With the recent news that Kroger is eliminating plastic bags in it's stores by 2025 what's a person to do? Kroger sited that 100 billion single-use plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States and less than 5% of those are recycled. The obvious answer is the bring your own re-usable bag that can easily be stored in your vehicle. Not only are re-usable bags stronger, they have sturdier handles and can handle more weight than their plastic alternative. Re-usable bags also have less of an impact on the environment, wildlife and use less natural resources when used regularly. If you forget to bring a re-usable bag and it's a small item simply refuse the plastic bag, 12 minutes isn't that long to carry a small item.