Walmart Ditching The One-Way Gates???

[jp the roadgeek]

CT already banned plastic bags. There was a 10¢ tax on them that was temporarily suspended because of Covid, but was reinstated after 3 months (because in CT, collecting taxes to squander on pork spending is more important than public safety).  As of July 1st, they were gone for good.  When they started charging the tax, stores started charging 10¢ a bag for paper bags, each of which is subject to state sales tax.  So the state still makes a penny a bag anyway.  Only CVS doesn't charge for them.  Of course, you can always order a case of your own plastic bags on Amazon.

[Scott5114]

The point of the tax probably wasn't actually to raise revenue, it was to get people to not use plastic bags without having to resort to an outright ban (which they apparently eventually did anyway). Don't know why you'd want to spend your own money on them anyway, though, either through the state or through Amazon. Plastic bags are shit.

[1995hoo]

The point of the tax probably wasn't actually to raise revenue, it was to get people to not use plastic bags without having to resort to an outright ban (which they apparently eventually did anyway). Don't know why you'd want to spend your own money on them anyway, though, either through the state or through Amazon. Plastic bags are shit.

I suppose I could see why dog owners might want them to use for picking up dog crap (we don't have a dog). If aliens ever invade this planet, they'll think the dogs are the master species because they have these two-legged servants who walk around picking up and carrying bags of crap.

[Max Rockatansky]

I use the plastic bags for dog poop but also as bathroom trash bags. 

[Scott5114]

The point of the tax probably wasn't actually to raise revenue, it was to get people to not use plastic bags without having to resort to an outright ban (which they apparently eventually did anyway). Don't know why you'd want to spend your own money on them anyway, though, either through the state or through Amazon. Plastic bags are shit.

I suppose I could see why dog owners might want them to use for picking up dog crap (we don't have a dog). If aliens ever invade this planet, they'll think the dogs are the master species because they have these two-legged servants who walk around picking up and carrying bags of crap.

We use special-purpose plastic bags for that, which are smaller and come on a roll that's small and tight enough it fits in a pocket when on a walk (we don't do anything with the dog crap in the backyard, since nobody really goes out into the grass there but the dog; it just ends up getting mulched when the yard gets mowed).

[doorknob60]

The Walmart in Boise got rid of the gates recently. They were only there for, I don't know, less than 2 years. Maybe only a year. Good riddance, they were annoying. Occasionally I walk out without anything (sometimes I go in to see if they have a video game, as they sell them cheaper than other retailers, and if they don't have it I'll just leave) and walking through self checkout with nothing was weird. They also majorly expanded self checkout, it's impressively large now. It's clear they want everyone using it. I'm not even sure if they have regular lanes now, if so it's only a couple. Improvement over before, where they had 20 regular lanes, with only 2 of them open, and less self checkouts to handle the rest. It was always my rule to use self checkout at Walmart anyways, no matter what. I've had bad experiences waiting a long time at manned lines there (whereas at Albertsons or something I'll use a manned checkout if I have anything more than a basket).

Not a fan of shopping at that particular Walmart though, it's busy and it seems they have more issues keeping things in stock than other stores. I still go there on occasion though, since it's near lots of restaurants, a local video game store we go to a lot, and Costco. They're finishing up with a remodel though so maybe it will settle down a little bit soon. When I lived in Meridian I went to Walmart a lot more often and that one was a much more pleasant store.

Boise could realistically use a second supercenter somewhere in the eastern half of the city (in addition to the one I'm talking about, there's 1 neighborhood market, and another supercenter in Garden City which is almost Boise, and the one in E Meridian is close to Boise city limits as well). I don't see that happening though. I thought there was a chance of a Target going into the old Shopko on Broadway but apparently that's going to be a furniture store, so it's still pretty much just Fred Meyer as a general big box supermarket in this half of the city.

[Max Rockatansky]

Maybe Walmart will actually try decent levels of customer service next as a shoplift deterrent?  Target is way more aggressive with customer service than Walmart and it more or less acts as a deterrent measure.  One of the biggest issues I have with Walmart (aside things like Shoplifter cattle gates) is there awful customer service standards.  I can never find anyone if I need help with something and it has always really turned me off from shopping there even in the far flung past.

[MikeTheActuary]

Don't know why you'd want to spend your own money on them anyway, though, either through the state or through Amazon. Plastic bags are shit.

As noted elsewhere, they are handy for dog poop.

I prefer plastic to paper because they double-bag easier than paper, and they more commonly have handles.  There are plenty of times that I've used plastic bags as a means to carry stuff that I wouldn't necessarily want to carry in a bag I will reuse in the future.

I did buy a supply of the now-forbidden single use plastic bags.

I have been using Nutrisystem, and I don't have enough space in my kitchen freezer to store a month's worth of frozen supplies.  Instead, as each month's shipment arrives, I divvy up the contents into plastic bags, 4-5 days per bag, and store them in a large freezer in the garage.

I wouldn't want to tie up reusable bags for this purpose, and paper bags wouldn't work as well, due to their relative inflexibility and usual lack of carrying handles.

[Scott5114]

^ My solution to that would have been to get plastic boxes (Rubbermaid, Sterilite, or similar) of the appropriate size, since they're more durable and stack more tidily than plastic bags.

I'd rather use paper than plastic, since they hold more items than plastic bags do (though not quite as many as a reusable bag). I don't ever double bag anything; anything heavy enough to require that I usually just put in a reusable bag that's strong enough, or leave it out of the bag and handle it individually.

[Max Rockatansky]

I forgot to note; I use one plastic bag as a glove to scoop the dog waste contents into another plastic bag.  I tend to throw any weeds I pull in there as well. 

[Scott5114]

My wife, a professional (worked at a vet clinic off and on for a few years, so I defer to her as the ultimate authority in pet care), uses the plastic bag as a glove, then, while still holding the material, turns the bag inside-out with the other hand. Waste is now in the bag, hands are clean.