I visited a Wegman's grocery store in NY state the other day that had a big sign by the door stating "Have you remembered to bring your reusable bag?" Thanks Wegman's, I remembered! And if I hadn't, at least I would still be in the parking lot rather than in the checkout line! :)

There are 7 kids and 2 adults in my family. We use approx 15 canvas bags EVERY Friday. Anyone know how many plasic bags that would take? We had around 40-45 plastic bags one Friday before I started using canvas!! I refuse plastic bags now. Doesn't matter where I go. Taking 'a ton' of canvas bags doesn't bother me. We don't get credit or discount for using canvas bags. But ya know, I don't take care of the planet to save money. I take care of it because it's just part of our responsibility as humans to take care of where we live. Taking the canvas bags saves my tiny grocery store money. If I needed to latch onto some sort of money benefit, that would be enough for me! :o) A mom of 7 on the farm in Iowa.

For those of us who sometimes forget our bags (and I do), my sister gave me about 10 silk bags, the kind that scrunch up into their own pockets. They're tough, durable, & weigh nothing—I always have four or five in my purse.

I do not have any problems gathering up enough bags to bring to the grocery store for my weekly visit for my family of five. Yes, it takes about 10 bags, but all I do is put 9 of them into the 10th and all I have to worry about carrying is one bag. I even re-use the plastic produce bags until they rip, and keep those stashed inside the one bag as well. It's all very easy. And while I'm doing it to help the environment, the payback at the grocery store helps my wallet a bit. I just wish they would pay me for each plastic bag I don't use, instead of how many bags of mine I use.

I do forget to BYOB occasionally and then quickly get a case of the "guilts". However, I learned my local grocery store recycles plastic grocery bags. Now if I could just remember to take the plastic bags to the store for recycling along with my reuseable bags, dang it :o)

Fun post - an engaging, humourous look at an everyday problem. I much prefer when we acknowledge that, for some people, some green "trends" just won't work. That doesn't make people "bad!"

When we had a dog, we too used every plastic bag we got plus our families. I felt bad about it every time at the grocery store, which was silly - we WERE reusing and therefore reducing. But still, I felt judged - thanks to you for being understanding!!! :)

The bag controversy is close to home for me since I own a small (and I mean SMALL) holistic pet supply. I encourage customers to BYOB but am constantly hearing "I forgot my bag". Education is working, though. My spending on bags has dropped over the last year.

My comment of importance here though is bigger than bags. What are y'all doing shopping at big box stores? Their green is mostly a marketing facade. Get thee to a small store and spend your hard earned dollars there. Your loyalty will be rewarded by interaction with someone who remembers your name, your preferences and will be happy to pack your bag and carry it out for you.

B Dawson

I, too, often forget my bags at home. I've now left plenty of the reusables in my vehicle for safekeeping!

I've even starting giving them as part of my gifts to friends! Instead of purchasing a gift bag, I buy a reusable bag and decorate it! Hopefully this has inspired them to use this bag for all things at home!

Maggie

I don't get the comment in the article that the reusable bags are too small and don't hold enough. One of the reasons I use canvas bags is because they are stronger and hold so much more than plastic - especially the way the baggers pack plastic bags with just a few items in each one. I did receive one reusable bag that broke quickly, and it seems like many of the 99 cent bags are of this cheap quality. This just makes more trash. Invest in some strong bags and you'll be using them for decades.

I have been a recycler from way back before it was known by most people or became a common term and way before recycling became mandatory in most 1st world towns in this country.

At one time I brought my own mesh bags to the store but for the numerous reasons pointed out in this artical about the difficulty in using them i.e. remembering to take them in to the store and the other reasons mentioned I stopped and now use plastc bags almost exclusively. Still being a green freak I justify this by recycling all the plastic bags I use. Most stores have barrels to bring them in for recycling.

After reading this artical I get the feeling that any plastc bag use is bad. Is there a down side to this practice of mine of recycling my plastic bags? Please, all comments welcome!

