I have an idea, tell me if its any good. Give me your suggestions, and opinions upon it, please.?

Question

Well, here's my idea.

I know the local stores here, they use ALOT of plastic bags. My family and I are always going to the Kroger thats a few blocks away.

Now - they use alot of plastic bags, and...as I am out walking, I see them laying on the ground. It isn't helping our Earth, with all of this plastic waste.

My idea is something along these lines. A customer would bring in say; 50 plastic bags, and get a certain amount of money off of their next purchase. This way, chain stores; I.E Krogers, Wal*Mart, Meijer < I think thats spelt right. >.Can be helping the Earth by recycling. Also, getting more customers, those who want to save money; and who want to help the world. ;)

As I said before, give me your opinions, and suggestions. Be nice though :| I know it isn't fully thought through. Im just thinking outloud here. ;) Thanks for your time. Have a nice week all.

Answer 1

I think that is a terrific idea.  Some of the stores already have containers in the front of the stores to put used plastic bags so I am not sure at this point that they will be willing to give a discount or to take time to count bags.  But it is a worthwhile idea.

Answer 2

Years ago before plastic bags came along there where paper bags. To save a tree one store (don&#039;t remember which one) would give you 3 cents off for each paper bag you brought in to bag your groceries in. The only problem with this for plastic bags is people would bring them in stuff in another plastic bag. The stores would have to make a stand to hold the bag by the handles so you could open the bag and get your stuff into it. Paper bags could stand on there own.

Answer 3

Our local Kroger gives us 3 cents for every canvas (or other reusable material) shopping bag we use every time we shop.  The also sell reusable bags but they look kinda thin to me so I bought mine online.  

Our Kroger has been doing that since around the end of March and I think it actually helps.  I haven&#039;t noticed as much trash in the parking lot or along the side of the road there.

You could always bring your reusable bags and place them in a very visible spot on your shopping cart so other shoppers know that you are using the canvas bags.  It will encourage others to do the same.

Answer 4

However, the quality of the plastic bags would be much lower because they would have already been used and had stress applied on them. Interesting idea though.

Answer 5

very good mickey  I believe this would help both ways good advertising for business and a good deal for us folks looking to help our earth and feed our families

Answer 6

here in England,Asda (part of Walmart) are phasing out plastic bags in favour of bags for life which you buy ,they are more robust than the free ones andif they do wear out you swap it for a new one and they recycle the old ones.

Tesco do a scheme whereby you have a card and accumulate points for purchases ,if you reuse a bag you get a green point,when you get so many you can exchange for a voucher

Answer 7

the city of brighton in uk is trying to get rid off all plastic bags from every shop. Which is nice

Answer 8

Hi,

I am the canvasbagdealer at www.reusablecanvasbags.com

When it comes to the Green bag program, this is some legislation that has already passed in several states starting in California. It all started with Arnold Schwarzeger&#039;s California Bag tax proposition 4 years ago in 2003, Finally passed bill in April 2007!

In California, Texas, North Carolia, and Florida, Law has already passed in some counties to impose a &quot;bag tax&quot; on anybody using or needing plastic bags, this &quot;tax:&quot; is up to 25 cents per plastic bag used to so call pay for recycling efforts to clean up. Probably just another slush fund for the states. They have offered &quot;incentives&quot; for people to bring in their own earth freindly bags, up 25 cents back to you if you bring in your own bag, per bag.! These programs are popping up in every state. We offer very large and thick, 18 x 15 x 6 x 30 inch handles, 100% Earth Friendly cotton canvas bags that pay for themselves with the new legistlation that pays you back. You see alot of so called &quot;post consumer recycled Materials&quot; bags in markets already but with no incentives to actually use them. Problem is in our minds that the bags themselves are still not &quot;Earth Friendly&quot;, yes recyled but  still plastic fibers and wont actually break down naturally. We believe in a 100% organic approach using only Cotton canvas, no dies, logos, plastic, nothing bad for the earth.. Hope this helps with some insight.

Answer 9

i think its great but it need to gain more attention and you can ask ur frwnds to do the same ..i might try this as well......!!!

Answer 10

I think it&#039;s a great idea. In fact, I had thought of it myself a short while ago. The only problem that I saw with this is that the bags are only so durable and may not be reuseable. Also, what about cleanliness? What if a product leaked inside of the bag? You wouldn&#039;t be able to re-use it then.

Now, if you mean for us to bring them back to the store, and they give us a deposit and then they send them to a recycling plant (like they do with pop bottles), that is genius! We could actually do that with many things that we recycle which would cause people to recycle more, I think.

Answer 11

Your proposal is very recommendable.  It would be good if customers bring thier plastic or other bags to have their own things which they buy from the store packed in them.  The store also could supply bags made from cotton instead of plastic.  These could be washed and used many times.  You can suggest this to your store managers.  Good luck &amp; let us care for the Earth.

Answer 12

It&#039;s always great to have ideas, as they have to start somewhere. And I agree that bags on the ground, floating in the wind, is not a good thing for our great planet. I live in Oregon and we have stores here that are a subsidiary of Kroger stores. For many years now they have had signs that if you bring your own bags back in when you shop (re-use them) they will take 5 cents off your groceries for each bag used. But here in Oregon (the pioneers of the bottle return bill and many forward thinking ideas... lol) they have gone one step further. They now sell cloth bags with handles there in the stores and have signs up to encourage people to buy them (quite cheaply) and use them many times over. I haven&#039;t seen many people using them yet, but I think it will catch on soon. I think you&#039;re a person with a vision of helping and I hope you keep looking for ways to do just that. The world needs helpers!

Answer 13

Hi Mikey. A good idea i,m all for saving money &amp; the planet. Maybe they could give a voucher for every 50 bags.    

             recycled teenager

Answer 14

I have been using cloth bags and baskets for many years. I just keep several bags shoved into one of them in my back seat or trunk.

I have been into health food stores like Mother Earth or Wild Oats where they give you a nickel credit toward your bill ,per bag, or, the option to donate to a charity.

I wish more would do this as the plastic bags are responsible for flooding in foreign countries and, not to mention, ugly lying on the ground.

In Europe, if you don&#039;t bring in a cloth bag or basket for your purchases, you must carry your stuff home in your arms!

I believe folks just need to be good examples and take individual responsibility for good changes on the planet.

Keep thinking of creative solutions, though. It is all about doing our best to be responsible for the problem.