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Reuse

By Daphne | January 16, 2008

I haven’t reached this point in my quest to reuse…

Supply your own bags and leftover containers. If you’re headed to a restaurant that you know serves king-sized portions, bring a small piece of Tupperware along to take home the leftovers, and keep one fewer Styrofoam container from the landfill pile. Going to the supermarket? Opt out of the paper/plastic debate and bring your own canvas tote bags.

This quote is from #7 on Science Daily’s “12 Simple Ways to Live a Greener Lifestyle in 2008.”

I will take my own bag and reuse containers in my own home but bringing my own plastic container for leftovers to a restaurant… uh, no.

I started the 30 day bag diet a few days ago. I had been carrying my own bags to stores for a while but I didn’t take them to every store I went to. I had refused bags when I went and bought small things but I never took my own bags to non-grocery stores.

Yesterday, I did that. If you have read up on the 30 day bag diet you will realize that plastic is not vilified. In fact one of the bags that I took to the store last night was a large plastic shopping bag that still had a lot of life left in it. Which made me think when that bag outlives its usefulness I need to find another large bag like that preferably canvas or some material that can be reused many times. This came in handy when I was carrying two 6 pack mega rolls of toilet paper.

I didn’t go out and buy any new bags. I had bags. When I cleaned out my closet I found some practically mint condition canvas bags in hunter green and black (read - dirt resistant). It seems like every workshop or promotion that I have received from a company has afforded me a plethora of non plastic bags.

There are people who do not have bags that are useful for reuse. I understand that. It is because I have so many tote bags and other bags that I can reuse that I do not want to spend money on getting new bags.

If you want a designer tote, you can get those too, but I would check the dollar store or resale shop for a bag. Even Target sells their own reusable bags, although theirs are about 50¢ more than the kind you can purchase at a grocery store. The color is red for those who care about the bag’s color. Although, is it really necessary to have a designer tote? Think about what you were given at the store before using your own bag… a plastic bag. Everyone was equal. Having your own bag already sets you apart from others, how much you paid for it, if you paid for it at all is not important.

Any bag can be reusable. If you have store bags that are in good shape, take them back to the store to use them the next time.

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Topics: January 2008 |

One Response to “Reuse”

1. jute bags Says:
   February 14th, 2008 at 7:45 am

   Agreed any bag can be re-usable.

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