Often, just having the right tools help. Flylady.net has 5 grocery bags (2 of which are insulated) for $10 +shipping.

True, they may not be organic cotton, etc., but they are affordable and help by making babysteps on the journey of going green.

Sarah here - the mom of three with baby/runs own biz one - Re. the post about canvas bags - I have some roomy ones but unless I invest in some giant size totes and remember to bring them every time (I didn't remember to bring my son's towel to camp this morning after being woken up at 4:00 AM!) we're going to run into problems at any store, let alone our monthly trips to Costco! But I DO use paper bags, NOT plastic. We recycle them/use for art projects, wrapping paper, etc. Let's not judge each other. I assume anyone reading this newsletter cares about the environment and is doing his/her best!

I love my canvas bags, but like everyone else I sometimes forget to take them. I have gotten better about remembering to take them. I have noticed tho I tend to feel guilty when I run out of the bags and have to finish the shopping trip with plastic. Tho I recycle the bags or use them for other things.

Tho I have found not every "green" bag out there is the same. The local store at one time sold the canvas and the other kind of nylon feeling kind. I found the non canvas ones really don't hold up well for the groceries. We've started using them to hold shampoo and such when going to visit family instead.

My only other issue is remembering to take them with me to other stores than just grocery shopping... One last comment... I have noticed tho when I do forget my bag and the items are small enough just for me to carry out that the cashier always gives me a funny look when I tell them I don't want it bagged.

dvw44, not all plastic bag use is bad.

We (re)use the grocery store bags as garbage bags. The size of the grocery bags are just right for the two of us. Because of the house cats (read: litter box) we go through a stack of them fairly quickly. When I get really on the ball and remember to take reusable bags to the store for several trips in a row, we run out of garbage/grocery bags and my husband (not quite so green, but trying) will then BUY garbage bags. Which are much bigger and hang around smelling up the house until they are full enough to throw out.

So which is better, reusing plastic grocery bags as garbage bags or using canvas grocery bags and then having to buy plastic garbage bags?

My daughter did her senior project on how to be more green...easy ways/things you can incorporate into your life right now.

We added up how many plastic bags our family has not used in the last 16 years that we have been bringing fabric bags to the grocery store. The conservative figure we came up with is about 8,000 bags.

I made these bags way back when I began using them and they hold as much as 3-4 plastic bags each. As my family has grown I have needed more bags.

About those .99 bags at most registers...I bought one at the bread outlet and the handles ripped when used for grocery store items. I had to reinforce the handles and now they will hold whatever I put in them.

Also re: the cashier giving you a funny look...when I began using these bags all those years ago, the cashiers gave me a funny look when I said I have my own bags and most of the time I had to bag my own stuff, as if they couldn't touch my fabric bags or something. It was very odd.

I have just in the past several months begun to use my canvas bags. I had purchased some and then would just forget to take them with me. I finally decided that wasn't doing our planet a bit of good, so I went and put them in the car on the passenger seat so I wouldn't forget them anymore. I stack them all on top of one another and then just fold them all up and tuck them under my arm as I go into the store. I feel so "empowered" being able to say to the cashier, "oh, I have my own bags". They hold so much and are so strong. I don't have to find a place to stash the plastic ones one I get home and they're not winding up in our landfills. I encourage everyone I know to BYOB. I've gotten one of my single brothers to use them and he loves it as much as I do. He's the only family member who uses them faithfully like I do but I have many friends whom I have "turned on" to this BYOB idea.

90% of the time when I forget I can simply do without a bag. When I get to the car where I keep them I put it in a bag then. Problem solved.

This is a great topic. I use to forget my bag when going to the store. But now I carry it with me everywhere I go, even if I don't plan on buying stuff that day. I might change my mind.

I don't mind taking my reusable bag with me because the design is so cool! It's not one of those cheap polypropylene bags (made from oil btw) My bag is from www.projectgreenbag.com. Stylish and eco-friendly.

I have before grabbed a bag or two out of the bag recycling barrell when I forgot my bag :)

It didn't take long for me and my kids (I'm still working on my husband) to condition ourselves to remember to bring our reusable bags into the store. It just becomes your habit.

