Wal Mart Bags Unfit For Riding Buses

[LuvOrlando]

Where are you guys who have thin bags or even paper bags? Ages ago they were very thin but for years the bags in multiple states have been crazy thick gray and, oddly, tend to smell like pickles to the point that I can't have them in the house I keep them in the garage until repurposed.

 

[RF536]

Walmart bags in Michgan are extremely thin. I don't use bags. I scan my stuff, put it back in the cart and sort into either a tote or cooler when i get to my car. Cuts down on the number of trips I have to make to get groceries inside.

 

[seashoreCM]

The Walmart I go to is in Hudson, New Hampshire. There were conservation minded signs at the self service registers, that read something like, "Could you put one more item in each bag?".Often I use plastic bags to wrap food (or put a bowl of leftover soup in) to keep from drying out in the fridge, of course that doesn't work if the bag has holes in it. Small bags also help keep small items from getting lost in a suitcase or briefcase, again bags with holes don't work well.

When possible I get paper bags from supermarkets, etc. These come in handy as trash can liners or to carry out the trash, or to put grass clippings or pulled weeds in for composting. In town recycling centers don't recycle plastic grocery bags whether alone or filled with other recyclable items.

 

[mamamary]

Baltimore County moved away from plastic bags but my mom can shop in Harford County and get plastic bags. She saves them for me since I can't get them here in NY except sometimes take-out restaurants and such. I used to use them for cat litter but now that our cat has passed away I use them exclusively for all the small waste baskets in the house.

I live in Harford County. There are a few stores where you need to purchase a paper bag but you are correct that Walmart is not one of them. Every once in a while I also bring some bags up to my mom in NY.

 

[HannaBelle]

If I were traveling on a bus or bike to/from Walmart, and thought this might be an issue, I'd bring a reusable bag or two with me. Speaking only for my household, we have to have a few dozen reusable bags in a variety of sizes. Even some from the Maui Walmart (Hawaiian Walmart bags have special designs, and you have to use reusable bags there). Heck, my DD21 got back from London last night, and was showing all the reusable bags she came home with. Most were cheap (10 pence is standard for a bag there), but there was a nicer one she bought in the bookstore.

Walmart bags being cheap is not a new issue. We re-use them as litter scoop bags, and my son either double-bags, or sorts through, throwing out any bags with holes.

Reusable bags from our vacations are now one of my favorite souvenirs. Hawaii ABC Stores have fun ones too!

 

[Imzadi]

After I drive home from Wal Mart, I usually find holes in the plastic shopping and grocery bags. It is not unusual for a hole, once started, to get bigger rapidly as the bag is carried.

So it would be embarassing, if not financially ruinous, for a bag to burst open while you are on the bus or subway, or while you are riding your bike.

Yes! Absolutely! They are unfit to walk out of the stores! We PAY for the bags, then are given the smallest and flimsiest bags possible.

We don't have Walmarts in NYC. So, the closest one to me is in NJ and I do have to take a bus there and back. I now bring a sturdy BOX and cart for all the items. We pop the cargo storage bin on the lower side of the bus, load the carts or bags in, and then out at our destination. Walmart bags would never survive the trip.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Reusable bags from our vacations are now one of my favorite souvenirs. Hawaii ABC Stores have fun ones too!

We got some there, too! My husband was in Maui for close to a month, working on the Lahaina rebuild, so he saved receipts, and we got the fancy, upgraded bags from the ABC store.

They ARE a nice, cheap souvenir, and if you lose or damage it, not a big loss.

I've never purchased a bag at Lidl--they moved in here, a couple years after Aldi's, so I've always used the Aldi's reusable shopping bags (that they gave out for free on opening day). I'll have to check the Lidl bags.

 

[tvguy]

I have a several dozen free bags from various charities and mostly they are ok. But the best bags I have are canvas. I bought them about 25 years ago. I can carry 4-5 large bottles of soda in them and they don't break . Only drawback was back when they were new , I gave one to niece. She took it to college, washed it with her underwear. She then had lovely blue everything.

Strange rules at local walmart (it's township rule), charge for bags in store, but if we do a pickup, we get these weird half size paper bags that hold three items. But not charged for them.

We use the canvas bags only if we are just buying a few items. For our weekly shopping they don't hold enough aren't ridge so all our groceries get spilled all over the trunk of the car. The old fashioned brown paper bags hold more and don't dump their contents.

