Fro Gro Bag Lives Thrilling Second Life as Bathroom Trash Can Liner

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Well, it might be time to rethink the premise of that philosophical inquiry. A bag from The Fresh Grocer has transcended expectations and defied typecasting. After fulfilling its initial role — transporting two cans of soup, a carton of oat milk, and a bunch of grapes approximately four blocks — the polyethylene bag was repurposed as a trashcan liner in the bathroom of a neighborhood apartment. 

Student Rachel Alifimov (C ’20), the student who first encountered the bag, explained to Under the Button that she wanted to think beyond the original conception of what a plastic bag is. “I don’t want to pigeonhole a plastic bag,” she said. “The label of single-use, I think, really hinders creative expression. You could upcycle a plastic bag for a wide variety of uses.”

Now, the bag resides in a new environment — Alifimov's bathroom — where it holds tissues, used floss, and other garbage. The career shift may have been a bit jarring, but after a brief transitional period, witnesses report that the bag is thriving.