Austin just got REALLY weird!

[LordBeaverbrook]

Originally Posted by David.Douchehurst

Ah-fore ya know it, Tha A-TX pussy cartel is gonna charge us men-folk if'n we don't bring our own rubbers. Prolly charge us fer disposal, too, if'n we don't take tha used ones wif us.

Ah blame Obama!

Nah, it's George Bush's fault. We never got any of that good Iraqi oil fer ourselves 'cause if we did the plastic bags would be almost free again

Dallas, My H.E.B. usually comps my bags when I forget. They are nice that way. Sorry you didn't experience same. I'll recommend that they check to see if someone is from out of town and then they should comp the bags. You get used to taking a bag or two with you most of the time (I hear it is kinda like marriage from my married friends LOL). I do like that it keeps those damn thin plastic ones from blowing all around as trash and ending up in the creeks and lake.

I remember seeing those types of bags in Europe on my first trip there and wondering when we would get them in the states to replace our "low tech" paper bags. Maybe when we end this stupid War on Drugs and can grow lots of hemp fast and cheap paper will come back (since we won't have to cut down trees for it). When I lived in London we always carried a string bag to the market (it was a real market with lots of booths in Camden Town, then we went to the butcher if we wanted meat) and it was no big deal. Count me as skeptical that the plastic bag bans cause disease to any measurable degree. My stores always put the chicken in a smaller plastic bag and I later recycle that as well.

I have a million reusable bags (I keep a dozen in the car usually), you can have some of mine anytime you want. I used to shop at Randall's, but they are a fair bit more expensive for regular groceries than H.E.B. except for their meat specials (and the meat is usually better) even with their shoppers club. I visit about five different stores for different things, but Randall's no longer - If I'm going to pay those prices I'll shop Whole Foods or Central Market (but then I'm a foodie).

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by Claire She Blows

Those plastic bags are fucking toxic. One was caught in a cactus for 6 months in my yard, and when I went to pick it up, it disintegrated in my hands, with little plastic bits sticking to everything. I'm glad they finally did something and banned them. I wish the rest of the damn country would follow suit.

The People's Democratic Republic of Austin has also banned paper bags. The reason the plastic bag fell apart on you is that they're designed to biodegrade like that when hit by sunlight.

[gowithit]

Originally Posted by David.Douchehurst

Ah-fore ya know it, Tha A-TX pussy cartel is gonna charge us men-folk if'n we don't bring our own rubbers. Prolly charge us fer disposal, too, if'n we don't take tha used ones wif us.

Ah blame Obama!

Soon we WILL be taking the used rubbers with us after bookings and recycle by turning them inside out and rinsing!

But I'm all for the plastic bag ban and wish more areas would have it in place. Cuts down on the discarded bags flapping like flags caught in the bushes along the highways. They also slow up the decomposing of trash in the landfills. As well, the production of those bags uses much fossil fuel. So, overall, best to use reusable bags when going into the stores. The 2 cities I live in thru the yr (Portland, Or, and Austin) both have the ban in place, My "Green" opinion!

[dog soldier 4]

I have heard them called Urban Tumbleweeds

I also don't like the rule. But people in general are slobs.

Plastic bags blowing on the trees take away from natural beauty.

I live in the Hill Country and see to many blowing around

[NikkiWhite]

Plastic bags are completely against the law for retail stores in some counties in California and they charge 10¢ per paper bag im very used to bringing my own bags I think it's great.

[rekcaSxT]

Originally Posted by Lrqr

We do have Aldi's, it just goes by a different name - Trader Joe's.

The Aldi from Germany had a bit of a tiff (related to tobacco, I recall) and split ownership in Europe, so the stores there are actually owned by 2 different owners, depending on the country.

When they both came to the US, one went to CA under the name Trader Joe, the other hit more east coast and brought the name Aldi.

Anyway, I tend to agree the bag ban is high on talk and low on impact. There are better ways to achieve both symbolic and impact, but whatever...

Aldi, under the name "ALDI" is in Texas, and will be coming to Austin I am sure. They have opened a lot of stores in DFW.

[Whispers]

I do the bulk of my shopping in Buda and bring my plastic bags back to Austin and throw them away here...

There is no way others that live along the edges of town are not doing similar things and it HAS to be hitting the city's tax revenue....

[The Grouch]

Originally Posted by JennsLolli

Y'all need Aldi's. God bless Aldi's. You pay for your goddamn cart! But I also pay $25/wk for my mostly produce groceries.

I love Aldi's! I shopped there all the time when I lived in the Midwest. You have to bag your own groceries and pay for bags if you want them (paper) however the groceries were so cheap! Not really like "Trader Joe's" which carries more gourmet items; Aldi's carries mostly knock offs of name brands, but really good knock offs.

[DallasRain]

great idea Whispers...........to me it is the principal of the issue.....getting your groceries bagged free should be part of the customer service plan....I would NEVER charge my guys extra for condoms or lube!

[NikkiWhite]

I used to work at trader joes when I was younger lol.

[PeteMitchell]

Austin City council has a Berkeley-Boston-Amsterdam want-a-be problem. Austin is to be weird. No extra charge for bags!! No extra charge for Greek!!

[Guest010619]

Just be sure to wash your bags. I've got two lawn sized garbage bags full of the little dinky bags I acquired. They will have a second life in the bathroom and kitchen till the year 2017.

[unagi]

The ban has to do with litter rather than that the bags being made of plastic. I think the amount of petroleum used to make a plastic bag is about the same as for a paper bag.

Paper bags are not banned, as long as they have handles. I'm surprised HEB tried to charge you. They always offer a bag to me, even if I have reusable ones.

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by unagi

The ban has to do with litter rather than that the bags being made of plastic. I think the amount of petroleum used to make a plastic bag is about the same as for a paper bag.

It's still feel good pseudo environmentalism. I bought a box of 1000 plastic shopping bags and it only weighs a couple of pounds and is about the size of two loaves of bread. Not even equal to the petroleum cost of a few shopping trips.