 

[sheilafri]

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. The three Rs of recycling. I try to take a reusable bag into stores with me (Reduce), but sometimes forget. If I get them, I use them for my garbage cans (Reuse). I don’t usually have enough to recycle, but many stores around here have recycling containers for bags.

 

[lynxstch]

Hello, fellow Marylander. We live in MD and our county moved to reusable bags last year. Some stores still supply paper or plastic for a fee.

Western MD here, bags are still free, at least for now

 

[lilkitty819]

I live in Maryland and our Walmart still uses plastic bags

In Maryland it depends on the county you live in, most counties are going to reusable bags. I live in Maryland in Baltimore county and when I make an order from Wal-mart they deliver in paper bags.

 

[lynxstch]

In Maryland it depends on the county you live in, most counties are going to reusable bags. I live in Maryland in Baltimore county and when I make an order from Wal-mart they deliver in paper bags.

Even when they deliver here, it's in plastic bags. Allegany County here

 

[jo-jo]

We use the canvas bags only if we are just buying a few items. For our weekly shopping they don't hold enough aren't ridge so all our groceries get spilled all over the trunk of the car. The old fashioned brown paper bags hold more and don't dump their contents.

I keep a few boxes in the trunk. But yeah, don't really stand on their own. I love them for all the heavy stuff.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Easier to bring reuseable bags even though plastic still available in NH. We were on the verge of eliminating them when covid19 happened and I haven't heard a thing since then.

Years ago, I learned my lesson when a jar of pasta sauce fell through a plastic bag onto the garage floor. It looked like a murder scene all over the white painted walls, white car and not to mention glass everywhere...

 

[kymom99]

Walmart gives plastic bags when you buy things?? Here you have to bring your own reusable bags!

In the great state of Kentucky everyone still gives out plastic bags. Well, except Aldi, Sam’s, etc. People would lose their minds if they banned plastic.

My son lives in dutchess county NY and he had no trouble adjusting to bringing his own bags to the grocery.

 

[ncc1701]

In the great state of Kentucky everyone still gives out plastic bags. Well, except Aldi, Sam’s, etc. People would lose their minds if they banned plastic.

My son lives in dutchess county NY and he had no trouble adjusting to bringing his own bags to the grocery.

As someone who lives in New Jersey, I have gotten used to bring my own bags. I have a set in each car. The only plastic bag in most grocery stores are found in the Produce & Meat sections. I recycle the ones I put Produce in when defrosting meat/ poultry in the refrigerator.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

And, in California (where else?):
https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-lawmakers-vote-ban-reusable-211045980.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

Seems the ban on single use plastic bags didn't accomplish their goals, so now the reusable (thicker plastic, duh) bags are the enemy.

 

[Imzadi]

Seems the ban on single use plastic bags didn't accomplish their goals, so now the reusable (thicker plastic, duh) bags are the enemy.

They are growing in popularity here in NYC too. After they got rid of plastic grocery bags, most places went to charging us 5¢ - 10¢ per flimsy paper bag. (There was a good reason paper bags went out of popularity when plastic bags were invented. ) They rip and tear so easily. AND get soggy with condensation from frozen foods sitting in them too long while traveling.

The majority of us don't have a car. So, we have no trunk to store a stack of bags in when we go out. My backpack is often stuffed with stuff and I forget to replace a big plastic bag inside when I head out. So I end up buying a bag.

So, first, places like Fresh Direct started using the super thick plastic bags to cart food order items in. Then as their customers needed to get rid of their growing pile of Fresh Direct bags, they started giving them to those of us who don't use that service. Now, we all LOVE these super thick plastic bags. When I remember to bring a bag, it's a Fresh Direct bag. They are sturdy like canvas, yet waterproof. And lighter than a canvas bag.

They are sooo much better than the Target fuzzy, degradable bags. BEWARE: One time, I was walking home in a slight drizzling rain. The bright red Target bags bled all over my black clothes. It took me THREE hours to hand scrub the red dye out. It finally came out with Dawn Power Wash. So, now, whenever I get a bag like the Target bags, from anywhere, I toss them out immediately so I won't accidentally dye my clothes again if something is wet in the bag. People give me stuff often in those kinds of bags all the time. I can't tell you how many I've tossed as I won't reuse them. I only use the super thick, Fresh Direct plastic bags now.

