I lived in Poland during the 80's and most stores did not have plastic grocery bags (only for produce), so people would use net bags that would expand with the things that you put in them. I am so used to having a bag or something with me, that it's second nature to me to tell the cashier "no bag, please" Did you know that Target will deduct 5 cents off your bill for not using a bag? And CVS pharmacy has a card that you swipe when not using a bag and you will get $1.00 in extra bucks for every 4th swipe? (of course, the card costs $1 to buy, but you get the money back).
Since I usually ride my bike to the stores and don't really buy a lot at one time, I put everything I buy into my backpack
and go on my way.
Since I'm not the only one who shops, we do accumulate quite a few of those plastic bags. I reuse those bags when I take the dog for a walk and when I clean the cats' litter box. We purposely have small cans in the bathroom and bedrooms and the plastic grocery bags are used for that as well.
I'm all about recycling and repurposing as much as I can.