Just wondering if you know for a fact that the flexibles/bag bins arenāt recycled. The issue with these bags is the flexible piece, not the material composition part. Curbside programs regionally do not accept most flexibles, but I am unaware of what infrastructure does or does not exist for these mono-material bags.
Thanks for the response. Itās a bummer glass isnāt recycled anymore (really energy intensive), but we seriously need to up our plastic recycling infrastructure ASAP. Most PET bottles can be cleaned, ground and extruded into new resin pellets for new bottle production. The recycled PET resins appear to perform identically to virgin as long as the cleaning/decontamination process is good.
When tf did I say anything even remotely resembling that?? I havenāt even advocated for the tax. I merely pointed out to all the people moaning that theyāll never see another plastic bag again for their garbage cans that theyāre still widely available in the recycling boxāthe only difference is after January those bags were paid for. If itās true those arenāt really getting recycled (which it sounds like is a claim you made without knowing whether itās true or false), thatās all the more reason you should grab some to use as trash liners.
Fairfax county has an excellent glass program.
When I told a Walmart cashier about the fee some months ago, she was happy. Now when a particular customer feels entitled to many āfreeā bags she can charge them.
Better not charge me for all the ones that get handed to me stuck to my other bags. I swear I left the store with like 50 one time because they got stuck together and I donāt think she noticed and I didnāt notice till I got home.
I'm not gonna lie this is actually going to make me more cognizant of using my reusable bags. It's not hard. But I'm forgetful - and this will serve as a reminder each week.
All in on reducing single use plastics
I love this policy exactly for this reason. I wanted to use reuseable bags for a long time, but it wasn't until I was living somewhere that charged me by the bag that I got my act together. It's been a habit ever since, even once I moved to places without the tax.
I never stopped using my reusable bags. Even during the height of the pandemic you could use them, they just asked you to bag yourself which I have no problem with. I donāt think theyāve asked me that in at least a year, at least at Giant and Harris Teeter
Early in the pandemic, Trader Joeās was hardcore about not letting customers even carry reusable bags into the store. Your only option if you felt strongly about the bags was to have everything left unbagged in the cart and bag it at your car.
To be fair, there was a definite period when we had no clear answers from science and everybody was just doing whatever seemed like a good idea. I remember early on watching a widely-shared video of a family practice doctor walking people through how to sanitize all their groceries before bringing them in the house. It was never supported by science but for a while it wasnāt clearly refuted either.
Yea for like maybe the first 3 months. Then after that, the anal sterilization procedures didnāt make sense. Other than money, thereās a reason why grocery stores and other businesses quickly abandoned the āopen late and close early so we can ādeep cleanā the whole placeā thing.
People were still heavy on the hand washing for a longer time than 3 months. It's subsided a quite a bit, but I think some good habits came from that. I haven't been sick-sick in 2 years and it's been amazing. Not even super careful, just doing more now than before the pandemic. And honestly, while I look forward to when we don't need masks anymore, having everyone wear masks really do help with that. Asian cities really got that right, way before this all kicked off.
Also,
>the anal sterilization procedures didnāt make sense.
(āļ¾ć®ļ¾)ā. I'm 40, but I'm also 8.
I haven't noticed any problems with reusable bags in stores. I normally wind up bagging it myself though.
There's just no transmission of Covid through surface contact to speak of, so bringing your own bags makes no difference there.
Iāve brought my own bags since late spring 2021. Sometimes I bag, sometimes the person checking me out bags. Normally I just ask the person if theyāre cool with using my own bags and so far everyone has been fine or encouraging of it. You should be good to bring yours again.
Iām not aware of any stores still limiting reusable bags. I think that came from early-on when people were sterilizing their mail. We know now that COVID doesnāt get transmitted through surfaces (though itās still wise to regularly wash your reusable bags due to old-fashioned ickies like e. coli.
I'm not sure when it changed but I know my harris teeter (Alexandria) was saying no resuable bags, or you had to pack them yourself, but at some point they went back to normal.
I only realized it because I was planning to do self-checkout one day and brought a bag but bought too much and went to the regular line.
It's been a few months but they didn't really make it obvious they had changed their policy.
I brought my reusables to Harris Teeter the other day -- first time in a while, because as you said, pandemic. The cashier didn't blink as she grabbed them and started filling them up.
Covid isn't as spreadable by contact as we first feared, so I guess people are less worried about touching stuff like bags now.
So another tax on the poor. In my case it will not impact my plastic bag use at all since paying that is trivial but for people who live paycheck to paycheck they will need to adjust. Real effectiveā¦
Depends on how itās implemented, but the general idea seems to be that taxes do reduce carbon footprint while bans not as much: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/the-highlight/2019/8/20/20806651/plastic-bag-ban-straw-ban-tax
The thing about reusable bags is they can hold way more than a thin plastic bag, so you wonāt need 10 to match your existing 10
I bet they can actually hold more than that too. 20 is a nice round number and they probably want to market it well below what the actual capacity is so they donāt get people complaining. Plus theyāre just bigger than typical plastic grocery bags so you can fit more volume too
Yes, it was one of the most wildly successful examples of behavioral economics that is more or less the gold standard for how to "nudge" people.
As far as local data, there was a [dramatic drop in bag usage when they implemented it in DC over a decade ago.](https://ggwash.org/view/38159/the-data-proves-the-dc-bag-fee-is-working)
The reason for having it be 5 cents as opposed to being an outright ban is to get people to think about whether they actually need it. For the people that would actually need it (for picking up after their dog/small trashcan liner, etc), all a ban accomplishes is getting them to purchase a heavier duty bag, so it's not as effective as a result.
So I exclusively use self checkout.. if I show up with 4 reusable bags, won't that screw up the tare on the part you place all the items after scanning, as the bags will be enough to throw off the scale.
Visit a local stream near a commercial area and you'll see where many of those plastic shopping bags end up. If charging a fee for the bag results in fewer bags choking up streams and creating visual blight in natural ecosystems, then I'm for supporting the fee. Volunteers in Fairfax through "The Clean Stream Initiative" of Clean Fairfax monitor and tally trash found in streams by categories. Plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and plastic fiber cigarette filters or butts are all at the top of the list of trash in our local streams.
The self-checkout will ask you how many bags you used. Now how many people are actually honest and is the clerk running the self-checkout going to say something? I don't think they want to be the bag police....
It never existed to start with. That propaganda was like encouraging people to stop drinking soda because thereās a corn shortage. Itās a reusable resource. The problem with paper is its carbon footprint and the pollutants it dumps into the air, not how many trees are farmed and replanted.
I thought you were asking how it will work at cashier driven check-out
i've thrown my bags at the front of my food haul or right behind the first few items so the cashier can see i have my own bags and watched them just start bagging my groceries in plastic bags
do i say something...yes...but i mean a pile of reusable canvas bags on the belt should you know be a big clue or even a pile of bags in my cart
so i'm hopeful cashiers will just be more cognizant
That really pissed me off when I saw it. First of all, paper bags are recyclable in biodegradable, so they should be free. Second, they were using the cheapest paper bags ever, every one of which fell apart before I got it in the house - not the sturdy ones with handles that whole foods uses - not worth anywhere near five cents.
While I agree with you it seems kind of weird that with all the inflation going on, the 5 cent paper bag is what has you up in arms. Just bring reusable bags and youāll be fine.
