It’s not even a year since I made a conscious effort to start learning to live without plastic bags. But a change has been wrought.
I noticed it earlier this week when I popped into the vege shop….sans reusable bag. I wondered if the lady would automatically put my four items into a plastic one. But she automatically didn’t! What’s more, she felt no need to comment. I was quietly pleased. Not hoity-toity pleased, just glad that she knows that little bit about me; she didn’t even need to offer.
The bakery puts up with my cloth bag. I’ll admit that their slippery plastic French stick bags are easier for them to use. But they are legends – they let me hand over my linen-teatowels-turned-into-bread-bags-which-just-hang-limply and do battle to ensconce my usual order of four French sticks into one of the bags, which does not fill with air when they pouff it out.
Pak-n-Save is now selling reusable bags and has signs up asking if you’ve remembered to bring yours with you. I had nothing to do with that change….other than being part of the revolution even before it became trendy (off topic alert: how long will it be before we see reusable shopping bags being marketted as *sexy*??? Seems to be the only adjective that works these days, but I fear its overuse will lead to it meaning nothing……and let’s face it, *practical* or *sturdy* or *capacious* or *puts-the-shopping-away-for-you* would be much more relevant claims, but I digress). I’m glad they’re doing their bit, but I still like my bags best!
Spotlight….the store that used to stuff my fabric into a bag so that I couldn’t escape without the plastic (I asked politely the first time and had my request declined: “I’m sorry, it’s management policy that we use bags.” So the second time I tried grab-n-run as soon as they put the receipt on top of the pile)….even Spotlight, now allows you to refuse a bag. If they were really on to it, they would sell make-your-own-reusable-bag-kits!
But do we really need a kit? All you need is ten minutes, a towel and the handles from one of your old reusable-but-eventually-does-fall-apart bags, and voila:
~one of our beach bags~
It’s a gift to be part of a positive change.
Gift Number Ninety.
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