The problem is so many available for purchase are so small. I found my solution at Ikea. They sell enormous and strong reusable bags at the check outs. These bags will hold anything from a trip to Target to my weekly grocery shopping! More retailers should offer reasonably priced and large reusable bags to advertise their 'shade of green'!

Not trying to be judgemental here- as someone stated above, if you're on this blog, you obviously care and are trying to do the right thing. BUT reusing the plastic bags we accumulate when we forget our nylon/canvas totes (I do it too!) is not the answer and shouldn't make us feel better since they still ultimately end up in the landfill. And regarding supermarkets that claim to recycle your returned plastic bags, from what I have read, it is actually more expensive to recycle plastic bags than it is to manufacture new ones (not to mention that the recycling process is not very "green" at all). This makes me highly suspicious that the bags we return to the store for "recycling" will just be carted off to the landfill along with many of the items we put out for curbside "recycling". I guess what we don't know won't hurt us until it's too late to do anything about it... Anyway, IMHO, the only real solution is getting the plastics industry to stop manufacturing the damn things in the first place. And the only way to affect such a change is to use our collective power and influence as consumers and simply stop accepting plastic bags without exception (Just Say No!). If our national demand for plastic bags diminishes, production will inevitably shrink accordingly. This might sound like a pipe dream but we are already making an impact! Anybody happen to read about the recent "studies" (funded by the plastics industry!) that claim reusable bags can carry deadly bacteria if you don't wash them regularly? Hmmm...Resorting to smear campaign tactics already? We MUST be making a difference! Let's all keep up the good work and be even better about NOT forgetting our bags EVERY TIME we go to the store! Thanks for reading.

I have a couple of "foldy" type bags that I stash in my purse. This way whenever I go shopping -even at department stores - I use my own and thereby avoid using their paper bags.
How do I go around remembering the bags? I've developed an immense dislike for plastic bags. I think when we start to engage our emotions and start feeling that using the plastic bags are bad, we are more inclined to refuse to use it. We know mentally that they are bad, taking it one step further and feeling it is, I think, the key. And for those times that I do forget the bags, I take the shopping cart with me and just dump the stuff into the trunk, unbagged (of course this only works if you used a car to go shopping!).

While I recycle EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING that I can currently (yes, even the paper tags off the tea bags), I have recently come across something that halted my take on the bag issue...and I think this happens when many issues become personal and not so very global.

A very, very small Mom and Pop business in my area actually MAKES plastic bags...not the grocery ones of which we have been speaking, but the ones into which ICE is packaged. Now I ask you...how could we deal with this issue in a green manner, with canvas...or silk???

These folks work hard, really hard, from O-dark thirty to O-dark thirty, five, sometimes six days a week (if the machinery breaks down, which they built, and know how to repair themselves), employ quite a few other folks who work really hard, and until VERY recently, when my husband was able to build them a new office INSIDE and up four feet on the plant floor, every time it rained, water flooded the office because the roof on the building (built in 1904) leaked.

My only point is that I had never really considered the ice factor at all, and you probably haven't either...except when you want to fill your ice chest to have a back yard cook out, or go to the lake, or beach, or maybe when the power goes out and you need that same ice chest so the stuff in your freezer doesn't become just some more garbage and you have to start wondering what a new refrigerator would cost and what's the "greenist" model.

Anytime we try to solve one problem by greening up, it usually brings up another...like Kid's point about what REALLY happens to the things we THINK we are recycling in the first place. But EVERYTHING we do, no matter how small MATTERS, and it is AWARENESS, that matters most of all. We can't change if we don't know we need to and why.