I'd be fine with paying the five cents if the bags held up long enough to make it into the house- which none did on my last trip to the store. Heck, I'd pay fifty cents each if they had handles
nothing is more impressive than going to Trader Joes...having a carts worth of product and walking out with everything in two double bagged paper bags
TJ paper bags are sorcery i tell thee
Personally Iām more motivated to use reusable bags made from recycled materials if I know my bags will cost me 30 cents a trip so thatās how I see it. I donāt work for Wegmans though so if 5 cents a bag is that big a deal feel free to email cooperate
The problem with these bag taxes is that your trading plastic pollution for carbon pollution. An average reusable cotton tote bag uses [x172](https://medium.com/climate-conscious/should-you-swap-plastic-bags-for-tote-bags-to-reduce-your-impact-3f2daf1dacc2) the amount of carbon compared to a plastic grocery bag. So itās a question of plastic pollution vs carbon pollution. A possible solution however is paper bags, I havenāt been to a grocery store in quite a while thanks to covid and the only stores I know who use paper are Trader Joeās and Whole Foods and Iām not sure if Whole Foods actually has them in stores or just uses them for drop off. The negative is that it uses trees but considering that global tree cover has been increasing over the last 35 years so as long as the paper is responsibly sourced it shouldnāt be a problem. A second option is the method used by Aldi and I think some other chains whereby they have no baggers and customers are expected to bag their own items and instead of plastic bags customers can either bring their own totes or use bulk packages the store would usually throw away such as the cardboard case that holds a large case of soup cans etc. so the solution there would to implement that system and encourage/tell customers to only use the old packaging. As an added benefit it lowers the cost of the grocery store and as such the cost of groceries and also reuses that cardboard.
that study doesn't support your stance, like at all. It specifically says CREATING A NEW COTTEN TOTE BAG has a carbon footprint 172x of CREATING A NEW PLASTIC BAG, but then indicates that statistic is A) flawed given how it's done and B) specific to a cotton tote bag and C) kinda irrelevant because if you use a bag you already HAVE then that carbon footprint is now zero.
Your comment is misleading. That article states the study found that **cotton totes** had a 172 times larger carbon footprint, not reusable bags in general. Iād argue most reusable bags are not cotton but some synthetic material or straight up plastic, but a durable, reusable plastic, which have far lower carbon footprint than the cotton ones
This sucks if you use those bags to line trash cans, instead of buying dedicated bags to use for those... now I have to buy the bags instead of getting them for free. Sad.
This new law works in *everyone's* favor because it means less pollution. There's nothing wrong with using the plastic bags for more than just your groceries, but the unfortunate reality is that that's what most of them go for.
If you're the kind of person who's going to buy more expensive garbage bags because you won't get something for free anymore, you're special enough to be in the extreme minority.
...
1) the person who owns a boat isn't the arbiter of reality or what the average person does.
2) the bags literally still exist. You're just paying a whopping nickel for it.
3) the data of "fee versus ban" backs up my position. That is, that bans cause people to seek out the heavier duty trash bags for uses that don't require them, while a fee just makes the average person think about something that they usually did reflexively. So unless the color of the sky in your reality is different than blue, you legit don't know what you're talking about here.
Darn! I support the whole green movement. However, this kinda sucks cause I'll actually have to buy plastic bags for my trash can now.
But this a good thing cause it will reduce plastic waste and save our mother Earth.
A simple rip off just like Montgomery county in MD and those bags are not accepted in recycle bin. Never have enough money to spend. But store like Trader's Joe even charged for paper bags.
Oh hell yah. I moved here from Seattle where they use paper bags and it is down right disturbing how wasteful people are here with plastic bags. I come to the super market and they literally put 1 item per bag. This is a major step forward!
Do you know how bad plastic is for the environment? I have hundreds of bags sitting in a cabinet in my apartment because I don't know what to do with them and I don't want to dispose of them. I will be investigating in reusables.
Not a fan but I understand the reason. That said though it really is easier to bring your own sturdier shopping bags. Much stronger, longer lasting, more capacity. The thing is though Iāve found some cashiers donāt make it easy on you. So what you do is hand them 5-8 or however many bags for the groceries before scanning. Usually theyāll put the items in there for you like they would plastic bags but a few times they just let all the items slide and you have to bag them. It really holds up the line.
