Awhile back, with all the hubbub around plastic bags, Kroger started making the plastic bags thinner. They worked to schlep groceries but they would inevitably have a hole in them. Having a hole doesn’t work well for the secondary use as a trash can liner. So, in their effort to be environmental, they turned a product with a great secondary use into a truly single use product. Good job guys! Thankfully, they must have got the message because it looks like they went back to the old formulation and now, very few bags end up having holes. Another secondary use is the poop bag for people who walk their dogs. In both cases, without the grocery bags, the consumer goes out and buys some other type of plastic bag. Doesn’t seem like we’re winning the battle.
Like many things, it’s not the product but the handling of said product by us humans, many of which are clueless, inconsiderate or both, that causes the problem.