Walmart-BYOB

One thing I also wanted to mention...

A few years ago, they used to try to tell people to bring their own cloth/reusable bags and while a handful of people did (I'd see maybe 2 people a month bringing their own bags) did that, it didn't catch on. Now that they charge for plastic bags... I'd say half (or more!) of everyone I see at grocery stores are using their own bags or boxes. Imagine if that caught on everywhere--it would definitely make a difference.
mewthree w/armor said:
I don't want to say its a bad idea, but I love getting bags, not having to bring my own, and not paying extra. I would rather see them do more recycling of plastic bottles and such.
Click to expand...
Well, the difference between recycling bottles and the like is... you can actually recycle those bottles. Plastic bags like the ones they have in commercial stores? Those don't recycle (well, if at all--I'm actually not sure). Unless you bring the bags home and reuse them for things yourself until they wear out, they probably just end up in a landfill and they take much longer than most materials to decompose so... just doing a lot of other things isn't gonna change that or make it any better. And then even if you do use them a lot at home, they still end up in a landfill. :/

I normally don't even care much about the environment but I think this is a good habit for society to get into. Just so long as people start remembering to bring their own bags which is the biggest hurdle. :p
 
FreakyLocz14 said:
It's terrible. Sure they could sell these bags as optional but making them required compromises Wal-Marts "Always Low Prices" message.
I don't wanna go on a rant but if they tried this in my community Wal-Mart would quickly lose business.
Click to expand...
How would Wal-Mart lose business? If anything, I think this will help its business. The company is trying to be more green(and they have been for quite some time after reading the case studies of that company), so the bags are something for the environmental minded consumer. Not only that, this might make the people that don't care too much about the environment to do something about it. I see if more people caught on to this then the company will gain quite a bit of profit from the reusable bag sales.
 
I hope people don't simply throw away their grocery bags when they get home... Such a waste... I mean at our house, we reuse ours not only for select stores that do encourage us to bring our own bags, but we use them for small garbage bags (the kitchen one etc).

I live with my mom and sister, and while I realize there are other families that don't have the same number as us, I am still surprised that around the neighborhood, every other people's garbage (evident on trash day) is like 2-3 times bigger than ours...

EDIT: In Australia they were already encouraging the use and reuse of cloth bags. And now I've started to seem them much more often here, in Canada.
 
If walmart lost costumers because of that feature then the community would be classified as lazy good for nothings. The only problem with reusable bags is the fact that a lot have it but we tend to forget to bring it. i guess its just something that should become a habit.
 
Personally, I like the idea. I mean it shows Wal-Mart isn't only thinking money (well it is seeing they want you to buy their bags, but $0.15 isn't going to kill anyone), but they're also thinking green such as for the environment. The plastic bags which are still being used here in Florida come in useful for household trash, but other than that they themselves are trashed and are left unusable like other recycled items might be. However, we have taken a step up since Wal-Mart here has been offering their blue reusable bags since mid last year.

If the same rule applies here overtime, then I can see complaints, but I can also see better for our area. Like said, it's about time things are being taken into action for a better environment and a simple step as this is quite easy to handle and can make a difference.

Finally, less plastic bags on the side of city and highway roads.

FreakyLocz14 said:
It's terrible. Sure they could sell these bags as optional but making them required compromises Wal-Marts "Always Low Prices" message.
I don't wanna go on a rant but if they tried this in my community Wal-Mart would quickly lose business.
Click to expand...
If Wal-Mart were to lose business because of this, then I would have to agree the people in your area would just be acting quite lazy. It isn't hard to bring in your own bags nor is it difficult to purchase any of their reusable bags. It's a better benefit more or less, but in all honesty I don't see Wal-Mart losing any business from one simple cause.
 
See I go to school in Washington DC, its a nickel per bag and I'm okay with it because it helps the environment. I am just gonna buy a dollar biodegradable bag and go shopping with that.
 
Hiiro said:
Personally, I like the idea. I mean it shows Wal-Mart isn't only thinking money (well it is seeing they want you to buy their bags, but $0.15 isn't going to kill anyone), but they're also thinking green such as for the environment. The plastic bags which are still being used here in Florida come in useful for household trash, but other than that they themselves are trashed and are left unusable like other recycled items might be. However, we have taken a step up since Wal-Mart here has been offering their blue reusable bags since mid last year.

