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Bag-less Walmart

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ihamner

Expert Expediter
I was shocked recently to see the Walmart stores in the Austin, TX area no longer have bags at the registers!

Shoppers can purchase cloth bags but if you do not purchase the bags you just have all your groceries and supplies in the cart! I had to empty the frozen food, veggies, fruit & supplies one by one into our unit. Frozen items were actually thawing by the time we got things put away. Hopefully this is just a test idea for Walmart but it might be worth checking before we buy items and head to the registers. I don't mind the cloth bags at home but they are a pain to carry around in our van.

Have any of you seen this in other areas of the country? I spoke with a Walmart manager near Chicago today and she was shocked that they were doing that in Austin. She had not heard anything about it.

 
noneya

noneya

Active Expediter
Well, this is no surprise as Texas is the lone star state and they do things a little differently from the rest of the states in the union.

SENT FROM YA MAMA'S HOUSE
 
OntarioVanMan

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
I've never been in a bagless store....but have been in stores where they charge you .05 a bag extra if you don't bring your own bag....Hard to believe ya don't have room for one of their bags...they fit in your back pocket just about....
The day of the FREE will come to an end.....
You;ve probably all seen the new, No Under 20 Item Walmarts? ...they have an expanded section where all registers are now self serve.
 
guido4475

guido4475

Not a Member
I feel for the people that use Wal-Mart bags for a pooping receptacle....What are they going to do if no more Wal-Mart bags???...lol....
 
OntarioVanMan

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Now I am getting into the Lowes mood.....LOL Free wifi that is usually a great signal and never been asked to move yet....that is what I am using at this moment to watch my Netflix...:)
 
Turtle

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Walmart made a big slash in 2008, I think it was, when they announced their plans to reduce plastic waste in their stores worldwide by one-third (25% in the US and 50% in other countries). The plan would cut the equivalent of 9 billion plastic bags from stores each year, and eliminate more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste globally by 2013. Walmart began selling the 50 cent reusable bags in 2008 and have trained baggers to to bag more efficiently using fewer bags. One of the biggest problems is that in most stores they really haven't made accommodations for quick and easy bagging using the reusable bags (unlike the nifty turntable for the plastic bags).

In 2008 San Francisco banned all non-biodegradable plastic bags in large supermarkets and retail stores, and the state of California has since enacted a law that requires large stores to take back plastic bags and encourage their reuse.

In January of 2010 Walmart tested out a total ban on plastic bags at three California stores. The stores were picked to participate based on earlier tests among customers that suggested a favorable demographic. In the tests, all plastic bags were completely banned, and two types of reusable bags were offered for sale (small and large) at 15 cents and 50 cents each (Sams Club has larger bags which can hold 50 pounds). The bright blue bags are made of a washable polypropylene material and are said to last about 75 uses each. Despite the world ending in those Walmarts and the proclamations of the dawn of socialism and of inevitable salmonella outbreaks, it was largely greeted as favorable, except the fact that the blue Walmart bags were oil-based polypropylene. Unlike those older bags, the new bags can be recycled.

I've never been a fan of plastic shopping bags (although they do get reused as trash bags, especially when out on the road). The demise of paper bags, a highly renewable and recyclable resource, is a bad thing. The reusable bags you can now purchase are a pretty decent alternative to much heavier paper bags, which are harder to store and move around in the stores. Going to reusable bags should save everybody a little money in the long run. I currently don't have any reusable bags in the truck, but I do use them at home.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Styrofoam to Styrofoam.
 
LDB

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Austin is a San Francisco liberal enclave that comes up with ideas and eventual laws such as this one.
 
OntarioVanMan

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
For what's worth, the quality of the bags now is pretty crappy... And the fact they are made with holes to child proof them they aren't much good for anything
 
jujubeans

jujubeans

OVM Project Manager
OntarioVanMan said:
For what's worth, the quality of the bags now is pretty crappy... And the fact they are made with holes to child proof them they aren't much good for anything
Click to expand...

uh...litter bags, trash bags, ice bags, veggie carrier from the garden and I bet I could think of a few more...:)
 
P

purgoose10

Veteran Expediter
If they made the bags somewhat larger and put more than 1 thing in each bag they actually might lower the usage.
 
guido4475

guido4475

Not a Member
OntarioVanMan said:
For what's worth, the quality of the bags now is pretty crappy... And the fact they are made with holes to child proof them they aren't much good for anything
Click to expand...

I've heard that a blow-up doll repair kit works just fine for patching that hole......lol...
 
cheri1122

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
I use the plastic bags [Meijer are much better quality, right?] but I save and reuse them as trash bags too. If the bagless thing spreads, I could get used to tucking a couple in my pocket before going into the store.
Now I'm envisioning customers with pockets stuffed, looking like shoplifters, lol. ;)
 
SHARP327

SHARP327

Veteran Expediter
I noticed a while back that Wal-mart started using white bags instead of the blue ones, I guess everyone could tell Wal-marts bags from everyone else's bag so they switched them.

I went to one of the Wal-marts in Ca. with a buggy full of stuff and was confronted with the bag issue at the register...I told the cashier I'd rather not have to buy the bags they offer and she just gave me a blank stare like duh!....so I just calmly walked out....there should have been a sign letting us know they're bag-less.
 
DollarSign

DollarSign

Fleet Owner
Owner/Operator
OntarioVanMan said:
Now I am getting into the Lowes mood.....LOL Free wifi that is usually a great signal and never been asked to move yet....that is what I am using at this moment to watch my Netflix...:)
Click to expand...

Oh no OVM is cheating on Walmart, there not happy now, LOL.
 
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