HOW TO REMEMBER THOSE REUSABLE BAGS

Stats Canada shows that reusable bag use has gone up 300% in the last 5 years. Shoppers using reusable bags have kept an estimated 500 million bags out of our landfills.

That's all fine and good, you mutter, except I can't remember to bring my bags in from the car or from home--all stuffed under the counter for the cats to play in.  I forget them at home and then buy more--those 0.99 cents can add up fast.

Feeling the “red-faced agony” of being an eco-writer caught without any reusable bags, over time I figured out the tricks to making bringing the bags a habitual part of the whole sustainable shopping routine.

1- Ask your favorite stores to offer discounts for bringing in your reusable bags.

2- Keep your bags in your car or purse so you have them every time you go out.

3-If you forget your reusable bag and are already in line, use one of cardboard boxes found in most of the stores behind cashiers or don’t get bags at all! Then you will be sure to remember them next time so you don’t have to carry out all your groceries with just your hands.

4- Make a note on your grocery list to grab the bags before you leave the house.

5- If you only have a couple of easy-to-carry items, and are asked if you would like a bag say “no, thank you”. If you are not asked if you would like a bag say “I don’t need a bag, thank you.” Simple.

6- You’re more than likely not the only person who forgot their bag. Encourage the stores you shop at to get staff to remind customers when right when they walk in to get their reusable bag and for management to put up more signs outside the doors with reminders.

7- If you do forget your reusable bags, and have to use plastic because you are unable to carry the groceries out, remember to bring them back to recycle. 

8- Most important! Do not hide them under the counter. Keep them in the hall closet up high, where you can see them. Even if the cats do not approve.

Stores also need to be part of the solution, not just willing participants in this endless cycle. We forget and they have to produce more and more bags. This seems to defeat the purpose. It seems we are trading plastic in for another type of bag that just sits under our counters.

 Stores could allow for a bin or box to be placed near the registers for the community to donate their extra reusable bags. This way customers who have forgotten theirs, may borrow one. We figure people who care will want this to succeed and remember to return the bags at a later time and even donate more.  So far few have tried to test this idea, but were rejected because the stores  didn't want to lose sales from their own reusable bags. Maybe next time mention it to your local grocer or write an email to their head office.
 
Remember, It takes all of us to succeed.