Save a nickle and get much more!
For the last month or so, our local Thriftway has been selling reusable shopping bags (totes) for just $.99 each! They are black, good quality and good looking. Bring your own bag for grocery shopping and Thriftway still deducts $.05 for each bag at checkout. I say "still", because Thriftway has been giving a bag deduction for several years. Since they carry these good looking, affordable totes, there's no reason not to bring a bag each time you shop!
Since my husband and I have used our own shopping bags for well over twenty years, we've known that most supermarkets and large grocery chains deduct $.03 to $.05 for each personal bag used at checkout. It doesn't sound like much, but all those nickels add up to real savings.
So far this year, in the US alone, approximately 590,000,000,000 (and rising) plastic bags have been used. This number (for just 9-months) represents a lot of oil, energy, transportation and disposal costs. Oh, so you say you use all your plastic bags for trash? Then maybe you produce more at home then you consume. Uh, so you use then all for kitty litter disposal? You may use some plastic bags, but if you fill then a bit higher you'll use less, and if you use other types of plastic bags (veggie or bread wrappers) you'll need fewer still.
Next time you're in Thriftway, buy a few of those $.99 cent totes and simplify your life, save a few cents and reduce your personal energy consumption.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Kudos to White Salmon Thriftway!
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6 comments:
Thanks for posting this! Some of the check-out folk (Logan especially) have even been encouraging people to use them and/or not use a bag for just a few items that can be easily carried.
Now if we could just get people to not grab plastic for bananas, lemons, etc.....maybe the store could give credit for these individual bags as well. Or, even better, start charging a nickel for each store bag used - that would make people think twice by charging the user directly.
I'm hoping the totes weren't produced in China.
Good point. I didn't look closely at the material or point of origin.
However, if you are interested in fair trade, organic shopping bags, etc., not from China, check out Reusable Bags. They have a plethora of reusable bag designs, many that are easy to carry in a purse or pocket. They also have an excellent offering of reusable containers that are far healthier than most on the market.
I've have been using many of their bags for a few years now and always carry two or three of their light and sturdy totes in my small purse. They are always introducing new products and show users reviews of each product.
I agree about charging for bags. In countries and cities that have begun charging for bags, new bag usage has dropped by 90%. There are several references to this phenomenon on the web.
Oh, I forgot to mention about the Japanese Furoshiki. It's a simple cloth that is folded in a myriad of ways to carry different items. This was the type of bag used before paper or plastic.
Check out:
YouTube Furoshiki and How To Furoshiki
Forgot to add this excellent, easy to understand Furoshiki video for a quick, and practical shopping bag.
Kakefuda Kyoto - Famous Furoshiki Store
For some beautiful Furoshiki try Preventing garbage with traditional wrapping
Thanks for all the information! Now if we can just reduce all those plastic diapers that go into the landfill!
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