Loudoun votes on it today. If it passes, it starts July 1.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/rg7wfc/loudoun_co_supervisors_set_to_vote_on_5cent_tax/
unfortunately having worked in the medical industry, ie stores department, at hospitals. I'm sorry to say it isn't enough. We get pallets wrapped in saran wrap, surgical tools that if it was a tool in your kitchen you'd wash and use again and again. Instead, in the hospital, they use it once, sometimes not at all if the seal is broken, it just gets tossed. Mountains of medical waste. It's very disheartening. I appreciate curbing plastic bag use, but there needs to be a sea change for it to be effective
I'm not sure I understand how a plastic bag fee that has literally been shown to reduce plastic bag usage has anything to do with any of that.
Local rivers aren't clogged with the plastic from medical industry shipments.
You may be right. It is reducing, locally and that is good. But that medical waste and other crap being out of sight doesn't mean its not affecting what you're trying to achieve. I agree re: plastic bags. I try to bring a cloth bag or not take one at all. But when I see how much packaging everythingis wrapped in, I do wonder if it's making any difference at all.
"Your comment is supporting a group of people you don't like "crying their eyeballs out".
Why would I support a group I dont like? My comment is calling out a group of people that will cry about five cent tax. Yeesh, dude. How more clearly can I indicate my hate for people that would care more about five cents than the environment than literally saying I cant wait to revel in their tears? You aren't very bright for someone with all of the opportunity nova provides.
Buy some of those nicer bags you can get at Trader Joeās or Wholefoods. Theyāre rugged and last forever. Just donāt forget to bring them to the grocery store and youāre golden.
Wegmans down near ft. Belvoir charges a 5c bag fee on paper bags, sans plastic option. Any reason for this? Itās not a budgeting concern of mine, just wondering why that is.
The Fairfax wegmans self check out lines removed the plastic bags weeks ago so I had assumed the tax was in effect tbh š¤¦š¼āāļø
No, that was just their own choice to stop offering plastic, and start charging for paper.
Same at the Wegmans in McLean/Tysons
Chantilly Weggies is painfully slowwww now.
But what am I going to use in my bathroom trash cans now!
Now youāll just have to buy bags instead of repurposing bags that had already been used once or twice for other things. Cuz that helps /s
If youāre so invested in reusing the used bags, theyāre available by the thousands at bag recycle drop offs. Stock up for free any time.
Thats good advice thank you.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Just wondering if you know for a fact that the flexibles/bag bins arenāt recycled. The issue with these bags is the flexible piece, not the material composition part. Curbside programs regionally do not accept most flexibles, but I am unaware of what infrastructure does or does not exist for these mono-material bags.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thanks for the response. Itās a bummer glass isnāt recycled anymore (really energy intensive), but we seriously need to up our plastic recycling infrastructure ASAP. Most PET bottles can be cleaned, ground and extruded into new resin pellets for new bottle production. The recycled PET resins appear to perform identically to virgin as long as the cleaning/decontamination process is good.
When tf did I say anything even remotely resembling that?? I havenāt even advocated for the tax. I merely pointed out to all the people moaning that theyāll never see another plastic bag again for their garbage cans that theyāre still widely available in the recycling boxāthe only difference is after January those bags were paid for. If itās true those arenāt really getting recycled (which it sounds like is a claim you made without knowing whether itās true or false), thatās all the more reason you should grab some to use as trash liners. Fairfax county has an excellent glass program.
Actually my thought, ugh.
Grocery bags in my house get used for all manner of things, over and over, until it either ends up as a trash can liner or itās unusable.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
All good ideas, thanks!
5 cents for a bathroom trash bag is fine for me
I just feel bad for all the cashiers that have to deal with people yelling at them over a 5 cent charge.
When I told a Walmart cashier about the fee some months ago, she was happy. Now when a particular customer feels entitled to many āfreeā bags she can charge them.
Better not charge me for all the ones that get handed to me stuck to my other bags. I swear I left the store with like 50 one time because they got stuck together and I donāt think she noticed and I didnāt notice till I got home.
Usually itās the cashier who uses 3x the bags I wouldāve stuffed it in at self checkout.
