Rather than continuing to collect another batch of paper or plastic bags every time you go shopping, consider switching to reusable bags made of canvas, hemp or some other sturdy, washable fabric.
Finding good reusable shopping bags is easy--countless online sites now sell them, and many stores offer their own versions. You may not even have to buy any new bags. Many people already own reusable bags, but just aren't thinking of them in those terms.
When I first decided to start carrying reusable bags in my car, so I would always have some handy if I needed to stop at a store, I realized I had several bags I had received as promotions or that once held corporate swag. If you find you don't have any good bags on hand, you can easily find several low-cost options that will serve you well.
So why bother with reusable bags?
Reusable bags help to preserve precious natural resources--petroleum and trees, for example--as well as previously recycled material, allowing them to be put to better uses than creating containers you use to carry home breakfast cereal, vegetables and underwear. Shunning paper and plastic bags also reduces litter, saves landfill space, and makes the world a little safer for marine life.
If you do have to use paper or plastic bags now and then, be sure to recycle. Paper bags can be recycled almost anywhere, including in most curbside recycling programs if you're lucky enough to have one in your community. Plastic bags usually have to be returned to the store or taken to a local recycling center.
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Comments
I gotta agree on this one. Laziness seems to be the biggest reason not to carry reusable bags around in your car as you suggest. We raise and sell organic beef, and deliver the orders in bags my wife makes out of emptied grain or wild bird seed bags: cut it down to shopping bag size, roll over the cut top edge and run a seam on the sewing machine. Use the cut off remnant to form handles and sew this in at the top. They’re extremely durable and the art work is pleasing. Dog & cat food bags are made out of the same woven plastic stuff, if you don’t have access to grain bags. To date, I haven’t seen one of ours stuck 40 ft. up a tree, 2 miles deep in the forest preserve, next to all those thin plastic store bags.