I use my reusable bags about half the time. Like SeaHorse, I too use the plastic ones for trash bags (and cat litter). I'm curious as to what the commenter "kid" uses to put her or his trash into. I really would like to get away from plastic bags altogether but have this quandry about the trash. I suppose I could just use the trash can with no liner but that seems pretty gross.

susan updegrove
I gave gifts of reusable bags to everyone in my family, along with instructions: after using, place bag on handle of outside door or return to car to front seat; if you get to the store without the bag, go back and get it, or do without a bag; if you forgot, promise to do better next time. Many groery stores in my area now have signs on the front door, reminding you about your reusable bag, and some give rebates. Many checkers are now asking, "Do you want a bag?" and a "No" gets a "Thank you" I use paper bags for trash, which I admit doesn't help the cat litter issue, but works for all other trash. Keep up the good work everyone

Check the diaper aisle--diaper disposal bags are available that are made of biodegradable materials. I bought my package about 4 months ago and, even with two cats, I still have plenty left. I can tie them up, toss them in the trash can next to the litter box, and then empty the can into a larger trash bag (also biodegradable) when I take out the trash. I keep the package of bags on top of the litter box, near the litter box scoop, so the routine is very easy.

Hope this helps!

P.S. A brand called Natural Value sells biodegradable trash bags--a box of 15 13-gal bags is around $2. Since bottles and cans go into recycling, and we use a covered trash can, a box of 15 can last a while.

I had the hardest time at first remembering to bring my reuseable bags with me (even when they were in the back of my car). I now leave several reuseable bags in one so they are easy to grab and I leave one small bag in my front seat so I see it before I get out as a reminder to grab the rest. If I do forget or run out of reuseable bags I get paper because I find it easier to recycle. But for people who use plastic bags don't feel bad, do what you can to reuse or recycle. I work at an early learning center and I am constantly needing plastic bags so I beg families that have extras lying around to bring them in because they can be useful.

Here in Australia we have shops and even whole towns that are banning plastic bags, which is a great step forward. The shops that are banning plastic bags are making the customer pay for a bag if they haven't brought their own.
The reusable bags I have are so light weight and compact that it is easy to always have 2 in my handbag "just in case" I need to grab some shopping while I'm out.

GO the BYOB brigade.

Keeta Gibson
www.NonToxicLife.com.au

The City of Toronto, where I lived until two weeks ago, required all stores to charge $0.05 for each plastic bag.

The city also has an organic waste collection program.

The irony is, people have to buy clear plastic bags to store the organic waste.

I'm used to BYOB when grocery shopping because I frequently visit stores which charge for plastic bags. It's when I didn't plan to shop that causes problems--I would inevitably forget to BYOB.

I understand the need for plastic bags when you have a cat. I use the bags I accumulate from purchasing loaves of bread and cereal etc. No need to add more plastic to my recyling station! As far as forgetting or running out of totes ... I've been known to refill my grocery cart - unbagged & do the packing at my car - some odd looks, but who cares.

Thanks SeaHorse and kid for your comments on the issues I asked about in my post. I too like SeaHorse reuse plastic bags for trash bags. Being single and doing so much recycling that doesn't account for many bags going into the landfills. Maybe one or two a month. But still, probably using a paper grocery bag would be better for the environment. None of those chemicals degrading into the ground from plastic.

The cost factor and the damage to the environment of recycling these bags could outweigh the benefits. But that is the same dilemma with aluminum can recycling. But we need to forget the cost factor. If it costs more to recycle a can than to make a new can or bag which just makes the issue of dumping more crap into our environment exponentially worse, so be it. If we don't recycle we make more trash. We need to make that sacrifice and pay the price to recycle. I can't imagine there is more harm done to the environment by recycling that bag or can then there would be by dumping it into the ground to rot down to some caustic enviromental problem in the distant future while at the same time we just make another can or bag that needs to replace the one we just refused to recycle because of cost or possible enviromental harm. Then what do we do with this new product? Dump it in the ground with all the previous ones because recycling has a few downfalls. Then what happens? Another is made to replace that one and so on and so on it goes. More and more junk goes into our polluted planet because recycling was not cost efficient.

