Doctor Funkenstein: Why is the pic with TFA a cat in a bag? WTF does that cat have to do with anything? Get out of that bag. You're not merchandise purchased at a store. You're a cat.

but it's cute.

and that's not a reusable bag either.

Sure it is. It just got re-used as a kitty condo.

Reusable bag = your mom?

/better double bag it

I wonder if subby even bothered reading the article?

If CVS wants to give me 25 cents for my ex-wife, they can have her.

skinink: If CVS wants to give me 25 cents for my ex-wife, they can have her.

Why pay? Everybody already gets her for free...

DaSnipah: Misleading headline.

/Bad Subby!

this.

I wonder if this trend will make its way into healthcare, given this administrations' zeal for all things 'green.'. I can see it now: 'Obamacare goes green!'. Bring your own bedpans! Bring your own gauze! Re-use those needles! Ok... Exagarating on that last one... I hope.

And there's precedent with the "go into debt and buy a new 'green' car, while destroying a perfectly serviceable automobile in the process" fiasco.

Green=Maybe good for the environment, horrible for manufaturing and other industries.

Doctor Funkenstein: Why is the pic with TFA a cat in a bag? WTF does that cat have to do with anything? Get out of that bag. You're not merchandise purchased at a store. You're a cat.

Just add a cinderblock and a river, and you've got a great way to dispose of unwanted cats.

Yo, Subby. We want to encourage companies to do this. Not the other way around.

Before you post stories, make sure you understand them.

Inibrius: skinink: If CVS wants to give me 25 cents for my ex-wife, they can have her.

Why pay? Everybody already gets her for free...

She's reusable, I usually just dump women in the local landfill when I'm done with them.

The local city council here tried to pass a tax on plastic bags to encourage more people to use reusable bags. Everyone went ape-shiat.

It was doomed from the beginning though, as it combined two things that southerners dislike: recycling and taxes.

VeggieGuy: Yo, Subby. We want to encourage companies to do this. Not the other way around.

Before you post stories, make sure you understand them.

Yeah, I just can't imagine how this could backfire. Maybe a company will accidentally do a little good?

The fools. They could lose literally dozens of dollars!

I have a couple cloth tote bags but rarely use them now. Recycling here requires that you put your sorted recyclables in paper bags. Once I started using my tote bag for groceries, I ran out of paper bags to recycle. I'll have to check with the city to see if we can use those clear garbage bags for the recycling.

/also uses 2 store plastic bags a week to empty the cats' litter box.

hmmm... grocery stores had been doing this for a long time over here...

They just stopped and switched to charging 5 cents (or so) per bag.

If I forget my reusable bags, I usually get another one if it's a small order, otherwise I just pile the stuff back in the cart and put it in the bags once in the cars.

For me it's not so much the environment thing really as I know that producing these plastic reusable bags are as bad is the cheap ones, and I still have no idea if the lifespan of one outweighs the advantages. Nah, for me it's more a question of that they are freaking easier to carry, load/fill and unload/empty and such.

8bit4life: I have a couple cloth tote bags but rarely use them now. Recycling here requires that you put your sorted recyclables in paper bags. Once I started using my tote bag for groceries, I ran out of paper bags to recycle. I'll have to check with the city to see if we can use those clear garbage bags for the recycling.

/also uses 2 store plastic bags a week to empty the cats' litter box.

your town doesn't have the large recycle bins/garbage cans on wheels yet?

The store where I shop makes you bag your own groceries, so I forgo the whole bag nonsense and just dump the groceries back into the cart.

I'm saving the world and not being a douchebag by holding everyone else up behind me while I be sure to sort my cans.

/you're welcome

Charge $2.00 for the assholes who insist on getting paper inside of plastic bags for their single gallon of milk.

imfallen_angel: your town doesn't have the large recycle bins/garbage cans on wheels yet?

Nope...they give you a couple of 24 gallon bins. You have to separate the recycling yourself. Link (new window)

Something like what you're talking about would be great, though. Since we started recycling in my household, my boyfriend and I produce around 1 bag of garbage a week. The recycling, however, gets out of control since it is only collected twice a month. We're hoping a can crusher will cut down on some of it.

8bit4life:
/also uses 2 store plastic bags a week to empty the cats' litter box.

I do this too, so every other week I go to target with out reusable bags. Target has the best plastic bags for hauling cat poop.

redredrosebuds: I do this too, so every other week I go to target with out reusable bags. Target has the best plastic bags for hauling cat poop.

yeah! No holes. Rainbow, on the other hand, has the worst bags for cat poop. I usually have to find the holes and tape them up before use.

Wow, subby fails completely at reading comprehension:

For 99 cents, members of CVS' ExtraCare rewards program will get a leaf-shaped Green Bag Tag card, which can be attached to a cloth bag or knapsack. When they complete their purchases, the card will be scanned. After every fourth shopping trip, a $1 Extra Buck coupon will be printed on their receipt.

Fellows: It was doomed from the beginning though, as it combined two things that southerners dislike: recycling and taxes.

Not true. How many of them have recycled bathtubs and toilets on the front lawn as religious shrines and flower pots? Or cinder blocks, milk crates, and large cable spools as furniture?

dasc 2009-10-18 11:57:42 AM Step 1 Bring reusable bag Step 2 Buy something for 20 cents Step 3 ??? Step 4 Profit
=========================================

Maybe. If you live right next door and are willing to walk in and out of the store about 60 times.

Otherwise, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life

who buys enough shiat at a drugstore that they really need a bag? Do I get a quarter if I just say 'no bag' when I buy a pack of rubbers mentos?

yeah, there's a bag joke in there, I'm just not witty enough to gain from it.

