What's with grocery bagging in America/Canada?

[WildCowboy]

This, of course, will help enormously when people throw the bags into large plastic garbage bags, which then end up in landfills...

True, but SF does have a comprehensive composting program for homes. Three carts go out to the curb on trash day: black for garbage, blue for recyclable, and green for compostables. It's just a matter of tossing them into the green container. If anything it'll help the current efforts because people can use the bags for gathering food scraps before tossing them into the bin instead of purchasing special bags like many people do today.

 

[EricNau]

True, but SF does have a comprehensive composting program for homes. Three carts go out to the curb on trash day: black for garbage, blue for recyclable, and green for compostables. It's just a matter of tossing them into the green container. If anything it'll help the current efforts because people can use the bags for gathering food scraps before tossing them into the bin instead of purchasing special bags like many people do today.

That's interesting. Similarly, I have three garbage bins: brown for garbage, blue for recycle, and green for "yard waste." ...I wonder if I can put "compostables" in that can.

 

[cleanup]

Don't tell me some of you throw your plastic bags away.

Re-use them? Tuck them in a large drawer or a cupboard someplace. Keep all of the bags you get when you go shopping. Grocery bags, canvas bags, paper bags, large draw-string bags, the card-boardy bags from clothing stores... Keep it all. It all comes in handy eventually. Then at least that "one-use" plastic bag isn't one-use anymore.

 

[WildCowboy]

That's interesting. Similarly, I have three garbage bins: brown for garbage, blue for recycle, and green for "yard waste." ...I wonder if I can put "compostables" in that can.

Most areas do yard waste only and do not accept food waste in the same bin, if at all. Might pay to ask though.

 

[Abstract]

Don't tell me some of you throw your plastic bags away.

Re-use them? Tuck them in a large drawer or a cupboard someplace. Keep all of the bags you get when you go shopping. Grocery bags, canvas bags, paper bags, large draw-string bags, the card-boardy bags from clothing stores... Keep it all. It all comes in handy eventually. Then at least that "one-use" plastic bag isn't one-use anymore.

I just buy the reusable bags that aren't made of plastic. They usually cost $1, are better quality, and you reuse reuse reuse.

 

[psycoswimmer]

I've never had an issue with grocery lines here in the states, but I usually do self-checkout anyway (shorter lines). I was really surprised when we went to Canada and they charged 5 cents per bag.

 

[Abstract]

^^^And I'm glad us Canadians charge 5 cents per bag. Actually, I thought bags were either free, or $0.10 per bag. I usually pay 10 cents.

It prevents people from just taking and taking as many bags as they wish. No, 5 or 10 cents is insignificant, but it does have a psychological effect in that you don't just grab 3 bags when you only need 1, because you'll pay for it. Same with putting quarters into the shopping cart in order to use it. It would only cost me $0.25 if I wanted to just leave it somewhere after I was finished using it, but people always tend to put their cart back to get their quarter. It's only a quarter, but it's more of a psychological thing.

 

[mattscott306]

Most areas do yard waste only and do not accept food waste in the same bin, if at all. Might pay to ask though.

Or in my case, you have to pay MORE to recycle, as well as use their yard waste service.

Same with putting quarters into the shopping cart in order to use it. It would only cost me $0.25 if I wanted to just leave it somewhere after I was finished using it, but people always tend to put their cart back to get their quarter. It's only a quarter, but it's more of a psychological thing.

I wish more places would do that around here. I'm one of those guys that feel bad for the cart coral people and return the carts myself.

 

[joepunk]

I was once at Fred Myers and purchased one small item. Forgot to tell the cashier girl I did not need a bag (I wish they would automatically ask or understand that they don't need to bag everything) and politely told her after she already plastic bagged it.

Well wouldn't you know it she throws the completely reusable bag in the trash

I disappointed w/peoples environmental intelligence for the rest of the day

 

[Coolnat2004]

I used to be a bagger (they do things other than bagging too, like product returns and cleaning), and I had to make sure to keep the bags light because a lot of the customers had no trust for the plastic bags. They would make me put one 2-liter bottle in a bag, and then double bag it, even though you can easily fit two of them in one bag and it won't bust. So, you just learn to keep it light.

Also, I was told not to mix certain foods (particularly meat), but usually I would ask if the customer wanted whatever it was separate or not. The old ladies always did.

 

[Sun Baked]

That's because us lazy ass americans are so unfit, that we cannot lift more than 5 items in a bag.

Stuff the bags, and people say they are too heavy.

 

[Fearless Leader]

I do most of teh shopping at a place called Sam's Club. You have to be a buisness owner or something so we have a "business". anyways they use no plastic bags there, no bags what so ever to be correct. They just put it back in the cart. it's great.

 

[The Mad Kiwi]

Not really, if the store isn't really busy there's normally one kid that walks down the aisles and helps out in the larger lines. But if it is busy there's more kids that are there to help pack. Normally your packers are minimum wage young kids, or people with mental disabilities. So the stores don't really lose much money on them.

