I talked to a cashier who complained people were showing up with bags, with roaches in them.
If people want to use them fine. But I refuse to believe you are saving the planet with these bags.
What they need to develop is a bag made out of a renewable resource, which can be recycled numerous times, which is rapidly biodegradable, is possibly brown, folds up nice, and completes the question “_____ or plastic?”
I work near a college. The grocery store near work is frequented by artsy-fartsy types. I rarely go there anymore, and it's mostly due to the time these fools waste frigging around with their 3@%#%^%@%^ reusable bags.
They get their stuff up to the checkout, fair enough. Then they need to unpack and open up the bags (I wouldn't think that it would be a production, but it always seems to be). On several occasions, they've loudly pointed out that they're using "environmentally friendly" bags, and on one occsion one girl asked my why I didn't. I told her it was none of her business. By the time they're done messing around, and smugly patting themselves on the back, I could have checked out three times and been gone.
I know, it sounds like something out of a movie, but there it is.
And for what it's worth, I use the plastic grocery store bags for darn near everything. Trashcan liners are #1, but we use them for hauling stuff around, wrapping stuff up, easy cleanup of messy projects ... roughly what you'd use a bag for. I like them because they're smaller and easier to manage than a trashbag, and they're not as slippery.
But what do I know, I guess it's the difference between someone who actually reuses and recycles because it makes sense, and someone who wants everyone to know and recognize how environmentally conscious they are.