If the same rule applies here overtime, then I can see complaints, but I can also see better for our area. Like said, it's about time things are being taken into action for a better environment and a simple step as this is quite easy to handle and can make a difference.

Finally, less plastic bags on the side of city and highway roads.


If Wal-Mart were to lose business because of this, then I would have to agree the people in your area would just be acting quite lazy. It isn't hard to bring in your own bags nor is it difficult to purchase any of their reusable bags. It's a better benefit more or less, but in all honesty I don't see Wal-Mart losing any business from one simple cause.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you would be correct is saying that people in my area are lazy but some are just low income.
Many of them would flock to Target or K-Mart in protest. I know because a Safeway tried this and everyone went to Lucky or Albertsons. Safeway went back to plastic bags within a week.
 
Man, 15 cents for a reusable bag is such a deal! We had to buy ours for a dollar each.

I think it's a reasonable step for Wal Mart to take. The other big-box stores are likely to follow their example. At Superstore (Canadian grocery store), most people are using reusable bags, now. They're really big and convenient. Apparently people are getting used to the change really quickly.
 
It wouldn't matter to me. I do so little shopping at Wal-Mart that I could carry my stuff out without a bag. Or stuff them into my huge coat pockets and look like a shoplifter. Or bring in a bag from Target and put my stuff in that XD

My parents, however... I'd estimate they'd have to buy about 15 of those bags considering the amount of groceries they get at a time (they do one huge shopping trip a month and typically purchase $150-$200 worth of food a trip). I'm not sure how'd they react. It would depend on how durable those bags are, I suppose.
 
Hmmm...so Wal-Mart has joined in the bandwagon of reusable bags. I know in my grocery store you can bring your own bags. They are so convenient. Plastic bags break and all of your food will be on the floor. But you have to pay about 99 cents for a bag. But you can use it as many times as you want. And you get to enter a contest to win a gift card. The things to do for everyone to use reusable bags.

But I see why Wal-Mart cares for the environment. I am all for it. But they still need to work on their customer service.
 
Hiiro said:
Personally, I like the idea. I mean it shows Wal-Mart isn't only thinking money (well it is seeing they want you to buy their bags, but $0.15 isn't going to kill anyone), but they're also thinking green such as for the environment. The plastic bags which are still being used here in Florida come in useful for household trash, but other than that they themselves are trashed and are left unusable like other recycled items might be. However, we have taken a step up since Wal-Mart here has been offering their blue reusable bags since mid last year.
Click to expand...
They are still thinking money as they gain the added benefit of not needing to give bags away for free and they need to produce less bags overall. They do lose (some) money from just giving anything away, even those cheap, plastic bags.

I always re-use any plastic bags I get, anyways. They make great trash bags for tiny trashcans and my friend's family always uses them for scooping dog mess up while walking. I have a huge ball of plastic bags under my sink that will see use again in some way before heading to the dump.
 
FreakyLocz14 said:
Unfortunately you would be correct is saying that people in my area are lazy but some are just low income.
Many of them would flock to Target or K-Mart in protest. I know because a Safeway tried this and everyone went to Lucky or Albertsons. Safeway went back to plastic bags within a week.
Click to expand...

Thanks for bringing this up. We have the low income issue also, lots of old and young people under the poverty line. Our issue is, we don't have Targets or K-Marts to flock to. Wal-Mart controls the area, and I doubt they would even try this because they wouldn't want to endanger there lead here.
 
mewthree w/armor said:
Thanks for bringing this up. We have the low income issue also, lots of old and young people under the poverty line. Our issue is, we don't have Targets or K-Marts to flock to. Wal-Mart controls the area, and I doubt they would even try this because they wouldn't want to endanger there lead here.
Click to expand...

Yes to people of moderate income 15 cents a bag isn't a big deal but people with small incomes really pinch every single penny they have.
I can see Wal-Marts located in areas that are more affluent or where most of the population is "green" doing this but in my city one of the Wal-Marts is located on the ghetto side of town and I don't see it happening there. Some of my friends are unfortunate enough to be in that situation and they don't even buy garbage bags because they use the plastic bags from stores for that job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top