Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Misc
Papa Got An Old Used Bag
By
Doug Gordon
Published Jul 14, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Doug Gordon
Published Jul 14, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Why do bodegas insist on putting everything in a brown bag, and what's with sometimes putting one item and its brown bag inside a plastic bag?
Glenn
Gothamist shares your curiosity and, from the tone of your email, frustration. We recently bought a pack of gum at our local Duane Reade and before we could say anything, the sales clerk put our tiny purchase in a small white plastic bag. As we left the store, we took the pack out of the bag and threw the bag out in a corner trash can, giving the bag a total out-of-store lifespan of about two minutes.
We can only assume that bodegas put the paper bags inside plastic ones to make them easier to carry. Paper bags, especially small ones, rarely have handles. But considering that so many New Yorkers are rarely without messenger bags, backpacks, or Louis Vuitton knock-offs, most of us have little use for plastic bags for the few items we might purchase during our daily routines. If you want to rock the world of just about any bodega or convenience store employee, tell them that you don't need a bag to hold your purchase. Gothamist often pre-emptively tells salespeople that we don't need a bag and in return we are greeted with looks that most people reserve for the insane and/or Tom Cruise.
Since so many bags wind up in landfills or blow around the streets American Beauty style, some cities across the globe have taken measures to encourage their reuse. Ireland was one of the first countries to impose a plastic bag tax on shopping bags. The tax, which equals about fifteen cents per bag, resulted in a 90% reduction in plastic bag use. Other countries and cities are following suit. San Francisco considered a seventeen-cent-per-bag tax - paper or plastic - and rumors have long circulated that New York would impose one as well. In addition to wondering how such a law would be enforced, Gothamist wonders how New Yorkers would take to a tax on bags. If the city levied a bag tax, how much should it be? Would it change your behavior, or would you still take your bottle of Vitamin Water in a small plastic bag with a straw?
Tagged
American Beauty
As
ask gothamist
bodega
duane reade
gothamist
law
louis vuitton
new york
new yorkers
people
plastic bags
rumors
san francisco
Shopping
the city
tom cruise
vitamin water
Doug Gordon
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE miscellaneous
We visited 8 laundromats to talk about voting and elections. Here's what people had to say.
As we inch closer to Election Day in November, WNYC is turning some laundromats in the New York metro area into hubs of civic dialogue.
By
Jodi Malarbe
and
George Bodarky
Published Jun 23, 2024
Aging with Pride: LGBTQ+ older adults share their personal journeys
As we mark Pride month, LGBTQ+ older adults share their struggles, triumphs and advice for today’s generations.
By
George Bodarky
Misc
Aging with Pride: LGBTQ+ older adults share their personal journeys
As we mark Pride month, LGBTQ+ older adults share their struggles, triumphs and advice for today’s generations.
By
George Bodarky
Hands in the dirt: Meet some of NYC's community gardeners
By
Enrico Denard
and
George Bodarky
'In the very, very beginning, it was about 3 feet of garbage': How NYC’s first community garden got started
By
George Bodarky
Serving up BBQ ribs and a deep sense of community in the South Bronx since 1954
By
George Bodarky
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .