Defeating the plastic bags of death

Plastic grocery bags have been revealed as such a scourge of the environment that municipalities like San Francisco and retailers like Whole Foods have been halting their use entirely. That's great for the People's Republic of SF and regular Whole Foods shoppers, but the rest of us have to take matters into our own hands.

A few months ago this blogger's household resolved to cease or at least greatly reduce its use of plastic bags. So we bought a bunch of reuseable grocery bags and repurposed some of my many canvas totes, and got to work implementing the new no-plastic policy. Results have been mixed, though generally positive--but I'm coming to realize that going plastic-free is not as hassle-free as it sounds.

The main problem is that store clerks are trained to be pretty quick on the draw when it comes to plastic bags. In grocery stores, the simple solution is to put your reusable bags on the conveyer belt first, ahead of your groceries. This works about 90% of the time.

In drugstores and corner markets, you have to alert the clerk way ahead of time (like, before you put your items down on the counter) that you won't be needing a bag. About half the time I get a bag anyway, whether through misunderstanding or through the clerk's unstoppable bagging reflex.

My favorite was the time I said, mid-bagging, "oh, no, I won't need a bag. Use it for the next person!" and had my request half-honored when the clerk removed my items from the plastic bag—then chucked it in the trash.

Seems like the real task, in absence of a legal ban, is sending retailers the message that it's worth it to train their staff to ask before bagging, even though it adds to transaction time.