Those darn grocery bags

We all know how terrible plastic shopping bags are for the environment. They take ages to decompose, they require buckets of oil to produce, they get stuck in trees, they suffocate poor animals, and they say mean things behind your back. Okay, that last one might not be true, but regardless, even the soggiest among us know these things are no good. However, if you are anything like me, despite your best efforts to remember to use your reusable cloth grocery bags (you do have some of those by now, don't you?) you inevitably forget them at home. I have a note to myself posted on my door out to the garage that reads "Do you have your bags?" so I see it on my way to my car and I still manage to forget far too often. And so, I acquired a massive pile of plastic bags that I refuse to ship off to the dump. Alas, thanks to this website, I learned that the grocery store right up the street has a bin to collect plastic bags for recycling! Have you ever noticed how careless cashiers are with those bags? No, I don't need a bag for my milk- it has a handle! I'm pretty sure you can fit more than one box of cereal in one bag. And, bagging eggs separately does not mean the eggs won't break- those plastic bags don't have magical protective powers. If only cashiers were trained to minimize bag usage. Or, if only stores charged a minimal fee per bag- I think more people would remember their reusable bags. And, stores would save money on buying all those bags, which would then lower cost of products in the store. Practical, economical, and eco-friendly. Imagine that.