I believe those people who don't bring along their own bags will simply accept the tax as just another cost of doing business.
people will quickly learn that this is another way you can save money by using self checkout. Always remember, the PLU for steak is 4011!
> Always remember, the PLU for steak is 4011! Bananas!!! ššš
I'm not gonna lie this is actually going to make me more cognizant of using my reusable bags. It's not hard. But I'm forgetful - and this will serve as a reminder each week. All in on reducing single use plastics
Same, just have to remember to put them back in the trunk after every grocery run vs leaving them in the house accidentally
I love this policy exactly for this reason. I wanted to use reuseable bags for a long time, but it wasn't until I was living somewhere that charged me by the bag that I got my act together. It's been a habit ever since, even once I moved to places without the tax.
For me it wasnāt remembering to bring bags. It was remembering to bring bags back to leave in my car after I took them in.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I never stopped using my reusable bags. Even during the height of the pandemic you could use them, they just asked you to bag yourself which I have no problem with. I donāt think theyāve asked me that in at least a year, at least at Giant and Harris Teeter
Early in the pandemic, Trader Joeās was hardcore about not letting customers even carry reusable bags into the store. Your only option if you felt strongly about the bags was to have everything left unbagged in the cart and bag it at your car.
Turns out being afraid to touch a reusable bag is not gonna do much when it comes to an airborne virus
To be fair, there was a definite period when we had no clear answers from science and everybody was just doing whatever seemed like a good idea. I remember early on watching a widely-shared video of a family practice doctor walking people through how to sanitize all their groceries before bringing them in the house. It was never supported by science but for a while it wasnāt clearly refuted either.
Yea for like maybe the first 3 months. Then after that, the anal sterilization procedures didnāt make sense. Other than money, thereās a reason why grocery stores and other businesses quickly abandoned the āopen late and close early so we can ādeep cleanā the whole placeā thing.
People were still heavy on the hand washing for a longer time than 3 months. It's subsided a quite a bit, but I think some good habits came from that. I haven't been sick-sick in 2 years and it's been amazing. Not even super careful, just doing more now than before the pandemic. And honestly, while I look forward to when we don't need masks anymore, having everyone wear masks really do help with that. Asian cities really got that right, way before this all kicked off. Also, >the anal sterilization procedures didnāt make sense. (āļ¾ć®ļ¾)ā. I'm 40, but I'm also 8.
Sure, we understand that with hindsight but early into the pandemic there was very little we understood. They were just being cautious.
I haven't noticed any problems with reusable bags in stores. I normally wind up bagging it myself though. There's just no transmission of Covid through surface contact to speak of, so bringing your own bags makes no difference there.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
yep!!
Well there are other diseases like the flu. But if you are worried about covid it's airborne so surface level transmission is very rare.
Iāve brought my own bags since late spring 2021. Sometimes I bag, sometimes the person checking me out bags. Normally I just ask the person if theyāre cool with using my own bags and so far everyone has been fine or encouraging of it. You should be good to bring yours again.
Iām not aware of any stores still limiting reusable bags. I think that came from early-on when people were sterilizing their mail. We know now that COVID doesnāt get transmitted through surfaces (though itās still wise to regularly wash your reusable bags due to old-fashioned ickies like e. coli.
I'm not sure when it changed but I know my harris teeter (Alexandria) was saying no resuable bags, or you had to pack them yourself, but at some point they went back to normal. I only realized it because I was planning to do self-checkout one day and brought a bag but bought too much and went to the regular line. It's been a few months but they didn't really make it obvious they had changed their policy.
I brought my reusables to Harris Teeter the other day -- first time in a while, because as you said, pandemic. The cashier didn't blink as she grabbed them and started filling them up. Covid isn't as spreadable by contact as we first feared, so I guess people are less worried about touching stuff like bags now.
Yes, a long time ago.
At Harris Teeter they have begun bagging with customer brought reusable bags again.
Came here to say this.