Doctor Funkenstein: Why is the pic with TFA a cat in a bag? WTF does that cat have to do with anything? Get out of that bag. You're not merchandise purchased at a store. You're a cat.

Pretty sure ift may be leftovers from Caturday.

altinos: Fellows: It was doomed from the beginning though, as it combined two things that southerners dislike: recycling and taxes.

Not true. How many of them have recycled bathtubs and toilets on the front lawn as religious shrines and flower pots? Or cinder blocks, milk crates, and large cable spools as furniture?

Well, he's right about the taxes. No one on earth besides southerners dislikes taxes.

I actually just cut up some old plastic bags, used them as 'yarn', and then knit a reusable bag out of that. Sure, it's ugly as all hell, but it reusable, it's stronger than just one plastic bag, and it works for groceries.

/usually walk to the grocery store, so it has to stand up to that

acronym: who buys enough shiat at a drugstore that they really need a bag? Do I get a quarter if I just say 'no bag' when I buy a pack of rubbers mentos?

yeah, there's a bag joke in there, I'm just not witty enough to gain from it.

Something about promising to reuse the bag on the biatch, maybe? Help us out here, Fark.

acronym: who buys enough shiat at a drugstore that they really need a bag? Do I get a quarter if I just say 'no bag' when I buy a pack of rubbers mentos?

yeah, there's a bag joke in there, I'm just not witty enough to gain from it.

I worked for CVS for 8 years as an assistant manager. Believe me, there are people who go there every single day of their lives like it's a supermarket. CVS is more geared torwards women and impulse buys of crap.

I've seen people get $25, $50 and more in extra buck coupons from all the shopping they do.

The scammy women and coupon queens are the worst. They are notorious for purchasing B1G1 items, wait till the sale is over, then conveniently return "one" of the items and tragically "lost" their receipt. Then they get full store credit for their "free" merchandise and continue working the system.

Hmmm, my wife's purse is reusable...

Reuse the bags at home. Use them in small trashcans. Put your lunch in them. Got small kids, put their dirty diapers in them. You can get two sometimes three uses out of each bag.The problem is that you'll always get more bags than you can use. Tell the clerk to fill the bags up and not put one or two items in each one. If you don't need a bag don't get one.

/Little steps.
//Somewhere in Chinakistania a factory is dumping tons of crap into the environment without any legal or moral restraints.

moothemagiccow: They really could use the discount. CVS is ridiculously overpriced

You have to really know your prices. CVS is still cheaper for my (over the counter) allergy medication than the supermarket. I know, Wallyworld is probably cheaper than all but I won't shop there. Looking at peopleofwalmart.com is enough entertainment for me I don't need to see it up close and personal.

It should be the LAW that everyone have a pouch built in the front of their shirts!

Nogale: Simply charging people for plastic bags is a better bet, one that's often used in Europe.

I always have a carrier bag in my purse - it scrunches up and takes up less space than a pair of socks. It can hold a lot more than a plastic bag of the same size since its made of sturdier material.

Do you often carry a spare pair of socks in your purse? I know where guys keep theirs.

Bluestab: Tell the clerk to fill the bags up and not put one or two items in each one.


I bought $50 worth of groceries the other day and when the bagger asked how much i wanted to put in the one resuable bag I had with me I said everything but the 12 pack of yeungling. I think we were both surprised when she was able to fit everything else in that one bag. I think my fingers would have been happier if i had just grought a second bag. They were about to fall off by the time i was done walking back home.

Tesco plastic bags are useless--they shred themselves as soon as you walk into the "car park." Target bags are great--roomy and strong. Albertsons, CVS, etc are middle of the road, but excellent for small trash cans and puppy poop. Trader Joes paper bags rock.

Nogale: Simply charging people for plastic bags is a better bet, one that's often used in Europe.

First let me say I'm all for recycling, conservation and the like, and we have reusables in the car we typically go shopping with.

That said, I loathe the idea of being charged outwardly for a bag. First of all, it's a necessity for the customer. Secondly, the fees aren't going to disuade anyone from using them and switching to reusables because they are so nominal. Finally, if you up the fee enough to the point people do feel the pain and grudgingly switch, some chain will just stop charging altogether and advertise the fact as a selling point.

I guess it all comes down to the point of charging for the bags. Are the stores simply trying to make a profit, or are they really trying to push conservation? I'm sure the cost of the bags themselves is already built into the price of the goods...just like every other operating cost the store has from utilities to wages. My opinion is it's just a money grab. If plastic bags in particular are so farking bad (and I agree they are), just ditch them entirely and go back to paper only. Those can be recycled easily and at any rate they hold more and are generally more sturdy.

We're a pretty 'green' family...pay for recycling, reuse as much as we can etc., but I just can't get on board with charging for bags because I don't think it has the least thing to do with conservation. If it did, they could proove it by deducting the same amount from my total for every bag I save them when we do come in with reusables.

moothemagiccow: They really could use the discount. CVS is ridiculously overpriced

I thought it was free. In any case, SVN is much better.

The market I go to takes 5 cents off your order for each reuseable bag you bring in, and it works just fine. You just tell the cashier how many bags you have and she (or he) deducts the amount. Never seen it slow down the line in any way, and as time goes by, more people are bringing in reuseable bags.

I do everything out of self-interest (or so I'd like to think), and I switched to reuseable bags as soon as I realized how much better they are. They're shaped like old-fashioned paper bags, with a flat rectangular bottom, and each bag fits much more than the flimsy plastic bags. And you can carry them on your shoulder. Win-win all the way. Also I hear it's good for the environment or some such crap.

25 cents sounds generous. I wonder if they'll reduce that to a nickel like most stores around here offer, at least in this neighborhood.