Plastic bag fee - what do you think?

[MIch elle]

I think it's a great idea!

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/nyregion/07bags.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[Melissa B]

I think it is a great idea as well. When I spent a summer in Germany 20 years ago, the local grocery charged for bags - most people brought their own. :)

[TeacherZee]

I think it is great. Here in Sweden we pay for our plastic bags. I only take one if I really need it. If I am just popping in for a few things I don't.

 

When I lived in the UK I had great fabric bags that I took with me when I went for my weekly shopping. And at that point we weren't paying for our plastic bags there.

[GreenKitty]

I wouldn't mind, they are the ones paying for them. The bags have gotten so thin already, I find things are falling out as I am carrying them to the car, into the house, etc. I have been using reusable bags for quite a long time now though.

[Parrothead]

I'm one that thinks we have too much government interference all ready so I'm not for a "tax"

 

I'd rather see the stores themselves hop on this one. Our big supermarket gives a discount of $ .05 for every bag the consumer brings in. I'm all for getting a dollar back when I grocery shop.

[In The Great White North]

I think it stinks. We pay for those bags in the costs of our purchases, not the city of NY. Why should NYC get a cut?

 

Like Cadam, I reuse those bags for dog doo, little garbage can liners, etc.

 

So, after they imposed the "fee" in those other cities, and people started bringing their own bags, did anyone bother to figure out if people were buying more "garbage bags" because they didn't have the grocery bags to reuse anymore?

[shell in SC]

What do you all think of a .05 credit for every bag you bring instead. That way you have an incentive to bring your own, but those of us that choose to continue using them (as pooper scoopers, bathroom trash can liners, recycling) can do so w/o inconvenience.

[shell in SC]

True Green Kitty. . .I ain't payin' for no bag that breaks before I even get to my car. . .sorry for the bad English. . but that was my 'tude voice. . .can't you see my finger wagging.

[TeacherZee]

I wouldn't mind, they are the ones paying for them. The bags have gotten so thin already, I find things are falling out as I am carrying them to the car, into the house, etc. I have been using reusable bags for quite a long time now though.

 

True Green Kitty. . .I ain't payin' for no bag that breaks before I even get to my car. . .sorry for the bad English. . but that was my 'tude voice. . .can't you see my finger wagging.

 

:iagree:

 

I should probably have said that the plastic bags here are of a much higher quality. Thicker plastic. They keep so you can reuse them in the store if you want. Many people do.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I reuse those bags for other things though. You can't pick up dog doo with a canvas bag kwim? Canvas isn't going to keep things dry on the beach and it won't work for sealing up dirty diapers. Plastic is perfect for a hanging trash bag at a campsite and today my kids collected leaves for a craft in them. Canvas would get dirty and stained (causing me to run more wash and use more chemicals to clean it) and a paper bag would have broken quickly after getting wet. It rains here - a lot. We need things that are waterproof a good deal of the time.

 

I use both paper and plastic grocery sacks for things and I am ticked that the government thinks it should be able to legislate this! If a community or company feels strongly about it, they will change. It is already happening and it makes me mad. I should be able to use a *&^%$ plastic bag when I need to!

 

I recycle (just ask newlifemom!) and I reuse a ton of things, including these bags. I do this because I choose too and it works for me. I want the government to stay out of it. [ducking]

 

I'm a recycling nut too and use reuseable bags most of the time (sometimes I forget to take them with me. But it was MY decision to recycle. I was telling someone that the two phrases I dislike the most are "I think we all agree..." and "I think the government should do something about...." How did we become a nation so conditioned to accept more and more laws dictating our every move (and thought)??

 

Ugh.

 

K

[Cedarmom]

They started it in Seattle, and I hate it. IMO, it is jut another excuse for a tax, so the government can waste our money. Now if stores want to impose this, or better yet give me a discount for bringing my own bag, that's fine.

[Plucky]

I don't know. I'm a huge recycler and do use those plastic bags to line my trash cans. I also use my canvas bags when I can remember it. I'm torn. I'm tired of everything being legislated. I think caring for the environment comes from education and people wanting to do it. Where I live the environment is a huge issue, probably more important than people.

