Paper or Plastic?

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Dean
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Paper or Plastic?

Post by Dean »

The paper or plastic question came about in the late 80s/early 90s, correct?

Prior ALL bags @ the grocery store had been paper. When they began introducing plastic bags...didn't they try to ELIMINATE paper all together? When they did so, there was "outrage" over bread being smashed, etc.

So, they began to offer both...and hence the question of paper or plastic.

Was there a specific chain that began the plastic push?

I get a kick out of the folks that ask for paper INSIDE plastic. Now they have double bagged...with both types!
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Post by Terry K »

Jewel did in the late 80s...they contended that the plastic bag was 1/4 the cost of a paper one.
Paper or Plastic
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Post by Paper or Plastic »

I resemble that remark !
rich
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Post by rich »

Jewel began offering plastic in Chicago in 1986. They started with the stores in the city (where a lot of people walk and might have found plastic better for carrying stuff). They were pretty universal by the end of the 80s.

Some people prefer paper for ecological reasons; others find plastic more difficult to manage for baked goods and such. Paper also is easier to manage in a cart and a car trunk.
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Dave
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Post by Dave »

I seem to recall some stores trying to go all plastic for reasons of cost, but I don't know any regular supermarket that's all plastic. The Food Lions I've been to lately don't ask for a preference and I don't know if they even have paper bags. Ukrop's gives you a choice and uses paper bags with handles as well as gives you a three cent credit for each bag you bring in to reuse for your order.

The Krogers in Richmond give you a choice and also use the handled paper bags. In Clarksburg, WV, Kroger doesn't ask and if they have paper bags, they don't have handles. The handled bags are good for me because they can be used for curbside recycling.

Ukrop's has paper bags available in all of their self checkouts. I've only seen that in one or two (not all) Krogers.
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Post by runchadrun »

For a while stores were touting bags as having a certain corn starch content to they would naturally biodegrade. I don't know what ever happened to that. Perhaps they biodegraded faster than expected (like in the warehouse waiting to be used) or were just too expensive.

Trader Joe's is pretty much all paper. I think they do have some plastic bags if you're getting one or two things but the default is always paper, usually double bagged. They tried to go all plastic about 10 years ago but that didn't fly with customers. And the design of the TJ's checkstands makes it difficult since there's nowhere to put the plastic bags if they are bagging while emptying the cart. The paper bags will stand up so they behave better.

Whole Foods will ask if you want paper or plastic and I'll often take plastic since their bags are thicker than other stores' and can actually be reused for practical things. They also make the bags from recycled plastic.

Here in the City of Los Angeles, the ability to put LDPE bags (recycling code 4) in our blue curbside bins has begun recently and a new state law (written by a friend of mine) is expanding recycling facilities for bags. I read an newspaper article that plastic bags are the bane of the people who work in the recycling centers because they blow around and get mixed up with the other recyclables.
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Post by rich »

Some chains will collect plastic bags for recycling. Publix used to do this. Giant of Landover, as well. I use them for small/medium trash receptacles and other things, so they always get resused at least once, and I don't have to buy other plastic. Kroger will offer a choice if a major competitor does--they are basically a defensive operator rather than an innovator, esp. when it comes to service.
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Post by Dean »

A number of the chains sold canvas or nylon bags that could be used to carry the items home.

I still have a number of the LUCKY nylon bags which were sold for this purpose.
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Dave
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Post by Dave »

I was sort of surprised to read that the city of San Francsico and the gorcery chains are waging a sort of war as to taking a census of plastic bags and determining recycling rates. It was in Supermarket Nes or Progessive Grocer, I forget which.

At any rate, Ukrop's and Kroger (perhaps Food Lion as well) all have plastic and paper recycling bins at their Richmond area stores, so I was sort of surprised that this apparently isn't common practice.
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Post by J-Mac »

J-Mac wrote:Bad Groceteria user, you talked about a recent vacation, not Grocery History
So there's the self-edit.

I remember the one downside of paper bags being that damp items (frozen items with condensation, for example) would wet the paper, and then cause bag failure (ie: items all over the trunk or kitchen floor). I remember Vons tried treating the bags at one time (they had some blue stripe)... most other grocers placed frozen items in a plastic bag like this:
Image
(I found this in a Christmas decoration box I cleaned out last month. Who knows how old this is?)
Last edited by J-Mac on 29 Jan 2007 23:29, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by mgrmk »

Just yesterday I was in Albertson's and noticed they are selling nylon bags for .99 each. Additionally, Raley's also uses the paper bags with handles but does have plastic upon request.
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Post by TheStranger »

A week ago, I went to the Safeway in Dixon, CA, where a canvas bag with the lifestyle logo was being given away. They had them on racks next to the impulse-buy stuff, so it was hard to tell those things were free (I had to ask a clerk to find out). One per customer or something like that.
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Post by Groceteria »

Hi all.

Could we maybe edge this back to history, please?

Thanks,
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Post by Dean »

What about the SIZE of the paper bag?!

They used to be "full size"...then they starting making them about 3-4 inches smaller. Guess they felt that the extreme top was a waste.

I am sure this was a cost-saving measure...as well as ecological.

In Southern California, VONS seemed to have championed the smaller size bag...with the others following.

I know folks were irriated, as the smaller bags weren't as large for their trash cans!
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Dave
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Post by Dave »

I remember "ice cream bags", which were insulated bags just big enough for a half-gallon "brick" of ice cream. I haven't seen those since the '70's I don't think.
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