The cart coin idea is great and I wonder how much money it would take to make it effective. Would 25 cents be enough? I think it would very on the location. We live in an apartment across the street from a grocery store and they allow people to push their cart across the street to carry their groceries home and they even have a designated spot at the apartments to leave your cart so the employee's can walk across the street and bring them back. It has created a problem of people leaving their carts scattered around and even parked next to their door. I'm sure there are many people who would push the carts back to the store for the coin return.
Lessons from Europe
Photo: Rengel 134
I always find it interesting to see how others solve problems that seem so prevalent here in the states. Three simple ideas from Europe come to mind.
Cart coins.
Honestly, this is such a simple solution, I have no idea why it hasn’t caught on here in the States. When we were in Italy, more often than not the shopping carts were linked together with chains and interlocking tabs. To get one to use, we were required to insert a coin in a slot which we then pushed in / pulled back to release the lock and take our cart inside the store. When we were finished unloading our purchases in the car, we simply took the cart back, inserted the piece again (I may be getting the actual procedure wrong, but is was super simple, nonetheless), and got our coin back.
It took no time at all to develop the habit of keeping a couple of coins in the dash, and for those that really couldn’t be bothered there were always teenagers or other financially strapped individuals around who would take the cart off your hands and re-park it for you in exchange for getting to keep the coin.
What we didn’t have to deal with? Carts slamming into our vehicle from blowing winds, or taking up parking spaces after they rolled around the parking lot a time or two. Additional bonus? The cost of goods inside the stores was more under control because no staff members needed to be hired to chase down and organize runaway grocery carts.
Bag tax / surcharge.
It’s great that some stores want to give you a discount for every bag you bring in that they don’t have to provide. But the fact is, some people just won’t do it. Just like some people don’t bother to clip coupons. When we lived on the other side of the ocean, there was an extra charge for every bag you needed. Some stores were good enough to save left over stocking boxes, but not all.
What was interesting to me at the time (it was several years ago, now) was how many more people I saw bringing in their own bags than I ever noticed back home. Not sure what the psychological difference was between saving a nickel and getting charged a nickel, but apparently it did the trick for some. Just an observation.
Highly prevalent small space and vertical urban gardens.
This blew me away. I couldn’t believe how many people were so talented with using every nook and cranny of their limited urban living space to grow food. Shrubs growing on the sides of an entry walk planted with rosemary, climbing vines of grapes rather than flowers, narrow strips along the sides of buildings planted with fruit trees pruned to grow flat against the wall and along wires strung for stability.
Tiny back yard areas loaded with tomatoes, basil and aubergines . . . literally every small space and vertical opening in our little neighborhood in Northern Italy was brimming with edible plants. Of course, it didn’t hurt that there was a fairly long growing season, but still.
How much could a single, apartment or town home dwelling family reduce their monthly grocery budget with these skills? Bonus? Lots of trees and plants growing up alley walls means less room for graffiti.
I don’t mean to reduce all the wonderful things I experienced there to such a sort post. It’s just that these things struck me recently as things we could easily do something about in America. On a selfish note, I vote we start with tackling the runaway grocery carts.
Have a great day, everybody!
Best of Wise Bread
Hi,
I enjoyed your comments about lessons from Europe.
FWIW: The cart coin system actually arrived in parts of the eastern US with the arrival of the Aldis stores. I don't know much about the history of Aldis in the US, the first one only arrived in Fredericksburg, VA only last year. However, I do know that Aldis has been in the Danville, KY area and other parts of the mid-west since the mid-1990s. They opened up with the cart systems firmly in place.
As for the bags, you are right. Too few folks use their own bags although we are starting to see more of them being sold at the local Giant, Whole Foods and Safeways.
Best to you.
Glad to see I'm not alone on the runaway cart frustration. I would think that yes, 25 cents should do the trick. I had no idea some places did this on the coast already. Certainly haven't seen it in my neck of the woods. It really was effective. I would love to see it go national here.
Anyone else?
I'm just starting a gardening project here at home - partly for frugal reasons, partly for green reasons, and partly for Zen-ish reasons. Although today's post was on how I quit smoking, later this week I'll be doing my first post about the garden - the pictures are already taken and writing has already started :)
Great post. I've been touting for years that we Americans must become more like our European neighbors. They've been 'at it' longer than we have and they most certainly know how to live, respect the environment and live within their means. Paris, France and anywhere in Italy are good places to start with.
As to the cart idea: I only owned my new car a few days, parked it solo in a store lot only to return and see that someone had pushed their empty cart towards a wall, which in turn bumped into my car and scratched a fender. Tears were my only comfort!
Aldi stores have coin carts. I almost always have 25 cents or so in my car (even if you don't have a quarter, the store makes change). Also, Aldi charges a surcharge for every bag. But you are free to take their half-empty boxes for your own use. It's been a while since I've shopped there, but I believe they are cash-only. This helps them keeps prices lower, since they don't have to worry about bad checks and credit card fees. Maybe some other readers can confirm this.
