Clare -
I definitely agree that we need to get more folks to use all these bags we give out. Here's the example of our campaign out here in the Bay Area to get people to remember their reusable bags - www.igotmybag.org. We are printing this website on the bags that we give out, and incorporating the message into our website outreach, mailings, and event education.
Tim Dewey-
Mattia Public Education Manager
Napa Recycling & Waste Services
Napa County Recycling & Waste Services
Northern Recycling & Waste Services
(707) 256-3500 x1204
(707) 732-7384 - cell
(707) 256-3565 - fax
www.naparecycling.com
Reusable Bags
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I noticed last night that our local grocery store has hung its reusable bag prominently on every entrance door with a sign reading "are your bags in the car?"
Angela Shambaugh
Aquatic Biologist
Department of Environmental Conservation
Water Quality Division
103 South Main Street,
10N, 1st Floor Waterbury VT 05671-0408
(802)241-3413
FAX (802)241-4537
Fran,
I was thinking the same thing about producing a magnetic shopping list with "bring reusable bags!" or some such as the first item, after reading www.igotmybag.org tips on remembering to bring bags. I have not yet priced out producing either that or the door hanger. I thought the door hanger would be good because so many people stuff their bags in a closet or heap them somewhere else easily overlooked and forget them. If they have this thing hanging on the door, they'll be reminded to go back and grab a bag, even if they choose not to or flat-out forget to hang them on the door.
Cheers,
Clare
The most effective way I have seen to help remind people to use their bags is a great big green sign on the front door of the grocery store saying "Did you remember your bag?". Lots of people in the parking lot turning around to retrieve their bags before heading into the store!
-- Kristen Cooley
Puget Sound Partnership
Volunteer and Education Manager
[email protected]
Cell - (360) 701-4604
Office - (360) 464-2009
I kept cutting myself slack when I'd forget my bags, so I had to resort to more of a draconian approach. I stopped allowing myself to shop without them. It's amazing how one's memory is sharpened after a couple times of having to put all the groceries back on the shelves and go home empty - handed. That got the bags to the car; if I left them in the car, I had to go out and get them. I never forget now.
Val Loewen
Whitehorse, Yukon
Dear Colleagues--
My tactic, and I'm not sure how successful it is, is to encourage people to keep their reusable bags in their car. That way, even if they forget to bring a bag in the store, as I do about every 5-6 trips to the store, they can go back to the car to get the bags.
Tom --
Tom Shelley
118 E. Court St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
607 342-0864
[email protected]
Compost Educator and General Substantiality Scion
Hi everyone,
Giant Food http://www.giantfood.com/about_us/community/environment/index.htm sells reusable shopping bags and pays you 5 cents from each disposable bag that people bring back.
Steve
Hi Tim and Clare,
Have you considered the idea of designing a grocery list to help remind people to bring their bags? This might be more helpful than a door-hanger. If you had a really unique design (perhaps in the shape of a reuseable bag) and potentially a couple of sponsors to pay for production/printing costs you could hand these out in place of the door-hangers. Or, you could make the list printable from your web site. Another idea that occurred to me was a unique keychain or lanyard so that when a shopper is turning off their car in the grocery parking lot, they have to physically touch your reuseable bag prompt.
What do you think?
Andrea (new to this list)
Dear Andrea,
Yep, the shopping list with pre-printed reminder is a great idea and I'll be looking into production costs (and partners) to see if I can make it happen. The keychain fob is a good one, too!
Thanks,
Clare
Hey and how about a bus pass holder that also holds shopping bags!
Rocky Feroe
With the holiday season on the way (and the resultant repacking of decorations after that) encourage people to "recycle" their wreath hangers and flip them to the inside of doors to hold reusable bags as a tidy and obvious reminder.