Kid also makes another good point; we need to stop using these products that pollute our environment all together. If demand goes down, production decreases and hopefully some day you will never see a plastic bag or aluminum can ever again. I grew up with no plastic bags. I grew up with no aluminum cans. They were steel cans. Yogurt containers were not made of plastic they were made of a cardboard type of material that was waxed. There was no plastic wrap...it was waxed paper you wrapped your sandwich in. I did not feel deprived back then but today I do! I feel deprived of my ability to make a sound enviromentally safe choice when I by a food product because the plastic consortium gives us not much choice but to buy their plastic wraped product.

But we do have choices. It takes time and diligence but we can get around this corporate greed and listless attitude for our environment.

I noticed a lot of people talk about forgetting their bags. As soon as my groceries are put up all my bags get put back in my van so they go everywhere I go. I also have some Chico-bags that I tuck in different places, my purse, my husbands truck and my glove box. If you store them where you need them it's much easier to remember them. Oh yea, every once in awhile I still have to run back to the van because I forgot to carry my bags into the store.

Last year I read an article (I swore I saved to my favorites but now cannot find it) that the cheaper bags like being sold in grocery & discount store that only cost $1 to 5 dollars are actually made with polyresin fibers and actually will take years longer to break down in the land fill than the regular plastic bags. I see these bags everywhere and am quite concerned because I don't think people are aware of this fact. There needs to be more info out there about it and as a result, a bigger push to only purchase bags made of natural fibers. I had already had 3 of those bag come apart beyond repair before I read that article and stopped buying them. The prices I have seen on natural bags in my area are high for my current minimum wage income so I plan to make my own bags in the future.

If anyone finds any articles along these lines I would love to see the links posted here (so I can save them again ! )

Hello to all Greenies!
I have worked at a local grocery store, Heinen's, for over 20 years. We have always offered a bag credit for using your own bags. It is .06 for every $20 spent. We have always offered some kind of reusable bag to purchase. They have changed over the years, but we have always offered one.We also have a bin to recycle your styrofoam trays and egg cartons, also your plastic bags.
I have also been told all kinds of reasons why the customers are not using their bags........It is a very hard, but easy, habit to get into.
If we all do our small part, we will have improved our world.

I love stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joes that just ask "Did you bring your own bag" when you approach the register. Most people I know don't bring their own simply because they don't know how to mention it at check out - or they do mention it and then they find themselves bagging their own purchases as a punishment. Unfortunately I can't always get everything I need at those places, but I've found the ideal bag for the situation. The ACME EarthTote from ReusableBags.com. It's big, it stands on it's own and no one, not even the surliest packer, has ever made me feel like a pain for insisting on it in place of plastic. Plus, I can use four EarthTotes instead of the 20+ plastic bags I normally end up with so it's easier to carry everything up to my 3rd story condo. Hopefully more retailers will catch on and make bringing your own bag less of a pain, but until then, I recommend that bag to make it easier on yourself.

Onebagatatime,com has some awesome bags at a great price. They are huge, way bigger than the ones I can get at Walmart or Dillons (Kroger) and much stronger too.
I also forget mine often, but before they start baggin' stuff I just tell them to skip the sacks and put it right in the cart (kinda like they do at Sam's Club)
It's a habit thing...keep trying to remember, and eventually you will. :D

My mother works at New Leaf Market in Tallahassee, FL. It's a wonderful co-op that's expanded dramatically over the years. They started handing out little "don't forget your bag" stickers to put on your rear view mirror.

I used to have a hard time remembering my bags but the more you get used to them the easier it is.

You can take back glass milk jugs and bottles to the store to be cleaned and reused how long till grocery stores offer this sort of thing on reusable bags?

Surely they could do this for a decent price via uniform company? You'd pay more upfront but would be able to return them for a deposit.

No more forgetting bags, finding them destroyed by your puppy, losing them, and you would know they were clean, etc.

I have an idea, at every grocery store there should be a plastic bag exchange. for every 10 plastic bags you bring in you get a free "green" bag in exchange. I feel that this idea will cut down the plastic bag litter.

