No paper bags are offered at any of the Austin-area H-E-B stores, only the re-usable bags.  These re-usable bags are not only bad for the environment, but you also have to purchase them.  One has to assume that the company has gotten used to "earning" the extra 20 cents profit per bag sold over the last 5 years and has no plans of letting that go.  The company is putting their bottom line over the environment.  The owner of H-E-B, Charles Butt, has an estimated net worth of over $10 billion, so selling these plastic bags as opposed to offering paper bags for free seems well within his reach.

Austin's Single-Use Bag Ordinance (SUBO) took effect in March 2013.  After the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a similar bag ban in Laredo violated state law, Austin lost its ability to enforce the ordinance. While the ordinance can no longer be enforced, the City is still very committed to its Zero Waste goal.  The best way to approach this would be to offer paper bags.  The H-E-B's in Buda and Kyle offer paper bags, as do other Austin-area grocery stores such as Randall's, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's.

Let's get together and bring paper bags to our local H-E-B stores and help the environment all in one fell swoop.  I appreciate your effort!