how do you not use or re-use produce bags?

[kfillmore]

I know this isn't about food but it is about shopping for food!

I HATE using new produce bags every time we go to the store. I have not found a good way to reuse them. They are clutter-y and are often wet etc.

Someone sent me two cotton bags once but I use them to store the veg in the fridge. 

Anyone have a good system?

[serenbat]

all the stores (even small ones) near me only use recycle # bags(numbers printed right on them)- turn them inside out to dry and bag them up and return them (we have plastic bag recycling bins at all the stores too)-at my local farm markets most are using bags that biodegrade bags

[kfillmore]

 i mean the thin, clear type you put your apples or lettuce etc in. Do they recycle those? Anyway, I think i'd rather re=use or not use at all. Thanks!

[Buzzer Beater]

Originally Posted by kfillmore 

Anyone have a good system?

I just don't get them. I used to turn them inside out and try to dry them on the cupboard handles, on the drainer, wherever. I hate them. Then I... just stopped getting them. Apples? Right in the cart. Lettuce? right in the cart. Kiwi, onion, tomato, potato, whatever. I can't think of anything (except a few dry bulk items) I use a bag for anymore. Oh, beans and brussels sprouts need a bag. You could reuse a regular grocery bag for those.

[serenbat]

 i mean the thin, clear type you put your apples or lettuce etc in. Do they recycle those? Anyway, I think i'd rather re=use or not use at all. Thanks!

those are the ones I mean- they are even at my health food store for bulk items

the bio ones I fill with compost and freeze (we have red worms and they like their food frozen & we keep a bin inside-we live in an apt,) the others I turn in just like I recycle other items with numbers on 

BTW - I don't buy much at all at the grocery store to have a large lot of these, I do get bulk at the health food store and use from there, our FM we can bring our own and only get a few items in them and those are the bio ones

[serenbat]

if you don't know the number on the bags- ask where you are getting them, ours are printed but the store may know on the package they come in

we do "bag" at grocery stores, other recycling is done at centers- they also are very helpful

I look at them as any other type of packaging and recycle them-do they take "regular' plastic bags in your area for recycling? 

BTW - my health food store also has paper bags (mostly for small amounts) these are recycled in my area as well

[ollyoxenfree]

I bought re-usable bags for produce. They are cotton mesh - like netting - but I've also seen gauze, and have a drawstring closure. They are useful at the farmer's market too because the vendors often just sell stuff in baskets or boxes. They are very easy to make, if you do any sewing. 

I have reduced use of any kind of bag too. I don't bag things like bell peppers or cucumbers, unless I'm buying multiples. 

Sometimes the plastic produce bags still come into the house. If they are clean, then I store them inside an old paper tube from a roll of tinfoil, so they are corralled inside a kitchen drawer. I'll use them to wrap a bowl of marinading meat or an opened block of cheese or to hold baked goods (muffins, bread) or leftover half of a sandwich etc. if all of my re-usable containers are being used. 

[Cyllya]

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater 

I just don't get them. I used to turn them inside out and try to dry them on the cupboard handles, on the drainer, wherever. I hate them. Then I... just stopped getting them. Apples? Right in the cart. Lettuce? right in the cart. Kiwi, onion, tomato, potato, whatever. I can't think of anything (except a few dry bulk items) I use a bag for anymore. Oh, beans and brussels sprouts need a bag. You could reuse a regular grocery bag for those.

Most of the grocery stores in my area package their meat in such a way that you almost inevitably get juice/blood on the conveyor belt at checkout. I once made a big mess with an especially drippy pack of steaks, and when I told the cashier, she just wiped it with a dry rag.  Since then I've been careful not to let fresh produce touch the conveyor belt, except bananas. It might not be so bad for something like apples or tomatoes, but I can't imagine trying to disinfect a head of lettuce.

The stores are starting to put those produce baggies in the meat section (along with paper towels, presumably to grab the meat with), but I'm not sure how many other people use them.

Maybe I should bring some kind of plastic tub and pile my produce in there....

[Just1More]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater 

I just don't get them. I used to turn them inside out and try to dry them on the cupboard handles, on the drainer, wherever. I hate them. Then I... just stopped getting them. Apples? Right in the cart. Lettuce? right in the cart. Kiwi, onion, tomato, potato, whatever. I can't think of anything (except a few dry bulk items) I use a bag for anymore. Oh, beans and brussels sprouts need a bag. You could reuse a regular grocery bag for those.

Me, too.  The checker usually seems annoyed with all my produce rolling around everywhere, lol.

