Grocery Shopping - Bring own canvas bags?

[standingroomonly]

Ok, so it's becoming more common in areas where we live now (CA) to bring your own canvas/tote bags to all shopping places (malls, grocery stores, etc)...as certain cities now charge extra for bags. From what I've read in the forums here, grocery stores tend to bag EVERYTHING and you end up with a ton of bags.

Would you be looked at as odd (well, maybe you would) or more importantly, flat out told no, if you brought in and wanted the grocery clerks to bag your items in the bags you brought? Anyone tried this or know someone who has?

This is more a curiosity question than something I feel strongly about with bringing our own bags everywhere.

[JR8]

Will they think you're weird, no they'll just think you're a typical westerner

NTUC even give a 10c a bag credit on I think a Wednesday which is 'Bring your own bag day'. But still no one except the rich foreigners do.

[wannamove]

I do it all the time (well whenever I remember) - I see many people do it. I have never heard any strange comments or got odd looks at grocery stores.

But at many places (not malls or grocery stores) I have been asked if I really do not need a plastic bag. Yes some people find it strange that you do not want a plastic bag.

[the lynx]

Ok, so it's becoming more common in areas where we live now (CA) to bring your own canvas/tote bags to all shopping places (malls, grocery stores, etc)...as certain cities now charge extra for bags. From what I've read in the forums here, grocery stores tend to bag EVERYTHING and you end up with a ton of bags.

Would you be looked at as odd (well, maybe you would) or more importantly, flat out told no, if you brought in and wanted the grocery clerks to bag your items in the bags you brought? Anyone tried this or know someone who has?

This is more a curiosity question than something I feel strongly about with bringing our own bags everywhere.

Don't worry. It is on its way in becoming a culture among the locals as well (although still far off but hey, better than none). All supermarkets are already accustomed to customers bringing their own canvas bag and asked the cashiers to place the groceries in there. In fact some like NTUC offer 10 cents credit off your total bill.

I have not tried buying from wet market so I do not know their would-be response to own shopping bags.

So just go ahead. It is a good habit to cultivate

[sundaymorningstaple]

I always use plastic bags as it's the only way I don't have to buy plastic bags for the garbage chute.

[poodlek]

I always use plastic bags as it's the only way I don't have to buy plastic bags for the garbage chute.

I go about half and half for this reason. Sometimes I've handed over my bags to the cashier only to have her bag them in plastic before putting them in my larger reusable bags

[nakatago]

I always use plastic bags as it's the only way I don't have to buy plastic bags for the garbage chute.

I do this too.

But I also tell them not to put some items in a bag; for example, just a loaf of bread or I bought a bunch of food items AND soap (which I'll put in my backpack).

At least they stopped doing this:

• carton of eggs -> own bag
  bunch of bananas -> own bag
  everything else in your basket -> in two or three bags but they put the loaf of bread first followed by canned goods.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yeah, for some reason, common sense goes right out the window when cashiers start loading the items into the bags. Oh, Right! I forgot. No common sense at any time.

[merichan]

I always use plastic bags as it's the only way I don't have to buy plastic bags for the garbage chute.

I go about half and half for this reason. Sometimes I've handed over my bags to the cashier only to have her bag them in plastic before putting them in my larger reusable bags

same here... haven't bought much more than a roll of garbage bags in the 3 years we've been living here

[mssophie]

i only bring my own bag when i go to the supermarket, i don't think it's anything weird i hate carrying plastic bags.

[durian123]

I bring my backpack + canvas bag to the supermarket and the wet market and it's OK.

Although when I do forget, I struggle like everybody else to convince the cashier (s)he can put more than 2 items in the same bag:

"You really want your carrots and toothbrush in the same bag?!?!"
"Yes, they're both covered in plastic too."
"Most people don't want that."
"Your bags say: "REDUCE use of plastic bags"... I'm following that advice."
"Do you want me to double-bag that?"

[durian123]

Also, there was a recent letter exchange with the NEA in the newspaper. The NEA's stance is that plastic bags don't harm the environment because they are re-used as rubbish bags, and we burn our rubbish (so they don't end up in landfills).

Never mind that they also end up in the sea, that the production process and the fumes when burnt might be polluting, that every paper or glass recycling bin I see has plastic bags in it, or that there are no recycling bins for plastic. If we can burn it, it's like it was never there.

To be fair, they later added that they support a gradual reduction of plastic bags, in line with good environmental practices. They re-iterated that they don't support a ban though (I guess that makes a ban a bad environmental practice).

[poodlek]

Also, there was a recent letter exchange with the NEA in the newspaper. The NEA's stance is that plastic bags don't harm the environment because they are re-used as rubbish bags, and we burn our rubbish (so they don't end up in landfills).

Never mind that they also end up in the sea, that the production process and the fumes when burnt might be polluting, that every paper or glass recycling bin I see has plastic bags in it, or that there are no recycling bins for plastic. If we can burn it, it's like it was never there.

To be fair, they later added that they support a gradual reduction of plastic bags, in line with good environmental practices. They re-iterated that they don't support a ban though (I guess that makes a ban a bad environmental practice).