Judy Gilchrist,
Program Manager
Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation
The Gate House,
13990 Dufferin Street
North King City, Ontario L7B 1B3
905-833-5733 ext 23
www.moraineforlife.org
Dear Colleagues--My tactic, and I'm not sure how successful it is, is to encourage people to keep their reusable bags in their car. That way, even if they forget to bring a bag in the store, as I do about every 5-6 trips to the store, they can go back to the car to get the bags. Tom
Some of us (like in the big city - New York in my case) don't use cars for shopping. Back in the 1990s, when I did my doctoral dissertation (accessible on my website, below), in part on how to get people in NYC grocery stores to buy and use reusable bags, I chose a design that was about the size of typical plastic grocery bags, but made of cotton (not heavy canvas), strong enough, but thin enough to be folded into itself - resulting in a little bag that could fit in your fist (or your bag or briefcase). People need to carry one of these around all the time in order to reinforce a new habit. I now carry a nylon one that folds into itself closing with a pair of tabs with snaps on the bottom. It's strong enough for a heavy load, and is twice as big so even accommodates a big pie laid flat, but folded is an even smaller package than the one I used in the 1990s. This sort of thing would be a great holiday gift (given with the suggestion to carry and use it always).
Recommended viewing for the 21st century: www.storyofstuff.com
Maggie Clarke, Ph..D.
www.MaggieClarkeEnvironmental.com
Environmental Scientist, Educator
[email protected]
New York City
Dear Maggie and Colleagues--A similar small, tightly folding bag with which I am familiar is the ChicoBag.
Tom
http://www.bagselect.com/bags/ChicoBag/?gclid=CLjyg_K5mJcCFQMnGgod2kyP_A
P.S.: Maggie--I looked at your dissertation. Very cool stuff! I'm going to get a copy via interlibrary loan.
I wish that all grocery store clerks would be given a "directive" (like part of their job description) to ask first and every single time someone comes to the check out lane: "Did you bring your bag today?" Instead of asking "Paper of plastic?" I believe we eventually would get people to remember better as it would be a perceived norm, not just a prompt.
Nancy Lee
www.socialmarketingservice.com
Size matters! The Yves Rocher cosmetic company has a perfect nylon bag that folds to the size of a small Kleenex package. I tried to get them for the Burns Bog Conservation Society but the company needed a much larger order than I could afford unfortunately. I got some that are a bit bigger from another company. we sell them for $10 each Canadian plus tax plus s & h.
Eliza Olson, B.Ed.
President
Burns Bog Conservation Society
4-7953 120 Street,
Delta, BC V4C 6P6
Tel: 604.572.0373
Fax: 604.572.0374
TF 1.888.850.6264
www.burnsbog.org
I think we should encourage 'bag depots.' Most people shop at the same grocery store often enough that if the stores had a 'library system,' people could check out 10 bags. The next time they shop, they return the bags to the store library. With the technology we have today, it shouldn't be hard to set this system up. Any bags not returned within a certain time period causes your next set of bags to cost you just like a library fine. We need to start putting some responsibility for these actions on the retail and manufacturing industry. For instance, I hear that in Germany, they passed a law that grocery stores had to take whatever recyclable materials the customers wanted to leave or return to the store. This made the retail outlets put pressure on suppliers to reduce packaging. The whole supply chain needs to get active in waste reduction.
Claudette
Another great folding bag with its own little pouch is the Baggu. I always have at least one in my purse, which has kept me from taking home more plastic bags many a time. They come in a variety of colors and I have found them to very durable, compact when folded, and convenient: http://www.baggubag.com/
Jennifer Kane
MS/MPP Candidate ?09
Sustainable Development & Conservation
Biology Environmental Policy
University of Maryland
College Park
"I wish that all grocery store clerks would be given a directive (like part of their job description) to ask first and every single time someone comes to the check out lane: Did you bring your bag today? Instead of asking Paper of plastic?
I believe we eventually would get people to remember better as it would be a perceived norm, not just a prompt.
Nancy Lee
www.socialmarketingservice.com"
It never ceases to amaze me how much I still have to fight clerks and the responses I get. Even at Fairway, which has an entire floor for organic products, you announce you have your own bag and most of the time they're in their own world or talking to other clerks so you have to say it twice or three times. Often they throw up their hands and act as if you should pack your own bag (which I have done many times). Once recently a bagger left when I said I had my own bag. Many of the baggers are not native English speakers. I don't know if cultural differences would have anything to do with this. NYC now has a law which requires big stores to offer reusable bags, so it's even stranger that the baggers still don't get it. It is clearly true that orders have to come from managers. So how do we educate the managers? Does this need to be part of bag legislation?