 

What I do like is companies cutting back on the packaging of their products. I just saw an Amazon.com article on what they're doing. I'm more incentive driven though than punishment driven.

[Plucky]

They started it in Seattle, and I hate it. IMO, it is jut another excuse for a tax, so the government can waste our money. Now if stores want to impose this, or better yet give me a discount for bringing my own bag, that's fine.

 

The other night I went to a grocery store here in town and I asked not to have a bag. The lady rang up a bag discount! I was surprised. I love that store. I wish I could afford to shop in it more.

[homeschoolmom]

I reuse those bags for other things though. You can't pick up dog doo with a canvas bag kwim? Canvas isn't going to keep things dry on the beach and it won't work for sealing up dirty diapers. Plastic is perfect for a hanging trash bag at a campsite and today my kids collected leaves for a craft in them. Canvas would get dirty and stained (causing me to run more wash and use more chemicals to clean it) and a paper bag would have broken quickly after getting wet. It rains here - a lot. We need things that are waterproof a good deal of the time.

 

I use both paper and plastic grocery sacks for things and I am ticked that the government thinks it should be able to legislate this! If a community or company feels strongly about it, they will change. It is already happening and it makes me mad. I should be able to use a *&^%$ plastic bag when I need to!

 

I recycle (just ask newlifemom!) and I reuse a ton of things, including these bags. I do this because I choose too and it works for me. I want the government to stay out of it. [ducking]

 

I am sooo with you.

 

We practice the 3 Rs around here (reduce, reuse, recycle) and when I do have grocery/plastic bags they are use to dispose of the little trash I don't compost or recycle.

 

I wish the gvt. would stop attacking the low-hanging fruit and deal with the beafier problems. I get that plastic is a big problem but come on...

[6packofun]

I use them for many things, too, mainly right now to dispose of the adult diapers of my dh's grandmother who is living with us! Sorry, I need those so that we don't all gag on the smell. :001_huh: LOL

 

And garbage bags are plastic, too. When do the taxes start on those? We recycle as much as we can, but I'd be annoyed to have to pay for plastic bags at the store.

[MIch elle]

I think it stinks. We pay for those bags in the costs of our purchases, not the city of NY. Why should NYC get a cut?

 

Like Cadam, I reuse those bags for dog doo, little garbage can liners, etc.

 

So, after they imposed the "fee" in those other cities, and people started bringing their own bags, did anyone bother to figure out if people were buying more "garbage bags" because they didn't have the grocery bags to reuse anymore?

 

That's why.

[MIch elle]

I reuse those bags for other things though.

[ducking]

 

I have to ask over & over again NOT to put my every purchase in a bag (one book at B&N, 2 items at Target, etc.). I don't need that many small plastic bags!

[MIch elle]

What do you all think of a .05 credit for every bag you bring instead. That way you have an incentive to bring your own, but those of us that choose to continue using them (as pooper scoopers, bathroom trash can liners, recycling) can do so w/o inconvenience.

 

:D

[MIch elle]

Now if stores want to impose this, or better yet give me a discount for bringing my own bag, that's fine.

 

:D

[In The Great White North]

NYC picks up the trash.

 

Don't they already have a tax for that?

[elegantlion]

My town might stage a protest. :tongue_smilie: Even though most places now sell the canvas bags I am still one of the only people I see in my grocery store using them. The cashiers still give me dirty looks (????) even though I "take my canvas bags to the supermarket".

[MIch elle]

I don't know. I'm a huge recycler and do use those plastic bags to line my trash cans. I also use my canvas bags when I can remember it. I'm torn. I'm tired of everything being legislated. I think caring for the environment comes from education and people wanting to do it. Where I live the environment is a huge issue, probably more important than people.

 

 

 

No one had an incentive to NOT throw their cans & bottles on the streets before in MA, and the state had to clean up the roads of all those cans. Now people turn in their cans & bottles for the deposit - no gov't tax, just stores taking your money & giving it back in the returns. It worked! Gone are all the cans & bottles on the roads in MA.