And it does take quite some time longer if the scanner is bagging as well, because it's not just a matter of putting things down, when they scan things they don't really have to pick them up, they just slide them on over.

Sure but, if you have 5 people bagging on average at any one time and they earn say only $5 an hour, that's $25 per hour, supermarket open 18 hours a day, $450 per day, open 363 days. $163350 per year, For a chain of 500 stores that's a cool $81,675,000. I can't believe that a modern super market chain can afford to piss away $81 million in profit without some big shareholder kicking up a stink.

They haven't had bag packers here in Australia or New Zealand for 20 years.

 

[iBookG4user]

My family and I recently got back from holiday in America and Canada, and one thing I noticed in the shops is how little people seem to have in their bags.

It might be because that's how the bagger (that's another thing, how come you can't pack your own stuff?) packs them, or some other reason. But over here I notice that people generally fill bags until they're almost breaking, especially myself. In America, people would often have loads of bags, each with few things in. It makes it a lot of hassle in extra trips to and from the car, and a lot of waste bags.

I would stop the bagging guy from packing, just so I could use a sensible amount of bags.

Because the more bags we get, the more trash bags we have . If you shop at Winco, then you can bag your own items, although it's just easier to have a bagger do it.

 

[EricNau]

I do most of teh shopping at a place called Sam's Club. You have to be a buisness owner or something so we have a "business". anyways they use no plastic bags there, no bags what so ever to be correct. They just put it back in the cart. it's great.

Granted, nothing from Sam's Club would actually fit in a bag.

At Costco, they don't use bags either, but occasionally if you have several smaller items, they'll place them all in one of the empty product boxes that normally would accumulate on the shelves as people buy stuff.

...And for the record, both Sam's Club and Costco have individual member options that don't require a business affiliation.

 

[Fearless Leader]

Granted, nothing from Sam's Club would actually fit in a bag.

true

At Costco, they don't use bags either, but occasionally if you have several smaller items, they'll place them all in one of the empty product boxes that normally would accumulate on the shelves as people buy stuff.

thats a good idea

...And for the record, both Sam's Club and Costco have individual member options that don't require a business affiliation.

ohh thats right they changed it, but you do get extra hours, and other goodies for being affiliated with a business.

 

[balamw]

At Costco, they don't use bags either, but occasionally if you have several smaller items, they'll place them all in one of the empty product boxes that normally would accumulate on the shelves as people buy stuff.

Super thick paper bags (from recycled boxes) seem to crop up occasionally at Costco as well. I usually skip both boxes and bags at Costco though, I'm already going to have lots of packaging to recycle from the gross of whatever I just bought, so I don't need to add more to the pile.

FWIW we've had a set of canvas bags for the past 15 years which we use for grocery shopping and pack to the hilt. Yet we still seem to collect tons of plastic bags as well as some paper bags which we try to reuse, but somehow we never seem to run out.

Plus, at the stores we shop at the "baggers" are usually other cashiers who don't have anyone in their line just yet, and gladly stop bagging to go back to their lanes...

B

 

[iBlue]

1. Try a new supermarket. In my many many years on this planet, all of which have been in the UK, I have never had a similar experience (with the bagging I mean).

2. Don't use the supermarket bags, purchase a few bags for life and recycle!

3. If the checkout assistant doesn't give you enough time, just tell them so. They'll hold back from putting the next customers items through until you're finished.

4. I agree with the car parks - far too small spaces and far too many disabled spaces. Really, how many disabled people are there? I'm not being mean. I completely understand and accept that the spaces are there for good reason, and I would never use one. But it is for this reason that I think there are too many.

Thanks for the tips and such. I have found that the experience is pretty much the same at several places though. I have something against packing food myself with the horrible system of bags. I am not sure how to explain but it's just unnecessarily difficult. I think the reusable bags might be a good plan. It's just beyond annoying. I dread going to the supermarket because of all these things but mostly it's the awful experience of bagging the stuff that gets me. Somehow I can't accept it.

I think in the US there is some legal ratio of handicap spaces to regular spaces that they have to abide by. Perhaps it's the same over in the UK?

The ratio is way overdone here. For lets say 100 spaces there will be 30 handicapped spaces. (this is a total guess) They get used by rude lazy pricks in fancy cars who don't care if they are ticketed. Usually the problem is parking, period. There's very little accommodation for cars here. (a whole different topic though)

Haha, I remember that. You pack your own stuff, but the opening of the bag is so inseparable! The worst thing is that if you pay the cashier, the cashier will move on to the next customer, and you're just standing there, trying to open a bag! It's quite embarrassing.

Here's a trick: When I couldn't open a bag, I would put my mouth on where the opening should be, and just blow and force air into the bag. The bag would open up very nicely.
...

YES! The whole things just strikes me as embarrassing and uncivilized.

blow the bag you say? heh, ok I'll give it a go.


