I have an awful experience every time I shop at this one particular store on the Drive. Their cheese comes in plain brown paper, which is the only reason I still go there, but come to the counter and my blood pressure always starts to rise; I’ve tried to have numerous unsuccessful and unpleasant conversations with the ladies there about their plastic bags- both grocery and produce.
Yesterday I was stuck behind a woman who had chosen to bag every single item she had purchased. One avocado:one bag. One onion:one bag. Times all her million items I was forced to stare at as they were placed in the larger, bright orange, plastic bags. I started to feel sick to my stomach. Who does this lady think she is?! It was one of the more blatant abuses of bags I had ever encountered.
Fidgeting. Heart pounding. Do I say something? What is the right thing to do here? What. Is. The. Right. Thing.
I copped out and instead ranted to the unsuspecting person behind me in line. Whilst stunned, in agreement. And while that made me feel a little better, I walked out the store feeling like I let the future down.
So, friends. Shall we develop a simple spoken message that delivers the point in a non-threatening manner? Or, shall I make a card that you can quietly pass to someone on the way out? Or, do we stew silently in our disappointment and disgust? Other ideas?
7 comments
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March 24, 2012 at 9:19 am
layne
Your post made me feel sick and sad at the same time. I think it would be great to develop a courteous card that could be quietly passed to such people.
One thing I have started doing is using a store’s paper bags to bag certain produce items like salad leaves, mushrooms, etc. I even take paper bags over to the bulk food section and fill lup with grains, nuts,etc. Of course it’s possible to re-use old plastic bags, but sometimes I forget to take them with me.
March 24, 2012 at 10:08 am
Megan
What about offering to buy them a cloth bag? Costs you a buck or two but stops them from using a million plastic bags – and even if they refuse the cloth bag, you’ve made your point and everyone else in line will hear you.
March 25, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Kaylen
Maybe she has dogs and she reuses every one of those bags to pick up poop.
March 26, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Jen CleanBin
Which store has cheese is plain paper? Tell me tell me!
March 28, 2012 at 8:17 pm
Jocelynn
Ahhhhh! Great post, and agreed… If you figure out what to say that works best, do let me know …. I like the card idea…. I know there are postcards that the city has about being in a no-idle city, and a friend of mine says he gives them to people when he seems the idling his car, which I thought was such a fabulous idea…maybe the card could have a photo of a bird with plastic in it…. but then maybe that’s just more paper and such? I don’t know.
I always have this anxiety in line… or in the produce section, it takes the fun out of grocery buying… one guy in front of me even saw my mesh bags and said he liked them and wished there was an alternative to plastic, and he picked up his one pepper in his bag and showed me, and was perplexed as to how he could have avoided the plastic… there IS an alternative for one, and for two, WHY do you need a bag for ONE item? GAH.
Megan’s idea is pretty good too! Or even if you just have one handy and say “would you like this, for next time, so you don’t need to use so much plastic?”
Can’t grocery stores just ban produce bags already? And have a stack of paper for those who forget, and mesh ones to buy?
April 10, 2012 at 7:04 am
red
Timely post. I was just at my neighborhood hardware store, buying new (platic! ugh!) hot and cold buttons for my faucets, as the plumber destroyed my old ones. The lady in front of me was buying some kind of plastic siding, which was packaged in a large clear plastic bag, with a plastic tie closing it up. She asked the cashier for a bag. Mercifully he said he didn’t have one that big, but then he lit up, and said “I could give you a trash bag!” She loved that idea, and so they put the plastic, bagged in plastic, into a plastic bag. Mind you, this was the size and weight of an enourmous loaf of bread, and she was only buying the one thing. I struggled with whether or not to say something, and ultimately decided to err on the side of “politeness” or maybe non-confrontationalism, but I felt like there should be a nice way to say, “do you really need that bag?” If you come up with something, I would very much like to hear it. This is a conversation we SHOULD be having with people, but we don’t want to do it if it’s going to be ineffective because it’s perceived as rude – if we do it “right,” we could have a great impact….
May 23, 2012 at 10:18 am
saraant
Yes! Please keep sharing ideas!
I have this problem all the time, I WANT to say something, and I might even be able to get it out in a polite manner – however, I have this issue with coming across as a self-righteous, tree-hugging bitch because it seems like anytime someone opens their mouth on any topic related to saving resources, cleaning the environment or fighting for safe food, no matter how the message is relayed, people tend to glaze over and think you’re an ass for not minding your own business. It drives me crazy – it’s ALL OF OUR BUSINESS to care!!!
And it seems like every time I tell a cashier I don’t need a bag they respond in shock that I am going to CARRY all that stuff in my arms?!? Oh the horror!
I like the idea of a polite card but that just uses more resources and is another chance to create litter
I wish people would wake up and realize ignorance is not bliss!