 

:D

[Crissy]

I think it's a great thing for individual stores to decide on. The local IKEA charges a small fee for their bags. Great!

 

I do not think it is the place of government to impose such fines and fees.

 

As cedarmom mentioned, it has been quite an issue in Seattle. The city imposed a 20 cent per bag fee with fines of $250 for any store found to be giving away bags. Ridiculous!

 

There was quite an uproar, and the measure is currently on hold.

[Nestof3]

I actually use mine. I use them for cleaning out the litter box, and the rest I donate to the local thrift and library bookstores.

 

I assume costs to bag my merchandise are included in what I pay for my groceries -- along with the cashier, the lights, etc -- and I don't think I should have to bring my own bags.

[milovany]

I've been like Jennifer, the "halving it all" gal, with grocery store bag usage ... making it a goal to see how few bags I can use. Dog doo-doo? We use a couple pages of newspaper instead. Trash can liner? We use a hard-plastic box for holding paper trash bags (break down in the landfill quicker). Only four or five items (or fewer) at the store? I don't get a bag. Etc.

 

But I agree that this shouldn't be a *law* set up by the government.

Edited November 7, 2008 by milovaný

[Tammyla]

We have a few stores that charge a fee around here. I prefer my own bags anyways.

[GreenKitty]

True Green Kitty. . .I ain't payin' for no bag that breaks before I even get to my car. . .sorry for the bad English. . but that was my 'tude voice. . .can't you see my finger wagging.

 

Yes, I actually can! :D

 

I can't even use them as pooppickerupers or trashcanliners even if I wanted to!

[Wendy in WI]

No more new laws and taxes for this sort of thing!! Let the stores and the customers work it out.

 

Reuable bag usage seems to have skyrocketed around my neck of the woods.

Wendy

[Carrie12345]

I don't want it legislated, but I'd love to see plastic bags disappear from check out stations!

 

People look at me like I'm nuts when I refuse a plastic bag for a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. I've actually had cashiers try to tell me I have to take it b/c they already put my stuff in. Um, no. I don't.

 

I've been bucking the plastic for at least two years now, and I still have an overflowing collection in my laundry closet. I buy small plastic bags for dog doo (because even my big dogs aren't going to fill a Target bag) and I don't use disposable diapers, so that's not an issue.

 

It isn't so much the existence of plastic bags that drives me nuts as it is the heavy reliance. What in the world makes people think that a person needs 7 plastic bags for 10 items, or any bag for 2 small items?

[milovany]

I've actually had cashiers try to tell me I have to take it b/c they already put my stuff in. Um, no. I don't.

 

When I have a cashier take my stuff back out of the bag because I don't need it (and I didn't want to be rude and say "I don't need a bag" at the same time they are saying "Hi" and putting my one or two things in the bag -- they're quick!), I always watch to make sure they reuse the bag. Or I ask them to. It amazes me if/when they go to throw it away because now in their mind it's a "used" bag, lol.

[Melissa in FL]

I think it's wrong. It's a tax, plain and simple. If a store wants to charge, fine, if a store wants to pay you back when you bring your own, fine. If the city wants to raise garbage rates because of the excess grocery bags it has to cart to the dump, fine. But this is a tax and a stupid one at that. If the city wants to encourage people to use reusable bags, maybe they should handout some, but not put a tax on them. NY was my home for the first 21 years of my life and I would love to move back, but dh and I decided we couldn't afford to pay all the taxes they have there and now they are adding more.

[chaik76]

I'd be exceptionally annoyed. We re-use those plastic bags over and over, for one thing, and for another, I do not like using cloth bags at all. It's just another thing to remember.

Honestly, I think it's ridiculous. It should be up to individuals how they decide to most things environmentally.

[RoughCollie]

I'm for smaller government and lower taxes. No way do I want the government micro-managing my grocery shopping experience. Nor do I want my taxes to pay for someone to keep track of fee collection for plastic grocery bag use.

[DB in NJ]

I think it's ridiculous.

