Here in Wales, UK, you have to pay for all the shopping bags you would use when you bought something in the store. They are encouraging people to bring their own bags to use so there won't be much plastic bags to waste. It's really a good thing as it's helping the environment as plastics are not biodegradable and would take years to decompose and it's also a type of recycling. How about you, what are your views about it?
Where I am in Canada it seems to differ from store to store. At one I deal with regularly there is a charge per bag of 5 cents. They are heavy bags and I don't mind because I use them. At one major department store the bags are No Charge. It seems like here it is at the store's call. At another there is a charge. I will sometimes bring in a bag to the food store but lately I have been paying the charge simply because I find the heavy duty bags useful. Ryder13
Most supermarkets here are already offering biodegradable bags, and you don't have to pay anything extra to get them.
I am also in the UK, some supermarkets do not charge for carrier bags, but the quality of them is appalling and you are lucky if you get t your car without at least one of them splitting and ejecting the contents all over the pavement. I have bought a number of the jute shopping bags that are readily available in supermarkets now, at around £4.00 each. I keep them in the car so I always have some to hand.
In California we have some stores that make you pay 15 cents a bag or you can bring your own shopping bags. I'd rather bring my own bags. It's really easy if you store them in your car, but it is bothersome when I am travelling on foot and don't have my tote bags on me. Then I have to figure in the extra 15 cents.
Our UK base is Bigbury Bay in Devon, and the nearest town - Modbury - was the first in the UK to bring in a charge for plastic bags. When we came to Spain five years ago, all the stores still gave out plastic bags like sweeties, but now they have started charging for them. The only places you get them free are in the street markets and clothing and non-food stores. Everywhere else, you have to pay if you want a bag. I have several re-usable bags which I keep in the car, and a little pouch that's folded up in my shoulder bag for emergency use - I refuse to pay for bags to advertise various stores.
I'm from the Midwestern United States and I currently live in the South. I've never personally come across a store that charges for bags, other than Aldi. The practice makes perfect sense, but I have a feeling it would keep me from shopping at that store if I had other options that didn't charge me for bags. I also wouldn't want to work at that store. I have cashier experience and dealing with bags people bring can be an all-mighty pain.
There are a couple stores here that don't give bags. At one you can use empty cardboard boxes when available or bring your own bag, and at the other you have to buy bags. One store eliminated plastic altogether and only uses paper. They also have reusable ones available for purchase. I have a bunch of reusable ones, but they are so handy, they are usually in use for something or other, lol. I try to keep some in the car also, though I often forget to take them into the store with me, lol! Some of the first ones I got were flimsy, and the others are difficult to wash. I am planning to switch to canvas totes that are more sturdy and easier to launder.
In Washington, DC there is a law that the stores charge .05 for each bag. The charge is to encourage people to supply their own bags to help with the recycling of plastic. In Maryland the Target store will deduct .05 from the bill if you supply your own page for your purchases. I have started to bring my own bag so that they do not grow like bunnies in my draw.
I'm in California too. There are a few stores that charge you for using plastic bags. Most of the time, I bring my own reusable bag which with the grocery store's name and logo on it. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I just grab a bag. Sometimes, I bring a competitor's reusable bag to the store. I used to get teased a lot, but not anymore. It's getting to be very common.
Why can't all the stores use the biodegradable bags so the customers don't have to pay for a bag, after all we are buying there products from there stores and making them a profit. All stores should go biodegradable and not charge there customers anything. After all if they didn't have us buying, they would not have a business.
This policy is good for environment, but not all stores charge customer for shopping bags. We customers should bring shopping bags when we go for shopping rather than use or purchase plastic bags every time.
A few stores in my area are charging 5 cents per bag as well too. At first I thought it was silly and just some attempt to cut costs, but I guess it makes sense to deter people from using too many plastic bags. One of the stores even places empty shipping boxes from it's merchandise in the front of the store that you can use to put all your items in to bring home, instead of bags.
I am completely on board with this. I like the idea of encouraging people to bring their own bags. I'm really bad about remembering mine unfortunately, but if they started charging more often, then maybe I'd be more likely to remember them. Aldi's has always charged like this and I'm better at remembering for their store, so it could certainly work.
They are starting to do this more and more in England, my local Tesco doesn't charge yet but my local cornershop and WH Smith both charge £0.05 for a bag, which is a bit steep for a flimsy bag that splits the second you leave the store.
I'm in Australia and different states have different laws. In South Australia, they have banned giving out bags so everyone carries their own. I'm In Queensland and we are encouraged to use our own and some places do charge an extra 10 cents if they provide a plastic bag. The supermarkets all sell good strong canvas bags for $1.00 plus cooler bags for cold food and I just take them with me when I go but they do still give you plastic bags if you forget yours with no charge.
I think its a good idea that we have to pay for plastic bags as it makes you more aware of them. Our stores actually sell lovely material bags which can reused for years. They even sell cooler bags for you to place your refrigerator items in. Bringing your own bags to the store is better for the environment and everyone in the long run.
They haven't started charging for the bags in our area yet but I'm sure it we will see this happening very soon. It is a great way to get people to bring in their own bags which we are starting to see more and more people do now. One thing that I have recently noticed some of the stores doing are setting out containers for people to bring back in their used plastic grocery bags. The stores don't reuse them but they do turn them over to a recycling facility so that they can be recycled instead of thrown away. These containers are almost always overloaded.
Am I the only man who finds the canvas bags a little bit feminine looking? I've used them a couple of times and I get the same look as the one I get when my girlfriend makes me hold her handbag!