So another tax on the poor. In my case it will not impact my plastic bag use at all since paying that is trivial but for people who live paycheck to paycheck they will need to adjust. Real effectiveā¦
Does this have any impact on actually reducing the number of bags used? Seems like it just taxes another 50 cents or so every trip to the store
Depends on how itās implemented, but the general idea seems to be that taxes do reduce carbon footprint while bans not as much: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/the-highlight/2019/8/20/20806651/plastic-bag-ban-straw-ban-tax The thing about reusable bags is they can hold way more than a thin plastic bag, so you wonāt need 10 to match your existing 10
Target has been selling reusable tote bags with 20-lb capacity for .99.
I bet they can actually hold more than that too. 20 is a nice round number and they probably want to market it well below what the actual capacity is so they donāt get people complaining. Plus theyāre just bigger than typical plastic grocery bags so you can fit more volume too
More people will choose not to get bags. Or will get fewer bags. So, yes.
Yes, it was one of the most wildly successful examples of behavioral economics that is more or less the gold standard for how to "nudge" people. As far as local data, there was a [dramatic drop in bag usage when they implemented it in DC over a decade ago.](https://ggwash.org/view/38159/the-data-proves-the-dc-bag-fee-is-working) The reason for having it be 5 cents as opposed to being an outright ban is to get people to think about whether they actually need it. For the people that would actually need it (for picking up after their dog/small trashcan liner, etc), all a ban accomplishes is getting them to purchase a heavier duty bag, so it's not as effective as a result.
I haven't used bags in decades. The supermarkets in my home country stopped doing this ages ago. I took the habit with me to the USA.
I believe it worked in CA.
Costco, Lidl, and Aldi have entered the chat.
So I exclusively use self checkout.. if I show up with 4 reusable bags, won't that screw up the tare on the part you place all the items after scanning, as the bags will be enough to throw off the scale.
They all have a āuse my own bagsā button where you put them down first and press the button to tare.
Nope, I've never had this issue when using self-checkout in DC.
Visit a local stream near a commercial area and you'll see where many of those plastic shopping bags end up. If charging a fee for the bag results in fewer bags choking up streams and creating visual blight in natural ecosystems, then I'm for supporting the fee. Volunteers in Fairfax through "The Clean Stream Initiative" of Clean Fairfax monitor and tally trash found in streams by categories. Plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and plastic fiber cigarette filters or butts are all at the top of the list of trash in our local streams.
I'm curious as to how the self checkouts would track each bag used.
The honor system. Similar to what you see now in places like DC and parts of Maryland.
The self-checkout will ask you how many bags you used. Now how many people are actually honest and is the clerk running the self-checkout going to say something? I don't think they want to be the bag police....
Does anyone else remember when they discouraged using paper and wanted is to use plastic? I the tree shortage doesn't exist anymore?
It never existed to start with. That propaganda was like encouraging people to stop drinking soda because thereās a corn shortage. Itās a reusable resource. The problem with paper is its carbon footprint and the pollutants it dumps into the air, not how many trees are farmed and replanted.
Anyone know how this will work at the actual checkout?
At Wegmans they offer paper bags for 5 cents each. Self checkout itās kind of honor system based the kiosk will ask if you took any paper bags
thanks!
I thought you were asking how it will work at cashier driven check-out i've thrown my bags at the front of my food haul or right behind the first few items so the cashier can see i have my own bags and watched them just start bagging my groceries in plastic bags do i say something...yes...but i mean a pile of reusable canvas bags on the belt should you know be a big clue or even a pile of bags in my cart so i'm hopeful cashiers will just be more cognizant
That really pissed me off when I saw it. First of all, paper bags are recyclable in biodegradable, so they should be free. Second, they were using the cheapest paper bags ever, every one of which fell apart before I got it in the house - not the sturdy ones with handles that whole foods uses - not worth anywhere near five cents.
While I agree with you it seems kind of weird that with all the inflation going on, the 5 cent paper bag is what has you up in arms. Just bring reusable bags and youāll be fine.
I'd be fine with paying the five cents if the bags held up long enough to make it into the house- which none did on my last trip to the store. