A supermarket shopper has shared a free method for transporting groceries that eliminates the need to buy plastic carrier bags, using cardboard boxes from the produce section instead.
The tip, shared by a man named Abu in a video clip, involves taking a cardboard box from the apple section of the supermarket and asking a staff member for permission to use it for carrying groceries. According to Abu, the boxes are typically compressed in the warehouse and recycled anyway.
How the box method works
Abu demonstrated that after receiving permission, shoppers can carry the box around the store and load their groceries into it at the checkout, avoiding the need for separate plastic bags. He noted that the boxes can hold a significant amount of items.
“When you're packing it, you don't have to put it in separate bags; you just put it right here, and you're ready to go,” Abu said in the clip. Once the first box is filled, another can be placed across the top of the trolley and filled as well, then easily slid into the car boot.
He advised against overfilling the boxes so they remain liftable.
Shopper reactions and staff perspective
In the comments, one person noted that retail stores have to pay for their recycling, so taking boxes reduces their waste. Another commenter, identifying as a produce worker, said, “As a produce worker, take as many as you want, less for me to tidy up later.”
A third commenter shared that their mother regularly uses the trick, even rearranging nearly empty boxes to take them, and keeps one as a tidy box for her car boot.
