What to Do With All Those Evil Plastic Grocery Bags Floating Around Your House

I’m probably in the minority on this one: I’m in favor of the plastic grocery bag. Here’s why. 

The plastic grocery bag is bad, I know, and they will no doubt be banned even in Connecticut one day. But until then, I have a 101 uses for them. I keep a bunch in big recycled, great-quality pickle jars. I typically recycle each one at least twice. Same with plastic baggies and bread bags. No kidding.

Years ago I learned to wash out baggies and bread bags for reuse. But after all types of plastic bags are banned, I’m not sure how I’ll manage the following (not so pretty to read…):

• bagging up cat vomit (and stray stool that my old cat tends to leave around…)…this is the toughest one!
• bagging up (smelly, messy, liquid-y) foods that cannot go in my compost…this is a tough one…
• bagging up the fat cut off from boneless chicken breasts…
• lining garbage cans in our kids’ rooms/bathrooms for all the weird stuff they throw in there…
• taking plastic bags in my car for the inevitable accident/wet bathing suit/drenched socks/muddy sneakers. A cloth bag, backpack will do…
• my son takes his gym clothes in a plastic bag to and from school since it holds in the odor pretty well. So, I guess a cloth or mesh bag will have to do in the future.
• creating my own Shake-and-Bake using a bread bag (not sure how much longer the bread bag will be around), but a jar will do.
• covering each homemade french fry with butter and seasonings (you put cut-up potatoes, seasonings, and softened butter all together in a bread bag, tie it closed, and then massage the bag so that every piece of potato is covered in the mixture–works like a miracle). Guess I can just mix in a bowl from now on…
• putting polishing clothes in a baggie to keep them from drying out–guess I can find a jar with a lid for this one.

I’m sure I’ll learn to adapt in a bagless household, but I’m a bit worried about how to clean up that cat vomit without a plastic bag to hold it all together! What will people with dogs do without plastic pooper-scooper bags?

~Marilyn, TFF

Related articles

• Los Angeles looks to ban plastic grocery bags (ctv.ca)
• Plastic Grocery Bags May Be Sacked In Boulder (denver.cbslocal.com)
• LA Bans Plastic Bags at Supermarkets (friendseat.com)