Here is what the fuzzy "reusable" but degradable Target bags that BLEED when wet look like:

And as for my kitchen and bathroom trash? I still have to buy buy plastic bags to line my trash containers. Whereas before, I used to just recycle my plastic grocery bags for the job, I have to buy them anyway. Only I'm paying TWICE now, if I need a bag from the store because I don't have a bag with me. And the ones for the trash cans. The environment isn't being helped much by the ban on plastic bags here. Only the supermarkets are helped as they no longer have to pay for bags. The 5¢ - 10¢ bag charge is passed onto us. They don't even pay that much per bag. They buy a gross of paper bags, and it's like 10¢ per every 20 bags for them.

And if we have a small, single purchase, like one frozen item, many of us will just grab a plastic fruit/produce bag (for FREE) from the produce section, if we don't have our own bag with us.

 

[amcnj]

I remember sometimes the thin plastic bags would rip. Often it was due to something having a sharp corner or edge and puncturing the bag, and the hole would spread.

When I was younger there were only paper bags. They were pretty thick, sturdy ones at grocery stores. They later became the kitchen trash bags.

Now stores here cannot provide disposable plastic bags. The stores also lobbied to have the laws ban paper bags. Grocery stores over 2500 sq ft are affected. I have heard it was to avoid the expense of having to provide them.

 

[NYCgrrl]

They are growing in popularity here in NYC too. After they got rid of plastic grocery bags, most places went to charging us 5¢ - 10¢ per flimsy paper bag. (There was a good reason paper bags went out of popularity when plastic bags were invented. ) They rip and tear so easily. AND get soggy with condensation from frozen foods sitting in them too long while traveling.

The majority of us don't have a car. So, we have no trunk to store a stack of bags in when we go out. My backpack is often stuffed with stuff and I forget to replace a big plastic bag inside when I head out. So I end up buying a bag.

So, first, places like Fresh Direct started using the super thick plastic bags to cart food order items in. Then as their customers needed to get rid of their growing pile of Fresh Direct bags, they started giving them to those of us who don't use that service. Now, we all LOVE these super thick plastic bags. When I remember to bring a bag, it's a Fresh Direct bag. They are sturdy like canvas, yet waterproof. And lighter than a canvas bag.

They are sooo much better than the Target fuzzy, degradable bags. BEWARE: One time, I was walking home in a slight drizzling rain. The bright red Target bags bled all over my black clothes. It took me THREE hours to hand scrub the red dye out. It finally came out with Dawn Power Wash. So, now, whenever I get a bag like the Target bags, from anywhere, I toss them out immediately so I won't accidentally dye my clothes again if something is wet in the bag. People give me stuff often in those kinds of bags all the time. I can't tell you how many I've tossed as I won't reuse them. I only use the super thick, Fresh Direct plastic bags now.

Here is what the fuzzy "reusable" but degradable Target bags look like:

And as for my kitchen and bathroom trash? I still have to buy buy plastic bags to line my trash containers. Whereas before, I used to just recycle my plastic grocery bags for the job, I have to buy them anyway. Only I'm paying TWICE now, if I need a bag from the store because I don't have a bag with me. And the ones for the trash cans. The environment isn't being helped much by the ban on plastic bags here. Only the supermarkets are helped as they no longer have to pay for bags. The 5¢ - 10¢ bag charge is passed onto us. They don't even pay that much per bag. They buy a gross of paper bags, and it's like 10¢ per every 20 bags for them.

And if we have a small, single purchase, like one frozen item, many of us will just grab a plastic fruit/produce bag (for FREE) from the produce section, if we don't have our own bag with us.

I bought a “little old lady cart” for times there are a lotta packages like shopping at Stew Leonard’s or Target. Looks like this
https://www.amazon.com/dbest-produc...16974982&sprefix=Shopping+,aps,95&sr=8-9&th=1

I also see people with collapsible wagons especially in the Bronx.

For regular daily shopping a Zabar’s bag (looks a lot like The Fresh Direct bag u posted) or string bag does the job.

I hang a handled plastic bag near the kitchen to the eternal shame of DGD. She wants me to buy a garbage can but the one I want costs 100 bucks and I’m not that crazy. I mean but who cares? The garbage gets thrown out at least once a day and the chute room is on this floor. Whyyyy when I was a kid you walked down 5 flights of stairs and up 10 to throw out the trash. Durn whippersnappers!