Just put the second car in a bag. Then it's handy when you go shopping.

Just need to have enough bags to support a slow "when you get to it" rotation. Bags stay in trunk (you might need to double the number of bags you have to support a second vehicle), then grab a bag of bags when going shopping, fill bags at store, empty and full ones go in trunk when leaving store, full bags go inside to wherever is most convenient, then when they are empty, place them near the door. Then, on some trip to the car, remember to grab the bags by the door and stick them into the trunk and you've completed one cycle for those bags.

If they get dirty, put them near the laundry instead of the door and either mix them in with another load of laundry or do them separately if you're getting that many bags dirty often enough to justify a load of bags. If they aren't specifically dirty, they should be fine. They aren't like clothes where you're slowly sweating and getting skin oils into them so need to wash them on the regular. Just turn them inside out to make sure the bits of onion skin all get washed out.

Good deed and possibly faster queue? I would clap for you too, if I were there.

If it's any of the Karens I know they would go off on you if it was a bag from a discount store like Aldi, Walmart, TJ Maxx, etc and only expect something like whole foods

Lived in my house for a few years and bought like 3 plastic bags in that time. We also took a few from my partners family when we moved in so we did start with some.

Stats show a vast drop in how many plastic bags are used just by charging a tiny bit of money for them. Plus by having a cost now it makes sense to make them better.

The article briefly mentions this, but having lived in states with plastic bag bans, and states without - well drive through the countryside and count all the plastic bags in ditches, trees, streams. Paper might be more intensive to produce, but the lingering effects of plastic bags are being underestimated I think.

I know it's obvious, but shouldn't it be: reusable plastic > reusable cotton > single-use plastic > paper

I can't find the video now, but a couple years ago there was a science creator who broke down the overall environmental cost (co2 production, manufacturing chemicals, microplastics, etc.) of producing the materials needed to make the various bags, manufacturing, transportation, and time to break down/end of life impacts. The single use plastic bags were less impactful than any reusable bags by far. This can be increased by reusing the single use bags as you would a reusable bag before using it for garbage like you do. Only paper bags were marginally better than single use plastic, but even that is unsustainable as it is still a single use item, and produces all kinds of chemicals during the pulping process. Not to mention only ~50% get recycled, leading to more forestry to supply materials.

All that to say you're right. The 3 R's are the way to go.

My personal pet peeve are the "environmentalists" who rush out to buy new "environmentally friendly" options rather than using what they currently have until it needs to be replaced. Particularly since most of the organic replacements don't last as long. Yes, the plastic version will end up in the landfill regardless, but they could have reduced their overall impact by 5 to 500 organic whatevers in the meantime. Eco-consumerist nonsense. /rant

That's opposite where I live. Garbage bags are flimsical thin bags, while grocery bags are durable heavy material so you can carry 6-7 bottles of 1.5 l. without it breaking.