DeCA has recycling in the bag

Reusable cloth bags are fast replacing "paper or plastic" as the choice for commissary customers. The reusable bags, which cost 70 cents each, were introduced into commissaries in October and, since then, customers have bought nearly 270,000 at stores worldwide. While commissary shoppers have long saved green of the legal tender variety - to the tune of 30 percent or more annually on their grocery bills - they can now conserve green of another very useful kind - trees.

"Commissaries have long been good stewards of taxpayer funds," said Rick Page, DeCA's acting director, "and, with reusable shopping bags, we're applying the same sort of thrifty approach to how we use the earth's natural resources."

DeCA's reusable bag is made of sturdy mesh, sewn together from 100 percent polypropylene. It is strong enough to hold 30 pounds of groceries and approximately three-quarters of the bulk amount of a paper bag. The reusable bags are machine-washable and can be recycled when no longer usable. Customers can find the bags on racks near the checkout at their local commissary.

Reusing bags saves the commissary money, which helps preserve the benefit by keeping operating costs down - costs that are paid with taxpayer dollars. In fiscal 2007, commissaries spent more than $20.6 million on plastic and paper bags. If just one-tenth of all commissary shoppers switched to reusable cloth bags, the agency would save more than $2 million annually.

Customers always have the option of using their own reusable cloth bags. Whether shoppers provide their own bags or return to the commissary with DeCA cloth bags, they should give them to the bagger before bagging begins.