Recommended viewing for the 21st century: www.storyofstuff.com
Maggie Clarke, Ph.D.
www.MaggieClarkeEnvironmental.com
Environmental Scientist, Educator
[email protected]
New York City
At my grocery store, if you bring your own bags, you get a 3 cent credit for every bag. You can choose to take the credit or donate it to charity. That's an incentive!
Claudette Lacombe
www.umbel.ca
[email protected]
403-533-0008
Hi Marjorie (and all)
South Australia is the latest jurisdiction to ban plastic bags, with the transition commencing 1 January 2009, and coming into full effect on 4 May 2009: www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/prog_bags.php So it will be interesting to see how the checkout clerks deal with this situation once its not just company policy, but law. Is there anyone else on this list who is in a jurisdiction where bags have been legally banned and can tell us how this has played out? www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/prog_bags.php#world_bans
Regards,
Sharon Ede
Sharon Ede
Policy & Project Officer,
Sustainability & Resource Efficiency
Zero Waste SA
www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au
GREAT idea!
Clare
I have heard that the baggers in some chains do not like to alter their system and use bags people bring in with them. The stands they use for plastic bags are designed so that baggers can work quickly. Bags that shoppers bring with them are in all shapes and sizes. I agree this should not be a huge barrier, but adjustments to training and instructions do need to come from management. -
Gwen
Gwen Farnsworth
Manager, Research E Source
303-345-9111
I have this problem. They are in my car, but I am not going out to get them when standing in line to pay, sorry. So this is a problem that requires a prompt. If the store had a sign on their front door I would go back to the car before shopping. Eventually, I will have the habit down and I will remember as I walk from my car. The bags are easier to use than conventional paper or plastic bags because they hold more and break less.
Rod Miller
City Car Share - a car sharing service in the San Francisco Bay Area uses a system such as this. In the trunk of every car is 4 reusable shopping bags. Their customers use the car to shop and return the car and the bags to the pod space. They say sometimes a car returns with only 2 bags but another car will return with 6. The bags are never really stolen but sometimes they get shifted around. Their customers report how pleased they are with the system.
Wanda Redic,
Recycling Program Specialist
(510) 238-6808 Phone
(510) 238-7286 Fax
How about a reminder on the shopping cart itself?
Hi
In Ireland a Plastic Bag Environmental Levy was introduced in 2002 and it has been deemed a great success. The levy is imposed at point of sale by retailers of plastic shopping bags to customers. Customers are charged about 22 cent per 'disposable' plastic bag. 'Bags for life' are exempt from the levy once they cost over 70 cent and some of the bigger supermarkets have printed on them that if they become damaged they will replace them for free. Some bags are exempt e.g. bags for vegetables in supermarkets, ice etc. The income is paid into an 'Environment Fund' which is used to support other services such as recycling facilities and bring centres. Clothing stores provide paper bags for free. However shop own-branded cloth bags are becoming increasingly popular and cost a couple of Euro. Some have provided them for free from time to time to customers and this also acts as a marketing ploy for the shop. Initially there was about a 90% drop in the use of plastic bags with the introduction of the levy however, it has increased gradually over the years. From a personal point of view I think that although the levy has been a huge success in decreasing the use of plastic bags it is evident from the number of paper bags you see strolling around the city centre that the majority of people's attitudes to the waste issue have not changed. On the other hand the levy is a good reminder to bring your own bags to the supermarket and has stopped huge amounts of plastic bags going to landfill.
Olivia
Olivia Daly
Project Officer,
AquaTT
E: [email protected]
T: +353 1 644 9008
F: +353 1 644 9009
Postal Address: PO Box 8989,
Dublin 2, Ireland
I found a bunch of those little zip-into-self nylon bags a few years ago and gave them as a gift to my step-father. He thought I was nuts at the time, but I knew he'd like saving 5 cents per bag if he used them to get groceries. Short story: he loves them now and I see him using them constantly.