I haven't read the other comments to know if someone has suggested this already or not, but when people need to re-use plastic grocery bags for storing and throwing away things such as dirty diapers, cat litter, etc...then why not try using compostable or biodegradable bags?? :) Then there's no guilt about them going into the landfill! ;)

Our local grocery store sells 2.5-gallon "Ecosafe" compostable bags which work nicely in a small trash can for cleaning out the litter box, or as a bathroom trash can liner. And "BioBags" can be found in all sizes online (like on Amazon.com), if you can't find a nearby retailer. VitaCost (online) sells "Natural Value" brand biodegradable kitchen trash bags. Yes, the compostable bags aren't quite as sturdy as regular plastic bags...they can rip easier, so you have to be careful with them, but it's worth it, knowing that you're doing good for the environment and wildlife!! =D

I forgot to mention that many supermarkets now recycle your plastic grocery bags for you! You just have to bring them back in, and put them in a receptacle that they usually have at the front of the store.

If your grocery store doesn't do that, then see if your local recycling center recycles plastic bags (including produce bags, bread bags, etc.) Our volunteer-run recycling center does so, and I live in a small town in Alaska, so I would think that most recycling centers must recycle plastic bags now if our does! =P

I've begun reading the comments on here now, out of curiosity, and wanted to respond to the question of what to use for picking up doggie-doo-doo...again...you can use compostable/biodegradable bags for that! ;) They make small, eco-friendly bags with tie handles specifically for that very purpose! =) My local pet store sells them, and you can find them online, as well. "BioBag" sells them, along with all of their other compostable bag products. Some companies even make natural, biodegradable baby wipes now! (Off the topic, but I just happened to think of it!) I'll have to look and see if Seventh Generation lists their baby wipes as being biodegradable somewhere on their website...they don't say so on the package...

Hartz even makes biodegradable puppy training pads...Maxim makes ALL-COTTON biodegradable feminine pads...it's all out there...it just takes a bit of looking is all, and perhaps some online shopping! Health stores carry this kind of stuff if your local grocery store doesn't, and sometimes they will be happy to order a product for you that they don't carry or are out of, free of any shipping charges!

I decided to label in this subject line about where to ecologically place your kitty litter deposits, in case anyone who mentioned that problem came back to read further comments later on...I hadn't labeled my previous comment as such, and so I hope that putting it in the subject line this timecatches anyone's eye that is looking for a solution to this problem!! =) In my other post, "I haven't read the other..." I mentioned eco-friendly bags in that post for this problem..."Eco-Safe" and "BioBag." Check them out! And try checking out your local pet stores for compostable/biodegradable doggie-doo-doo bags...some brands can be quite large, so they may work for collecting litter deposits, as well! It all depends on the size you're looking for, so experiment and find what works best for you! It doesn't have to be plastic grocery bags! I used to use them all the time, too, but have found that it's no longer necessary and I feel much better about my more ecologically-sound choice! ;)

Also...since we're talking about being environmentally-sound here, I don't use clay litter, either (the gray, pebble-type stuff). Besides being really unhealthy for you and your cat (it can contribute to respiratory problems with all the dust it causes), I also read that it doesn't biodegrade well, surprisingly. Wheat or corn litter is supposed to be better, as far as being compostable and less dusty...and safer if your cat decides to eat a piece or two of it (which some cats will do). lol!

Beware, though, I read that pine and cedar litters contain chemicals in them (which are naturally-occurring in the trees) and so I chose not to continue using those litters for my cats. I tried EVERY litter out there...even the pellet litter made out of recycled newspaper (I didn't like that litter, though, and thought that the inks in the newspaper probably weren't a healthy thing...since they aren't supposed to be healthy for humans, and one should wash their hands after reading a newspaper due to the ink rubbing off on your fingers).

I've tried the crystal litter, as well (which is made out of silica) and found controversial articles online about the safety of silica...and so...the best/safest litter in my mind has turned out to be the corn and wheat litters...the corn clumps better than the wheat, and is less dusty than the wheat. The only problem I have with the corn is that I wonder if it's GMO-free? I must contact the company and ask...since one of cats does eat it from time to time, and of course they lick the corn dust off their feet after getting out of the box.

