http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1340543

I carry fabric bags in my car, but its still not quite intuitive to take them into the store.  More and more however, retailers in my part of the province are asking "Do you need a bag?" when its a small one item purchase.   I'm curious to see if more cities in the province of Ontario follow suit in 2009/2010.

How about in your own community? 

Dot

 

 We haven't had anything like that here yet, but I suspect it's a matter of time. There was a discussion here in which I said that I thought it should be up to the manufacturer's to quit making them if we're not supposed to use them. Putting the burden on the shoulders of the consumer is easier (for them!), I suppose. 

It's not that I think plastic bags are ok, but something about the way they go about this irks me.  

onequarterdal:

its still not quite intuitive to take them into the store

 

Hi, Dot!

What helped me remember to grab my cloth bags was that I would grab a shopping trolley while still in the parking lot. I found that I liked to walk in with the bags already in the cart rather than manhandle two or three floppy cloth bags walking through the door.

onequarterdal:

I carry fabric bags in my car, but its still not quite intuitive to take them into the store.  More and more however, retailers in my part of the province are asking "Do you need a bag?" when its a small one item purchase.

This used to be a problem for me too. If I was actually planning to go shopping, I could take a bag with me, but if I just happened to pass by the store while I was out for a walk and remember that I needed something, I had to take a plastic one. So I picked up a couple of little bags like this on eBay. I gave one to my sister and kept the other for myself. It folds up into a little wallet-sized pouch that I carry in my purse, and now I'm never caught without a bag.

This store has some that fold up even smaller and can carry 20 pounds of stuff. I'd love one like that, but I can't justify spending the money when the one I have is good enough.

In seattle they are debating threw the retail and cosumers as a vote next year since vancover is doing this this state will have to follow soon if not they the state will have to put it all on the ballet again...

• i would love to see those ratty things get banned!  they multiply like bunnies!  and i find them everywhere- along the streets, in the garden, on the pond, stuck in trees.  the only thing i ever hear anyone say they use them for is doggy pick-ups!

Plastic bags were recently banned in Smithfield, VA, if I'm not mistaken.  Smithfield is one of the cities that makes up Hampton Roads, VA.  Apparently too many plastic bags were getting loose into the fields (esp. cotton fields) and destroying parts of the harvest and messing up the machinery doing the harvesting.  So now it's only brown paper bags out there -- or bring your own reusables, of course.

I had to do pricing on plastic bags vs. paper recently.  Paper bags were about a nickle each.  Plastic were a penny, and usually less if you ordered serious bulk.  IMHO, paper bags hold up better.  But I wouldn't trade my reusables for anything.  They have paid for themselves twice over now.

I hope more cities will get off the plastic bag bandwagon.  And I wish more stores would take up the cause on their own.  It's kinda like the whole smoking in bars/restaurants thing.  In VA the possibility that a law would be passed to ban smoking in bars/restaurants is slim to none.  However, more and more places are doing it on their own and benefitting.  The managers that I've talked to said their business actually went up once they banned smoking.  Who knows?  Maybe the store that bans plastic bags or at least charges for them would actually get more business.

At the Gerbes (Kroger) store where we do most of our grocery shopping, they take a nickle off your total bill for every bag that your bring in that they do not have to give you.  Definantly saves a a few dollars every year and it is good for the environment.

Suzy 

 

 Many stores in Ontario reward you for bringing a reusable bag. The Loblaws Chain (No Frills, Great Canadian Superstore, National Grocers) give you bonus points and Giant Tiger gives a discount too! What other places reward you for taking care of the planet?

I disagree with completely banning plastic bags. The approach to getting people to do things needs to change - instead of hitting us over the head ("thou shalt not"), do something to encourage us to comply (advertising campaign). The carrot is always better than the stick.

I reuse plastic bags all the time. They're used for lining small trash cans, carrying items to work, disposing of large amounts of food scraps, cleaning up when the dogs get sick, carrying our food items on road trips, storing Christmas decorations, and on and on and on.....

What bags don't get used get recycled. The local stores take them back and recycle them, and it doesn't matter if the name on the bag isn't theirs.

Jill