Are folks in your area using the bags when they get groceries etc.? I have 6-7 bags ready but I have yet to see anyone else using them. Can they pack your groceries as fast or as well with your bags?

i'm not sure i know what you mean. in my area, they pack groceries in plastic bags of poor quality. i re-use those bags to line my kitchen garbage buckets instead of buying new plastic bags as i used to do. i consider that recycling. when i go shopping for a smaller quantity of items, i use large grocery totes that i made from leftovers. nothing fancy or even planned. when they pack in the poor quality bags, the bags often tear, so i use two at a time for garbage. to make the above tote, i plan to use heavy plastic, the kind you get at a clothing store or electronics store. but i'm holding out for the right colors. i'm saving red/white. i have 3 and i plan to go back to that store again soon. choose a store you go to often that uses heavy-weight plastic bags. i want to make it at least 4 layers thick. i have black plastic handles from 20-lb bags of birdseed and i think i can use those. i've been saving those for a long time. i never knew why.

Walmart and some other stores are selling canvas bags for groceries etc for $1, $2 and up. Supposedly they say that if everyone brought their own bags, then they wouldn't have to use so many cheap plastic ones and there would be less in the landfills.

soooo.....then what would become of the waste petroleum? what would they do with it? sooner or later it has to go somewhere. the more petroleum we require, the more waste we produce.

I always buy the bags from the grocery store for $1. My store always has different ones and are so pretty!! I bring in bags from all different stores, not just the one I am shopping at, and have them use those first for my purchases. I don’t always remember to bring them, but I feel like I am saving a little bit of the environment when I do!! I will say that I also use the small bags for small trash cans around the house, and I too consider that a form of recycling since I didn’t buy other plastic trash bags to use for those cans. But I would say, if you have fabric bags, and you remember to bring them to the store, use them!! I see lots of people doing it. I think even 2 years ago it was very uncommon (I would get comments on them when I used them then), but now it’s much more commonplace.

I do like this bag here though as it gives me the chance to use up some of the plastic ones I do have laying around ….. I just have to pick up some parchment paper to give it a try.

Cheers!
Rachel

This is much prettier and easier than the one I crocheted.

Mine came out alright, but not as nice as those. I only use if to hold newspapers to line the kitty box. :)

What kind of fumes do you create while fusing all that plastic??

before i posted i tried it on a few layers of bags i didn't like. they had a smell, but they didn't produce any smoke or fumes that i was aware of. i don't think the iron gets hot enough to really melt the plastic into a liquid form.

I would venture that the presence of an odor indicates fumes. You don't need smoke.

i would still do two or three with the windows open and the fans going. maybe on the open back porch. but, you're right, for a person with emphysema or another breathing problem, it's probably not a great idea.