No Plastic Bags Allowed

[Jim_Alaska]

A new law has been passed here in California that prohibits grocery stores from providing customers with the traditional plastic bags.

Now if you want to be able to carry your groceries you have to buy a bag. Two different kinds of bags are offered for sale at the check stand, one is a heavier plastic and the other is a cloth bag.

I do understand that in many places discarded plastic bags are a problem. But to force everyone to pay for the abuse of a few is just not right. For the most part the  grocery store traditional bag is extremely recyclable. You carry the groceries to your house with it, then store the bag for reuse in many different ways. I use them for small trash can liners and a trash bag for the car or truck. Both of these uses not only recycle the bag, but also dispose of it when my trash is picked up.

I suspect that the manufacturers that make the bags that stores now sell had a lot to do with lobbying for this new law, it is great for their sales.

It has been said that environmentalism is not about the environment, it is about control and manipulating the many for the benefit of the few.

[WellWithMySoul]

Jim...we have a lot of cloth bags that we keep in both of our vehicles for shopping.  We also have several plastic bags that we've ended up paying for because at times we've forgotten to take our cloth bags into the store.  What I don't understand is...why are the stores now "making" us also pay for paper bags?  It's pretty easy to "recycle" a paper bag!  It doesn't make sense.  Are we being taken advantage of?  Sigh...

[Jim_Alaska]

In a word.....YES

[Salyan]

Hmm... we have no laws to that effect, but a growing number of retailers are now charging you for plastic bags. $.05 cents/bag. Pretty good cash cow for them...

[Invicta]

For a couple of years, wea have had to pay 5p for a bag.  Stores that only employ no more than 5 staff in that store can give them free.  Tesco say they will give the 5p to charity.  All the large stores also sell a "bag for life"  it usually costs 10p and when it wears out you return it and they will replace it for free.

In France, they have not been giving bags from some years, but you can buy a "sac pour la vie" a bag for life.

[RGVBaptist]

Still free here in Texas, but we do joke that plastic bags are our state flag because there are so many of them flying around stuck to trees and such.  But, here it's really just trash in general.  People have a mindset that it's okay to just throw their trash anywhere.  It's pretty sad.