I usually ask for paper from them anyway.

I do like this idea. I hope it catches on. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

I think this a a great thing. I am pretty green but Will admit I need to get more green then I am.

I love the idea of making everyone bring their own bags (I do already, and I enjoy the Whole Foods 5 cent bag discount -- uh oh, do you think they'll be getting rid of it?).

But, the big problem I see is that those paper bags are also damaging to the earth. Yes, they biodegrade, but the bleaches and chemicals, as well as the massive quantities of water used to make them, and the pollution resulting from the energy used to make them all have poisoned me against paper bags. Why not eliminate all non-reusable bags (i.e. non paper and plastic bags, although, yes I know they can be reused for a while)? If you forgot your bags, the reusable bags they sell are cheap. And knowing you'd have to pay for a slightly more expensive reusable bag might make you remember your own more.

Reusable cloth all the way!

P.S. I should add that I do reuse plastic bags about a million times before I recycle them. They seem to hold up better to reuse than paper (which gets moldy or breaks on me).

Good for them. I hope the idea spreads quickly.

Screw that! I haven't bought a trash bag in years because of grocery store bags, and I damn sure am not going to start now.

yeah.. bring your own bags... and how will this not increase shoplifting? Stupid wholefoods, they act like they're saving the whales or something! lol

As a former grocery store employee, I'll be interested in seeing what this does in terms of increased queue time waiting to checkout. Ten extra seconds for a paper bag might not seem like much, but it adds up very quickly.

Hmm. Maybe this will help my fight against the annoying plastic bags that attack my windshield every time I get on the damn interstate.

I once saved my paper bags and took them back to the grocery store to reuse them; I was looked at like some sort of a whacko or cheapskate.

Now, I get em and throw them away; let time, water and the seagulls worry about them.

I think it's long overdue. Many places in the world have always charged you for bags, or have started doing so. Time for us to catch up.

If they're going to do it, they need to go all out reusable, not paper only. We periodically bring all our paper bags back to them, and only occasionally shop without out reusable ones.

They do give 5c back for each reusable bad they fill, BTW.

@nutrigm: Because doing something environmentally friendly has to always be on the scale of saving an entire species? We can't, you know, do something on a smaller scale than that?

And because shoplifters don't already bring their own backpacks or stuff crap into their jackets?

trick to use at Whole Paycheck... bring a bunch of your own bags, but only buy enough groceries to fill 1 or 2 of them.. they still give you the discount for each bag you bring in...and it's 10cents a bag...

I usually ask for the paper ones (they're ridiculously sturdy, and I re-use the heck out of them). But I really like having the option of plastic for stuff that's prone to leak or spill--say, a roasted chicken.

Now if giant assholes like Wal-Mart would start doing this, THEN the impact would be great.

Until that day, I'll take these small steps as they come. Nice job, Whole Foods.

This is just another way for a company to save/make money in the name of environmental friendliness.

$1/bag? That's RIDICULOUS for bags that probably cost $1/100.

@smitty1123:I'm with you; plastic grocery bags serve a multitude of secondary purposes, and the Whole Foods plastic bags are both ample and particularly sturdy compared to the tissue-like bags from the major chains.

Regarding SMITTY1123's comment: if you recycle, compost, and shop right, you won't need garbage bags. We've lived without garbage bags for over a year now.

@sleze69: $1 for a reusable bag. $.05 for a disposable bag.

I hope this catches on with other grocers and other businesses. I had fun confusing the poor checker at Target yesterday when I told her that I had brought my own bag.

@sleze69: The bags they are selling are probably thicker and more sturdy than the flimsy plastic bags you usually get. So you can re-use them a lot. If you think about it, if you buy one bag, in 20 trips, it pays for itself. I got a bunch of cloth bags when my old company got bought out by BofA. I keep them in my car, and bring them in when I go shopping and get $.02 back.

As for paper, all paper goods/old mail/boxes in my house get shoved in a larger cardboard box, and tossed into my fire pit about once every two months. Let's see an ID thief send in ashes to get a credit card.

this all sounds like a bunch of tree hugging hippie crap to me... jk

@wesa: Yea, I think neither my neighbors nor my apt manager would be too happy with me setting up a comost heap in my apartment.

@kimsama: Whole Foods paper bags are very eco-friendly: no bleaches or other non-biodegradable treatments.

@ksf4: Long lines aren't really a problem at Whole Foods: they seem to be mindful of this and open registers freely.

What's the problem with this? Ikea started charging for their plastic bags over a year ago and it hasn't been an issue here. Where they were smart was that they also cut the price of their reusable blue bags in half.

Nowadays I use those blue bags for all of my trips to the grocery store, which has just started selling reusable bags as well.

@sleze69: No, these aren't $0.01 bags; they're sturdily built and quite nice. They've been doing this at their primary location in Austin for quite some time now, and as a customer it WORKSFORME.

(Conveniently enough, I was given some ChicoBags for Christmas; this has been an excuse to use them).

Love the idea. I wish every market would give you paper unless you ask otherwise. My motives are combletely selfish -- paper is easier to carry and does not roll around the back of my SUV. Also, we put any recycleables like newspaper in the bags.

I hate feeling like a snob asking for paper

@full.tang.halo: Hey, it's Whole Foods. What do you expect?

I used to have piles of plastic bags that I never knew what to do with.

Then I adopted a cat. Now I have to scrounge for plastic bags for putting her poop in when I clean out her litterbox.

considering the detrimental impact that plastic bags have on the environment (both in production & disposal), i think this is awesome.

i don't know what their paper bags are like, but i've noticed a dramatic drop in the quality at my local food store. if they went paper only (or byo), i might be inclined to shop elsewhere (or actually remember to bring those tote bags that i forget every time i go grocery shopping).

@DCvision: Or just keep making several trips into the store, each time purchasing one item and reusing the same bag. Voila, 10 cents off every item!

I always like the "Bring your own bag" idea. People won't get on board if they are not forced. Ikea have started selling regular plastic bags for a nickel or one of their weird tarpaulin satchel things will run you something like 75 cents. I also have some of the Trader Joes totes.

The only tough part is remembering to bring them!

and another point... all those conventioneers @ CES, AVN, NAB etc...grabbing the swag... those bags are usually sturdy and durable, and can be used perfectly for groceries...

I already bring my own tote to Trader Joe's and if I go over, I always get paper. This is a great idea, I hope it catches on.

@MameDennis: You've bought to mind a similar concern for me: I like to have raw meat (chicken especially, less concerned about fish) bagged separately in case its packaging is leaky, which I guess won't be an option now.

The Steve's C-Town in my neighborhood started selling $1.99 (maybe $2.99) nylon bags a couple of months ago. I bought one and bring it with me when I shop now. It folds flat so it's easy to carry, and holds about as much as 2-3 overstuffed plastic bags without sagging. I'm impressed by how well the bag is made and actually wonder if there's anything "green" about its materials at all. I'm not sure I would have ever bought one if they hadn't been for sale right there at the supermarket, so I'm glad they did this.

When I bought it, the cashier and bag boy smirked and exchanged glances--look at that crazy yuppie/hippie/etc. being uppity!--but I've seen a few other people using them on recent visits.

love it.

My only concern would be sanitation. An earlier post mentions leaking meat juices....so now bring that bag back to the store, hoist it up on the conveyor belt and say, 'Use this bag!'....now, I'm behind you in line so I drop the pound of bulk gummy worms I've been carrying around the store becasue I don't want to ruin the environment by using a bag for them and now my gummy worms are marinating in meat juice...gross!

I think it's a good idea, but there are some issues that will need to be worked out....is all I'm sayin'

@ceejeemcbeegee:
The lines at Union Square get very big, but they've got such a great system for handling them, that they move very fast. The colors/numbers/big monitor system is fantastic. I hope other stores start using it.

good for them. i hope this catches on.

@overbysara: I'm not sure about Whole Foods, but most grocery stores l've been to have plastic bags available at their meat/deli departments. If Whole Foods does too, I'm sure they'll keep these around just like they'll probably keep them in the produce department.

I've got so many plastic bags kicking around I couldn't come close to using them up again in 10 years if I never got another one again. I've got no good way to get rid of them besides just throwing them out. I'd be willing to put up with a little bit of inconvenience if I wouldn't have to stockpile plastic bags anymore.

At my local grocery stores, they have small plastic bags that they use to wrap meat products in. Like, no a full-sized bag, but just big enough to fit one of those foam cointainers of chicken or whatnot. Since those would be used on a lesser scale than a full-sized bag (since not everyone is buying meat every single time), that might be a compromise.

Or, you could grab a plastic baggie from the produce section and take it with you to the checkout.

The best deal for reusable bags are those big blue bags from IKEA that you can buy for I think $0.59 or $0.69. One bag holds almost a whole cartful of groceries. They're very durable.

@Eyebrows McGee:

Yup. In Europe it's 25-50 cents for every bag at some markets...

The paper bags take several times the energy to make than the plastic ones, and so end up using more oil on net. Oh well, at least they biodegrade, I suppose.

We usually bring our own bags. However we often ask for paper. Why???

Because the stupid city of Minneapolis REQUIRES me to separate my recycling into paper bags which must then be put into recycling bins. Dumb.

Finally.

Everyone is touching on the subject: I believe Ireland banned plastic bags, or made them cost. The problem was that everyone was using them for secondary uses, like trash bags, etc. So, when their source was limited, the sale of garbage bags went up dramatically.