Hope this info has helped any cat owners out there!! :) The brand of corn litter I use is "World's Best" and the wheat one I sometimes use (since it's cheaper) is SwheatScoop. Mixing the corn and the wheat litters together cuts down on the dust the wheat litter creates, and helps the wheat litter to clump better.

It is more expensive to use this type of litter, but to me it's worth it for my cat's health...years ago when I lived with my Dad, our cat began to get respiratory issues when she never had any previously, and I now wonder if it wasn't from the clay litter.

If you're interested, check around and compare prices on the wheat/corn litter, too...my pet store sells BIG bags of these and so I first thought they were a better deal, but when I did the math, it was still cheaper to buy the smaller bags of the corn litter at my grocery store. And I tried Arm and Hammer's "natural" corn litter sold at my grocery store...but it has a REALLY strong fragrance odor, and to me, that isn't "natural" and my cats didn't appreciate the scent, either, after using fragrance-free corn litter for so long. In general, cats may not like fragranced litter since their sense of smell is MUCH better than ours and can find those kind of strong, perfumey odors offensive...which may lead them to not even use their litter box then. Okay, shutting up! Hope any of this helps a fellow cat lover/owner! =D

Thought I'd post this article, which I also posted on Part 1 of this BYOB blog:

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/197/1/Degradable-Biodegradable-C...

It discusses the details of biodegradable/compostable bags and how "green" are they really??...From this article, it sounds like compostable bags are the best choice we have, as far as "ecologically-sound" bags go. I had forgotten all about having read this article a long time ago, but for some reason, I just remembered that I had bookmarked it and so I re-read it...and now I'm glad I did! I had forgotten that biodegradable bags aren't really able to biodegrade properly in landfill conditions, unfortunately...which then even causes them to produce toxins! *sigh* :(

And as far as cotton (canvas) bags being "biodegradable"...if what this articles says is true, then it sounds like they aren't very "biodegradable" at all, either, under the conditions in a landfill. =( I use canvas totes myself for grocery shopping...and all things considered...they're better than plastic, I'm sure! ;) So I will continue to use them!

Frankly, the ONLY way to reduce landfill garbage is for more people to do AT-HOME COMPOSTING, or for their community to do composting of the neighborhood's compostable garbage. My boyfriend and I burn what we can't recycle most times...and we're trying to get into composting a bit...but it's harder in a place like Alaska...you can't just leave food scraps in a container outside to attract bears and the like. And being that there's long, cold winters here, things don't break down for many months out of the year in order for home-composting to work. We'll have to look into using worms and such to help with that...to see if those kind of things would work through the winters here.

For those who are interested, check out "Natural Value" plastic bags for different sizes of compostable and "degradable" bags.

Compostable and degradable plastic bags seem to be better choices than biodegradable ones, according to the article I posted above.

Although I'm confused as to why some of Natural Value's bags say both words "Biodegradable" and "Compostable" together on the box...I mean, which is it?! Are they compostable, or biodegradable...how can they be both??!

Natural Value has a website, but I couldn't find out how to order directly from the website! Guess I'll have to e-mail them and ask, but VitaCost (online) sells their degradable 13-gallon kitchen trash bags.

Where I live, Shop 'n' Save has the best reusable shopping bags. They are large (about the size of two paper grocery bags' worth), have a reinforced bottom, and strong handles. They are black (which is great for not showing dirt, especially if you have to set them down on the ground a minute while you're fumbling for car keys in the parking lot) and fold up neatly and easily with a little snap closure. They fit perfectly under the seat or tucked between my seat and the center console in my van. They are cheap, too - $2 each!

They don't last forever but they do last a really long time. I bought half a dozen of them two years ago and even though I load them up like crazy (I usually have 15-25 lbs. of groceries in each bag, ha!) I've only had one handle tear, and one of them got a side tear last year. But still, 2/3 of them are still good as new after 2 years of heavy usage. :)