I’ve bought into the whole bring-your-own-bag thing at the grocery store. I have a variety of bags—including one with insulation for cold foods—and actually really like not having a slew of plastic bags to deal with after my jaunt to the neighborhood Kroger or Publix.
I do have one complaint though. I check myself out 99% of the time. (Err, at the U-Scan terminals…I’m really not that vain.) The self-checkout bagging area is not made for a byob situation at all. First of all, you either have to tell the U-Scan attendant that you’re using your own bags before you begin scanning and bagging, which is a major pain, or you have to bag your first item and place your first bag down at the same time. (It’s an art that I’m trying to perfect.)
Unfortunately, with the regular plastic bags taking up so much space in the bagging area, and the little bag stands made for said plastic bags, there’s no good place to put your own bag that ensures you don’t get a “please place the item in the bag” warning from the U-Scan disembodied voice lady. When RH and I ran to the store tonight to pick up a few items for us and for Mom, we had an incredibly frustrating experience that made me think perhaps I should start standing in the long lines to have a professional check me out.
Sigh.
So here’s my plea to all grocery stores: Please support the byob movement by doing more than selling your branded cloth and Tyvek bags. Make the appropriate changes to make shopping with reusable bags as pleasant an experience as using your paper and plastic bags.
/end rant
by sabrina
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