ALDI takes debit cards. You can't run your check card as a credit card, so I think that helps them avoid fees.
I LOVE ALDI.
Yes! I'm not the only one. The loose carts rolling around the lot really yank my chain. And I'm toning it down for polite company, believe me. While it would be nice if everyone took theirs back because it was the right thing to do, the reality is it isn't likely to happen. A quarter a cart, get it back or let someone else snag it. It's up to you. OK guys, who do we call / write / email.
I'm seriously wanting this to be standard. Now, if they'd only put me in charge of such things . . . sigh . . .
Also, many places where Americans would get their food with disposable plates & cutlery, the Europeans use the real thing by charging a deposit. You'd think Oktoberfest would reveals tons of bags of garbage, but no. Just return your real things for your Euro deposit. A much better system!
I remember Carrefour and GB have that....I actually still have a token from GB that was given to me one day when I didn't have any change. Which was so convenient as it couldn't be used for anything else, you never had to worry about accidentally using up your cart-change
Where I live in Canada, many grocery store chains have the coin-cart system you mentioned, using a $1 coin. Not only does it mean that no carts are abandoned in the parking lot to get in the way of cars, but it's also good for the store because fewer carts get stolen (which occasionally happens otherwise). A friend of mine who works at a grocery store says that in bad weather, customers often ask him to return their empty carts in exchange for the $1 as a tip of sorts. And when you don't have a loonie on hand, you can go into the store and ask to make change, or simply wait until someone comes to return a cart and give them four quarters (or whatever other change) in exchange for the cart.
Personally, I hate the coin carts. I always have to worry about having change around. A few weeks ago we didn't have any change and we had to beg someone to give us 50 cents to get a cart because the store was unwilling to give us a token. If it hadn't been for the nice lady in the parking lot, we would have had to use the store atm to pull out money and get stuck with a 3.50€ surcharge fee.
Not exactly customer friendly in my opinion.
There's a solution to that problem. Here you can buy a key-chain which includes a token the same size as the coin used for these things (it's not just carts around here, it's the entry fee to public toilets, the safetyboxes in supermarkets etc). With one keychain purchase you always have the token on you without worrying about having the right stash of coins in your pocket.
I'm with you, I think there are a lot of things they do well over there. In a way, we're too hung up on convenience at the cost of everything and anything. People just can't be bothered to bring their own bags and return their carts, and it's all okay because somebody (whomever that somebody may be) enables them.
A good example is the price of gas. People are irresponsible with gas because for years it's been so cheap, especially relative to Europe, where it's much more expensive. As a result, people in this country drive huge, gas guzzling cars with reckless abandon, whereas in Europe, SUVs are much less common, and they drive those cool mini-Euro cars, which I know many people in this country loathe.
A little common sense goes a long way.
BTW, I'm also in favor of siestas and sitting together with family to enjoy meals.
Thanks for the Euro-insight, it was a nice read.
Amen! We miss the family and life focus over there as well.
Thanks to everyone else as well for keeping the conversation going. I'm digging the idea of the dish deposit. Hmmnnn. . .
yesssss i luv coin carts and cash deposits for dishes. In Germany, it was always like that. You even had to pay extra for ketchup packets! I noticed that there was a LOT less trash.
In Asia too, at least in Korea, there are no plastic plates. You sit down with the tray, and when you're done, you bring it back to the place you got it at the fast food courts. We also have to pay 10 cents for each plastic bag. And if you bring them back, you RECEIVE 10 cents. I noticed a lot of people bringing their own bags. If you bring your own bags, you also RECEIVE 5 cents per bag!!!!! At cafes, they ask if you want disposable or mugs. They charge 10 cents per disposable cup, so most people drink it in the cafe.
We also have great public transportation in Asia. Subway stops every 2 blocks, and it's only like 50 cents per ride. And the metro card works for any bus or subway, and you don't need to take your card out of your wallet to have the laser read it- the technology is that good....
My reply (right above) was meant as a direct reply for the one who didn't like the idea because wasn't sure about having always the correct coin in the pocket. Also, a further note: here they usually accepts more than one kind of coin: 50cnt, 1 euro or two euro coins are all okay.
I am in the UK and think the coin system is great. They cost £1 here, which is a big incentive to take them back but I bought a £1 sized disc which lives on my key chain which is handy if I don't have the change. Because the supermarkets lose fewer trollies, they can spend more on better quality trollies. They seem to be easier to push and they have more types which suit the needs of different kinds of shoppers.
It used to be that you'd have the basic kind or the type you can put a baby in. Now there are ones to put babies AND toddlers in, ones that accommodate two or three kids, carts for disabled people to use that also fit a kid in (disabled people have kids too!) and other variations and sizes.
In Tesco, they add a point to your Clubcard account for every bag you reuse which can be redeemed on goods. They also sell "bags for life" where you pay 10p for a better quality plastic bag which is more sturdy. When it gets broken they will replace it for free.
I have also thought America should be commended for having paper bags as an option. I have never been given the option of paper or plastic.