Angela Manuszak
Training and Outreach Coordinator
Miami Conservancy District
38 East Monument Avenue
Dayton, OH 45402
Phone: 937-223-1278
X 3263 Fax: 937-223-4730
Web site: http://www.miamiconservancy.org
Well,
I recognise all the ways to forget to take reusable bags into the store. So when we forget we put the shopping back into the basket and transfer them into the bags at the car. Not so great when the weather is bad though.
NE IOT SWG Marketing Manager
IBM United Kingdom Ltd.,
Hursley, Winchester, England
Tel: +44 (0)1962 818407 | Int Ext 248407
Mobile: +44 (0)7738 310 766
Mobex 37262535
Fax:(0)1962 818080
[email protected]
if your community is interested in supporting use of reusable bags check www.cityofpaloalto.org/BYOBag the city provides entrance-door signs, banners, and parking lot signs for participating stores trish mulvey
We're working on a program in Oakland where signs would be in the store window or right on the door "Bring Your Own Bag?" We're also toying with the idea of a small window decal you could put on your car window and a removable decal for parking meters to get your attention before you leave the parking area or your car. Which one do you think would work best?
Wanda Redic,
Recycling Program Specialist
(510) 238-6808 Phone
(510) 238-7286 Fax
At my local grocery store chain, they offer to 'watch' and/or wait for you to go to your car to retrieve the bags if you have forgotten them. i think this is a great idea, but they mentioned that not too many people take them up on it.
In terms of car drivers remembering reusable bags, one possibility is for reusable bag campaigns to offer people a small sticker to put on the inside of their windscreen (like the one that tells you when your next service is due) that is a prompt...true, people may end up 'tuning it out' after a while, but its gotta work some of the time!
Sharon
I got several good emails about store prompts to remind folks about bringing their bags into stores. Here are some ideas for prompts: floor decals, cart and basket flags (signs), light pole flags, store signs, car decals, sandwich signs and banners.
Rod Miller
Senior Environmental Specialist
City of Folsom - Hazardous Materials Division
50 Natoma St. Folsom, CA 95630
Office 916-355-8361
Cell 916-439-0445
Fax 916-355-8351
www.folsomhazmat.com
[email protected]
When I get in the car to go to the store, I move the bags to the front seat so I see them when I park. Of course, you have to remember to move them there! It's amazing how much interest this topic has generated!
Clip your grocery list to the bags - works every time for me..... If I forget them, I have also forgotten my list & I have to go back to the car anyway.
Thanks & Adios,
CJD ----
Carol J. Dollard, P.E.,
LEED AP Energy Engineer
[email protected]
(970) 491-0151
Mailing Address:
Facilities Management
Colorado State University
6030 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523-6030
Those are both great ideas! The parking-meter decal would be really effective, as people are still close enough to their car to not be inconvenienced by having to return to it if they have walked some distance from it.
Clare
Google chico bags....they are great! They are bags that can be compacted and fits on a key chain. http://www.chicobag.com/
Rebecca Fotu
chico bag is one of my favorites (along with the wonderful array of ultra-light bags at www.reusablebags.com) AND best of all chico bag offers repurposing and recycling of any reusble bag that is no longer loved or wanted - see the zero waste link on their website and learn about their partnership with grateful threads at least in my community, there is no easy way to recycle most reusable bags. the material itself could be recycled (unwoven polypropylene #5 plastic for the bags sold for U.S. 99-cents in most of our grocery stores), but there is no market...
trish
Tim,
Your tips on how to remember your bag is great (http://www.igotmybag.org/tips.htm) Thanks for passing your site along!
Clare
Clare Innes
Marketing & Communications Manager
Chittenden Solid Waste District
1021 Redmond Road Williston, VT 05495
(802) 872-8100 ext. 207
Fax: (802) 878-5787
www.cswd.net