Since my preferred grocery market is in Denver, and the Denver City Council has decided to put a price on having the groceries that we purchase in that favored store bagged in plastic bags (the charge is 10 cents per bag), I have endeavored to shop for groceries at a market in my city. I also have been wondering since the push to use cloth bags started, who is really at the basis of the push.
I know the importance of keeping plastic bags out of the oceans and other waterways. And, of keeping them away from roadsides. Their place is in the trash, after being reused as many times as possible. But, for me, I sometimes think that there is more to it than that. Who, in addition to our environment, will benefit from an edict that stores that use plastic bags for carrying out the items purchased will charge for them; thus, strongly encouraging the use of cloth bags. Cloth bag manufacturers. Plastic bag manufacturers. Plastic trash bag manufacturers. And, of course, I will have to pay for the boxes of plastic bags that I will use to replace the reusable grocery store bags. So, to avoid paying ten cents for every bag from the markets that charge for them, I am energetically trying to like the store in my community where, at this time, I won’t be required to pay for the carryout plastic bags that I really do use over and over.
My town has more than 36,000 residents. It has three major grocery stores. This past week, I went to the local grocery store that I’m doing my best to adopt as MY store. The parking lot was almost full. Lots of shoppers were in the store. I entered; only to discover that there were no baskets. That’s okay, I thought. I’ll just wait for the basket collector who brings the baskets from the parking lot. No baskets came through the door to the section of the store where they are usually stored. Only the hand-held baskets, sitting on the floor, were available. Now, I had not been anywhere to purchase groceries for some time, and a hand-held basket certainly was not large enough for what I needed.
I asked one of the store workers about the dearth of shopping carts. She told me that the store has only twelve baskets. TWELVE BASKETS! Twelve for an entire store in a town of 36,000 people. TWELVE! I told her what I thought about that; also telling her that I realized that this was not a problem of her choosing, but that someone really needs to take care of not having shopping baskets. During our discussion, she told me that, only recently, her store had spent several thousand dollars on necessary things for the store’s patrons, only to have the shopping baskets disappear into basements. Homes. Streets and alleys. Homeless citizens’ tents. Never-Never-Land?? My last “favorite” store seems to have solved that problem by having some thing (something painted on the concrete around the parking lot) that prevented the escape of shopping baskets. So, I suggested, this same course of action could do the same thing for this store and protect the shopping baskets.
My solution to this problem of having no basket to use while shopping was to go out to the parking lot, see who was emptying a basket, walk quickly to that person and his car, and ask to have his emptied basket. He was happy to oblige.
I almost forgot that compounding the problem of only twelve baskets being available for the shoppers was that the employees of one of the other local stores had, that very day, gone out on strike for better wages; my store had more customers than usual. That explained the extra number of shoppers; people who did not want to cross the picket lines where the strike was being held. Back in the store with the rescued basket, I picked up most of the items on my list (some of the shelves were relatively bare), paid my bill, and headed to the parking lot. I was intercepted by another customer who clearly was needing a shopping basket; he asked if he could have my basket after I unloaded. I’m pretty sure that exchange went on all day – baskets moving from customer to customer in the parking lot.
I am still amazed that MY grocery store had only TWELVE baskets, but I’m hoping that the next time I go, I will find one in the store, and I won’t need to go to the parking lot to ask for one.
Be Safe and be well.
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are greatly appreciated.
6 replies on “Trash Bags and Twelve Baskets”
I’m one of those that are in favor of a charge for plastic bags. They are such a blight on the earth. If it makes one person be more mindful of their use of them, I’m in favor. Despite trying to use reusable bags while shopping I still manage to accumulate so many plastic bags. Even with having dogs and reusing many bags regularly we still take bags to be recycled at the grocery store. Hopefully the charge goes to recycling programs!
I agree that we really need to protect our environment. It seems to me that if drinking glasses can be manufactured using plant products that will disintegrate in our trash, the bags should be able to be made from the same material. My pharmacy takes my current bags and uses them for their older patients who need a “carry bag” when they dispense medications and can’t carry those meds in paper bags because they also have canes and other things with them. The plastic bag with handles helps them get their medications to the car. So, in addition to using the bags for trash bags, my pharmacy gets my bags.
Thanks so much for writing. It is good to hear from you. M.
I am not charged for the plastic grocery bags yet in Englewood, but I do recycle and take them back to the store and drop them in the recycle barrel. Hopefully all people will not just throw them in the trash.
I went to Costco and Safeway (all in Lone Tree) on Tuesday. Costco was so busy that they were using the Christmas Line Rush system which is quite efficient. Safeway had one basket available in store but I saw an employee hustling to get them from parking lot. My check out person remarked that I had come at a good time. 😳 it was even busier earlier. Guess we have to be calm and carry on.
Calm! You are right. These are trying times. Thanks for your comments!
Ma, as you already know, I have lived in Germany twice. And, ahem, I have no issue bringing my own canvas bags, boxes, plastic bags, purchased store bag-box, as I learned how to shop this way in Europe where bags are not readily available in stores.
What about paper bags? Are they charging for those too? Or, perhaps, they don’t even offer those anymore?
We hear in the “artic tundra” have no such charge for bags…yet. If that happens, we are already prepared.