? for you if you use reusable grocery bags

kayash

The girl at the grocery store today asked me if I wanted my meat in plastic before it went into my reusable bag. I said that no it was fine just going in. It had seriously never crossed my mine to put it in plastic - besides the fact that it kind of defeats the point of the reusable bag. I have an Eco Bag from Walgreens and it does really well with cold things and things that sweat in the heat since I can just wipe it down, so I guess I'm not concerned about it.

But I'm still pretty new to reusables, so maybe I'm doing it wrong.

On a side note the cashiers were really great today. Reusables are rare here - I've seriously only seen like 5 other people with them ever - but at this store you kinda help bag yourself so the bags work out well. Well the store was dead because there was a big parade here today so while one girl is scanning everything the next cashier over comes over and asks if I'd like her to help and motions at my 2nd bag - so I handed it over and she did a great job of packing it - she got so much in there. Then this other cashier comes over and starts to put stuff in a plastic bag and the first girl helping me starts to say something and second lady notices my bags and goes "oh sorry, didn't see those" and took everything out of the plastic and handed it to us for the reusables.

I was kinda proud of my little hick town today

LolaGeek

I've never actually had a package of meat that leaked, so I'm not really concerned. If the package is leaking or messy, I don't even pick it up from the case. They often offer to put even a clean package of meat in a separate bag for me, but I just bag it with my other cold stuff.

I do sometimes bring plastic bags with me from home, just in case I do pick up something messy. (Somehow, despite my using reusable bags everywhere, we still end up with a steady supply of plastic bags at home...)

foundmylazybum

I still put my meat in a plastic bag. I have gotten home and had a 'wet' reusable bag that I had to launder--which is fine--I wash them regularly anyways, but I I would rather keep meat separate from other things.

It still falls under the reduce category, as well as reuse--for us b/c we use those bags as poop bags for our dog later. 

GRKaters

If a package of meat seems to be wet when I pick it up, I will put a plastic bag around it--but then I rinse and recycle it when I get home. If we end up with plastic bags inside our reusables without being asked, we use them for dog poop. 

 

Mrs Manners

We eat a lot of meat so I have one heavy-duty canvas tote that I dedicate only for use with meats and I launder it after each use. I just tell them to put all the meats in that one bag.

sillygoosegirl

I went back to typically putting the meat in plastic first after the day it leaked all over everything.  I don't so much mind washing the reusable bag, but it leaked a lot and soaked through to the carpet in the trunk of the car, and got on the other groceries.  :-(

Granted, that was kind of an exceptional case to make such a big mess: it was like a 5 lb package of juicy ground beef. I still sometimes forgo the plastic bag, but it depends on how well sealed the meat seems, and what else I find myself bagging it with, but I like to err on the side of caution here. 

MrsOjoButtons

I had a chicken leak through it's packaging, through my reusable bag, and all over the cargo area of my car. Fortunately, my car is dog-ified, so the cargo area is protected by a rubber mat. It was still a pain to wash everything and avoid contaminating everything with chicken juice. We buy hundreds of pounds of meat at a time to feed the dogs, so unfortunately, we still use quite a bit of plastic. I've reduced where I can reasonably do so.

Knitty

They try and do that all the time here. I get them to put meat in a calico bag before they put it in my insulated ones because the insulated ones are less washable.

SuperGreen

I put my meat in plastic bags too, I've had too many spills in my reuseable bags.  Washed or not, meat juice is nasty and a health hazard. I get our meat from the Farmer's Market, so I usually ask the first meat vendor I go to (usually chicken) to put it in a plastic bag, and then put all the other meat I buy in the same bag.  For grocery store purchases, I would grab 1 plastic bag from the self-scan area and then do the same thing (all the meat in that one bag).  That's a big reduction versus putting every package in its own tiny bag from the meat counter.

suzymarie

Yup, we put all raw meat in plastic.  Cooked meat I don't mind, obviously!

It is just way too nasty to risk.  We are talking MAYBE 1 plastic bag a month, which isn't a big deal to me.

I suppose the other option would be to get an oilcloth grocery bag and use it for your meat. That way it would be washable and waterproof.

Alisha_A

I don't usually buy meat and when I do its more like smoked salmon or frozen shrimp, so usually I don't. Sometimes I get something from the butcher at Whole Foods for the pets but its so well-wrapped I've never had a problem.

I do get organ meats wrapped in plastic. Its so juicy and gross.

daisies916

I don't use plastic.  I have them put meat in canvas bags (I have several types of bags) because they wash easily.  Any bag that had meat in it goes into the basket where our kitchen towels and napkins go to be washed. If anything leaks or spills, I'll clean it up.  No big deal.  I also don't use plastic bags for fruit and veggies.    HTH!