Going Green

I have a brown environment-friendly Envirosax bag that I bring whenever I go off to the butcher.

I love this bag since it folds up to a neat 4" x 1.7" rectangle that can fit into my jeans pocket. The full expanded size of this bag is 19.7" x 16.5" and can carry several kilos worth of meat. (The Envirosax website claims that these bags can carry a maximum weight capacity of 44 lbs or 20 kilos but I don't think I want to test that heavy a load.)

I got this as a prize when MacGyver and I were the first to arrive at one of our High School batch meetings. It was donated by our batch president (and my good friend) R who had announced ahead of time that wonderful prizes awaited those who attended the meeting. Of course whether or not there were door prizes, MacGyver and I would be there to support her and the batch but getting the bag was a bonus.

I have a similar bag that came from Eldest Sis. The beauty of that one is that it comes in a small bag with a plastic biner clip that would enable the bag to be attached to one's belt hook.

I never found the need for these bags in Manila so they were in one of my drawers until we left for Australia. During our move, the drawers got shipped and the bags were among the things included.

When we arrived here, we found that they were much more environmentally conscious. Had I known that green bags were such an IN thing here, I would have brought my two Shopwise canvas bags (yes, the big ones that give you double points if you use them) as well.

There is a Coles branch in the mall nearby which we visit regularly. Over time, I succumbed to buying Junior LandCare green bags from there. We have one in olive green and another in blue. (MyGirl would have preferred the purple one but I told her that the boys would probably be more willing to carry the grocery if the bag was green or blue.)

As much as possible, we bring these when we go there to do the grocery. We'd like to think that using these bags help even just a little bit.

We definitely bring those bags, plus other bags which we have collected over the past months, when we go to Aldi (another grocery chain). At Aldi, they DO NOT pack your grocery in bags ... period. Most of the people are aware of this policy and bring their own bags. You can cart your grocery off in the trolley cart or pick up one of the empty boxes in the store and use that to carry the grocery out. But if you want your grocery in the conventional plastic bag, you have to pay for it.

This is not a new concept for me. If I remember correctly, that was how Makro worked. However, back in the Philippines, people didn't really go out of their way to bring green bags to the grocery with them. (I remember our grocery rolling in the trunk of our car after our Makro trips whenever we forgot our bags.)

Hopefully, things will change and more people will use enviro bags on a regular basis.

As for me, aside from the positive environmental impact these bags have, the Envirosax bag has the added perk of bringing back memories of people and places.

So, don't leave home without one ... especially if you are going to the grocery!