In the D.C. area, or at least Rockville, MD, the Giant supermarkets actually credit you 5 cents for every cloth bag you use. If you're in the self-checkout aisle, call over the helper person and they have a card they can scan that credits you the nickels.
Wow. Now that's an efficient idea! Wish I'd known about those when we lived there. I wonder if they were even around then . . .
Very clean and efficient place, their produce is always cheaper and healthier looking, have never tried a product of theirs I didn't like. And by the way, one manager there informed me Aldi's is a "sister" store to Trader Joe's. I note Aldi is doing more advertising on TV lately. I figure more of the snootier crowd will try Aldi out as prices continue to rise.
This is a good post. There are a lot of sensible solutions being employed by other countries around the world. I marveled at the efficiency of a German airport upon my visit. Very interesting stuff.
But while I totally appreciate returning real plates in a food court and charging for plastic bags, I have to pose a question to those in favor of coin-op carts...
Do you have small children?
Suppose you've just pulled into your local grocery store with a busy toddler and a new baby (in carrier). While a double stroller would allow you freedom to shop, it doesn't hold near as many groceries as you may require. So what do you do? Remove the toddler from a seat, walk her by hand while you elbow-hold a baby carrier and walk toward the store dodging insane Pennsylvania drivers (that's right, I said it, you're all nuts). Then hunt for a quarter for some germy, wobbly shopping cart?
Since parents of small children make up a healthy portion of grocery and big-box retail sales, there needs to be a better solution available. Coin carts are so not it.
I see the point about kids and returning the cart.....HOWEVER being the 51 year old Fart that I am I am long past wanting to deal with children when I am shopping..especially those that belong to someone else.
I would DEARLY Love for stores and Restaurants to have set aside either certain days or certain hours when the establishment is a "Child Free Zone".
~ Roland
Locally we have publix and I have noticed in a few of them this with the carts:
Sanitizer containers mounted on the wall to wipe down cardts for everyone.
Sanitizer mounted into the carts that are for the kids. Which at Publix are "trucks" that the kiddos drive which are at the front end of the cart while grown up pushes at the handle.
Simply wipe down the cart and you are good to go from most any germs.
An excellent solution.
I visited Russia back in 1986 (good old cold war days) and saw the most interesting drink dispensers. They worked just like typical american coffee vending machines - You out in your money, select your drink, and it spits out a cup and fills it up.
But here's the fun part - there was only a single glass. You drank your drink and then were expected to put the glass back in the machine!
I did NOT sample anything from the vending machines there!!
I know this is a silly extreme, but it's just a fun story. I am all for Aldi's and am so happy we got one near me! They moved in right next to Wal-Mart and Meijer, and are doing very well! I love shopping there, even if it means bagging my own groceries.
@ Jasi- how is this scenario different than carts without coins? The local supermarkets in the UK have car spots reserved for families with small children near the door. Also you could park next to one of the trolley stands located about the car park, reducing the distance you need to walk.
@ the UK guest- I too thought that the paper option would be great but having moved to the pacific north west (as rainy as the UK) I have to say, they are only good on dry days, loads of stores paper bags disintegrate in heavy rain. I stick to my reusable fabric bags now.
@ Looby: The only coin carts out here are stationed next to the door, on the sidewalks or sometimes within the glass enclosure of the stores here. Also, the designated family spots are nearly always consumed here by people with no children and no shame.
It could work if the family parking spots surrounded the coin op-carts in the lot. Oh, and if there was a way to keep the family spots for families with small children.
I guess that not everything translates across then, where I am from nobody would dream of parking in the family spots without children!
But I can't understand why they don't have trolley bays in the car park, perhaps you could make a suggestion?
I am writing from Europe. I think with the bags it is not the price that makes us bring it back but the fact that we don't see them as disposable items.
If I forget one day to bring it i have to buy another one. Then I bring it home and put it in the "bag drawer", it drives me crazy if the drawer is too full so I try not to forget to bring a bag to the store. Every few weeks I pack a small stack of them and bring them to the office, just in case i have to go and buy food after work.
Love those coin carts.
In my local stores we are starting to get 5 cents off our bill for each bag that we bring to use. I've been thinking the system would be more effective if we had to pay 5 cents for each plastic bag the store gives. I've heard that the plastic disposable bags may soon be a thing of the past - hooray!
I wrote about some of these things on Blog Action Day...
http://mcmvoices.com/blog/2007/10/what-do-you-do-to-lessen-your.html
Someone above mentioned "enabling" - I agree we have gotten lazy about a lot of things because we're allowed to. To make small sacrifices for the sake of the environment and future generations should not be a big deal, but some see it as a threat to personal freedom. Covering the planet with garbage seems a lot more threatening though.
Our local grocery stores are now giving 5 cent credit for every bag we bring in.
About gardens: My relatives have told me that edible gardening in Europe was a necessity after the world wars. They were much harder hit there than in the states, and I suspect that the current generation, raised with the notion of urban gardening, has continued it. It's a great way to get fresh organic produce with no delivery costs!