[serenbat]

I bought re-usable bags for produce.

how do mainstream grocery stores let you do this?

we are not allowed to conceal products at ours, thus clear bags provided by the store, even the returnable bags can not be filled until you are at check out

 Since then I've been careful not to let fresh produce touch the conveyor belt, except bananas.

it's the carts too, not just the handles 

[annaknitsspock]

I second the cotton mesh bags--if you have enough you can use them to store produce in the fridge (I always keep my mushrooms in them) and have more to bring to the farmers market/grocery with you. 

[haydn'smommy]

I have several mesh bags i found super cheap at target a few years ago (4 for $1 on clearance). They were meant for storing stuff in the car, i believe, but I use these for my produce. It works. The cashier can still see the products and i don't have tons of plastic bags around.

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[serenbat]

 The cashier can still see the products and i don't have tons of plastic bags around.

aren't you paying for the weight? cotton/cloth weights more

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by serenbat 

how do mainstream grocery stores let you do this?

we are not allowed to conceal products at ours, thus clear bags provided by the store, even the returnable bags can not be filled until you are at check out

I shop at a variety of places - small neighbourhood green grocer, farmer's market and sometimes large chain supermarkets. I haven't had any opposition to re-usable bags - it's too bad your supermarket isn't more cooperative.

I nestle the produce in the bags and leave the drawstring open, so that it the cashier can see into the bag. It's never been an issue. Since the bags are mesh netting, the produce is all visible anyway, even if I closed the drawstring. I leave it open since it's easier to identify variety of apple or orange or tomato etc. 

Maybe I should be a little more concerned about food safety, but I figure any food that has been shipped some distance from where it's grown and picked has been exposed to all sorts of dirt and germs. If it's at a busy supermarket, it then sits out in the store to be pawed over and sneezed on by a few thousand people every day until I come along to buy it. A quick trip along the conveyer belt is nothing in the total journey of a head of lettuce. I wash it all fairly thoroughly before I use it at home. Lettuce is submerged in a bowl of cold water, then spun dry, then wrapped in a dish towel for further drying. 

If I was that concerned, I'd probably give the conveyer belt a quick wipe with my own cloth and a little hand sanitizer before I put my produce on it. I think I'd be more troubled about the hand sanitizer though. 

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by serenbat 

aren't you paying for the weight? cotton/cloth weights more

I suppose that's possible. The bags are really lightweight though and if I am paying more, it's in fractions of cents. Not something I worry about, but I can see it being an issue for some.

If it is a concern, then the gauze bags are probably closer in weight to the plastic than the mesh cotton. On-line, I've seen people make them out of cheesecloth, which has a pretty negligible weight, at least if you're buying something heavy like most fruit or vegetables. 

[serenbat]

with our states retail laws there is no way you can do here, it's your personal bag and that is the same as putting it into a purse, doesn't matter if you plan to pay for it or not

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by serenbat 

with our states retail laws there is no way you can do here, it's your personal bag and that is the same as putting it into a purse, doesn't matter if you plan to pay for it or not

Okay, I guess you've established that it is absolutely impossible for you to use re-usable produce bags. That's too bad because it works really well here. 

OP, I hope that you've found some helpful suggestions for your own use in this thread, even though others haven't. 

[annaknitsspock]

Just wanted to mention that I have had the same experiences with weight of bag/visibility of produce as ollyoxenfree--I too leave the drawstring open so the cashier can peek in if need be. Obviously at the farmer's market that's not an issue, but I've never had an issue at the grocery either, although I do usually shop at Whole Foods in a pretty crunchy area. 

[Buzzer Beater]

Originally Posted by Cyllya 

Most of the grocery stores in my area package their meat in such a way that you almost inevitably get juice/blood on the conveyor belt at checkout. I once made a big mess with an especially drippy pack of steaks, and when I told the cashier, she just wiped it with a dry rag.  Since then I've been careful not to let fresh produce touch the conveyor belt, except bananas. It might not be so bad for something like apples or tomatoes, but I can't imagine trying to disinfect a head of lettuce.

The stores are starting to put those produce baggies in the meat section (along with paper towels, presumably to grab the meat with), but I'm not sure how many other people use them.

Maybe I should bring some kind of plastic tub and pile my produce in there....

I think a plastic tub would be a great idea. Reusable, keeps the food off the conveyor belt etc. I don't have any huge misconceptions about food from a large grocery being super clean tho. I do rinse everything, but you're right it's not disinfecting anything.

[CI Mama]

We have gotten away from using plastic produce bags as much as possible (we use paper, or no bag). But we end up with a million plastic bags in our house anyway, because of things like buying GF bread, etc. It drives me NUTS to throw away a plastic bag before it's been used & used until it's falling apart. So we wash & re-use them and have all these crazy systems for doing so. And that drives me nuts, too. I really don't want to spend my precious few "me time" minutes every evening washing out plastic bags. So it's a sort of "damned if I do, damned if I don't" situation. I wish there weren't so many dang things packaged in plastic bags.