Other comment:

People think Americans are lazy - the damn cashier/checkers here sit on their big fat butts to run your groceries across the scanner at light speed and then just watch you struggle with a dumb look on their face. No system is perfect I guess.

Honestly, there is a fair bit of BS to put up with here just because no one knows better. (the "it's how it's always been done" approach) People may not like it but the British are good at complaining but not complaining so very little gets changed. It's a grin and bear it society. There really is no such thing as decent customer service here. I know this is hardly a BIG issue but it's an example of how trivial things can build up and just grate on your nerves.
Just felt like getting it out I suppose.

</gripe #2>

 

[EricNau]

YES! The whole things just strikes me as embarrassing and uncivilized.

You don't have plastic bag dispensers over there? ...They conveniently hold the bag open for you as you fill it, and as you remove it, the next bag is pulled open and ready to fill.

This is the only picture I could find of the contraptions, but you get the idea. (These particular dispensers are on a carousel, which is somewhat unique to Walmart.)

 

[iBlue]

You don't have plastic bag dispensers over there? ...They conveniently hold the bag open for you as you fill it, and as you remove it, the next bag is pulled open and ready to fill.

This is the only picture I could find of the contraptions, but you get the idea. (These particular dispensers are on a carousel, which is somewhat unique to Walmart.)

Well not in that sense. They have a thing that has attached bags, it stands up but you struggle to get the bags off of it and it doesn't separate them at all. There are no side arms to hold the bag open while you pack it either. You have to stand there with that bag open in your hands and pack it. It's awful. If there were even a dispenser like those (at walmart, walmart, FFS?!) it wouldn't be half as bad. <sigh>

edit:

however, conveniently, you can buy codeine and "imitrex" (imigran) and other various remedies over the counter here... I suspect this is because of the little headaches inspired by trivial annoyances such as these.

 

[MACDRIVE]

I keep my paper bags and bring them back with me on all subsequent shopping trips.

I have several reasons for doing this:


1) I hate plastic bags and prefer paper.

2) I like my grocery bags packed full.

3) I bag my own groceries at the store because the knuckle-head idiots that work there only know how to use plastic.

4) Because if you ask them for paper, they always act like they're being put out for having to go through the extra effort it takes for bagging your groceries with paper.


So in essence by me reusing my paper bags, I get to actually have a paper bag and I get to have my groceries bagged the way I want them to be.


Side note: You British people say "pack your shopping." How weird.

 

[janey]

I keep my paper bags and bring them back with me on all subsequent shopping trips. I have several reasons for doing this:...

You know, at places like Whole Foods you save some money reusing bags (what is it, 5 cents for every bag you reuse?), and you get a choice between paper and plastic.

Or alternatively, you could bring your own bags, and both whole foods and trader joes and a few other shops sell those grocery bags made of cloth/durable plastic or what have you, if you don't have any to reuse.

 

[balamw]

Or alternatively, you could bring your own bags, and both whole foods and trader joes and a few other shops sell those grocery bags made of cloth/durable plastic or what have you, if you don't have any to reuse.

FWIW most of my canvas bags came from Stop & Shop a "regular" supermarket in the Boston area ~15 years ago, and I'm seeing reusable bags showing up at places like Longs Drugs and Albertson's, so this is not just a TJ/WFM thing.

B

 

[adn rcd dly]

can we just sidetrack this thread to complain about how bad baggers are? Like when I separate my groceries so that the bagger gets all the frozen food first, then refrigerated, then warm, and they some how manage to mix warm, cold, and frozen in every bag?

nothing is worse than when they bag pesticides and edible items in one bag. i was a "bagger" when i was 15 and I would have NEVER done that. It's COMMON SENSE!

 

[nbs2]

I mean are you telling me supermarkets actually employ people just to pack plastic shopping bags!

Why doesn't the person who scans the groceries just pack them as they scan them?

I guess I must live in a stange part of the country (DC Area) - as far as I can remember, the scanner has always packed the groceries. The only times someone comes and helps are when a) there are huge lines, so things can move faster or b) there are so few people that there are employees with nothing to do.

Here in San Francisco, a new law was just passed outlawing plastic bags at supermarkets and drugstores...supposed to go into effect by the end of the year. Stores will have to use compostable bags made of materials like corn starch or recycled paper.

Don't tell me some of you throw your plastic bags away.

Re-use them? Tuck them in a large drawer or a cupboard someplace. Keep all of the bags you get when you go shopping. Grocery bags, canvas bags, paper bags, large draw-string bags, the card-boardy bags from clothing stores... Keep it all. It all comes in handy eventually. Then at least that "one-use" plastic bag isn't one-use anymore.

I don't knwo if the corn bags will be plasticky or not, but we reuse our bags all the time. Every small garbage can (4) in our house, plus the baby's diaper pail are all lined with various plastic bags. The wife prefers to get fewer bags since we will get backlogged with bags; I prefer what we get now, since you never know when you'll need more bags - especially if we don't have a need to go shopping for a few weeks.