[Holly IN]

I am not for this. It really urks me that the gov't think they can get every dime out of us. Plastic bags is one of them.

 

I reuse those plastic bags as my cat litter stuff (I scoop the stuff into the bags). Half of the bags I bring home has holes in them.

 

I know Aldis charge for their bags. It is going back into the store. I am not for more taxes!!

 

Holly

[keptwoman]

They are trialling a charge in some areas of our state at the moment. I think its legislated that the stores charge rather than tax money to the government though.

I think it's fabulous!! My aim is to be completely plastic bag free. We use junk mail to line the bottom of our bins and I think you could use them for doggy do do too. Our cat litter either goes in the compost heap or worm farm.

 

DH is not very good at remembering to take our reusable bags but he is getting better. I never ever accept a plastic bag for anything. If my groceries dont fit into the bags I have they go straight in the trolley (cart) and then into the car.

[anissarobert]

I was discussing this same issue lately with another home school mom here. She wants to pass this law in Boise.

 

First of all, I am not in favor of the government passing new taxes to micromanage our lives. Second my limited use of these bags both helps the environment and saves me money.

 

We reduce/reuse/recycle everything, so I usually only have about 1/2 of a garbage can full of garbage each week. Instead of buying garbage bags, I reuse the few bags I bring home from the store. Since garbage bags have to be at least as bad for the environment, as grocery bags, I think my limited use of them is acceptable. I have considered trying to do without garbage bags at all, but quite of bit of our garbage is animal waste (3 pets), and I just don't want to wash out the cans! The mom who wants to ban grocery bags here, (who is a very nice lady) told me she still buys garbage bags, as I think most people who advocate this do, so I don't think there is any actual improvement in the amount of plastic put into the landfills.

 

This kind of choice needs to be left up to the individual consumer. We can help the environment more by working together, than by using being legalistic. Every family is different.

[Reesegirl]

I have had the same experience as a previous poster who said that the checkers are rude to you when you bring your own bags. One checker told me that I would be home a lot faster if she didn't have to use my cloth bags. I almost reported her for her rudeness but realized that she has to stand there all day reaching out for groceries and her back is probably hurting etc...I didn't want to get her in trouble but now avoid her line. I never accept plastic bags when shopping for 1 or 2 items, but like the idea of putting a reused bag in my purse for times like this.

[kewb]

I am all for people bringing their own bags but not the government telling store owners they have to do this. This is a huge infringement on the store owners rights.

 

All the groceries stores by me give a discount ranging from 5-10 cents per bag when I bring my own. Trader Joes enters me into their monthly drawing for free groceries. Most of the time I remember to bring my own. Sometimes I make an impulsive stop and my bags are not in the car.

[Happy]

Our cat litter either goes in the compost heap or worm farm.

 

.

 

Ack! From what I understand, putting used cat litter or doggie do in the compost heap is not a good practice. If your cat is an indoor only, perhaps. Most backyard compost heaps do not get hot enough long enough to kill all the bacteria from a carnivoire's gut.

 

 

As for the plastic bags...The greater part of plastic in our trash and landfill comes from all that &%^#@ packaging on stuff. I know a big portion of that is to prevent shoplifting. When the government regulates that, then I'll listen more to their ideas about the plastic bags.

 

We use fewer now than ever, but I don't want to be taxed on them. Let the stores do what they can first.

[Carrie12345]

Ack! From what I understand, putting used cat litter or doggie do in the compost heap is not a good practice. If your cat is an indoor only, perhaps. Most backyard compost heaps do not get hot enough long enough to kill all the bacteria from a carnivoire's gut.

 

 

As for the plastic bags...The greater part of plastic in our trash and landfill comes from all that &%^#@ packaging on stuff. I know a big portion of that is to prevent shoplifting. When the government regulates that, then I'll listen more to their ideas about the plastic bags.

 

We use fewer now than ever, but I don't want to be taxed on them. Let the stores do what they can first.

 

Yeah, cat litter in compost is a no-no from what I've read.

 

Did you see that Amazon is changing their packaging policy?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/386225_amazonpackage04.html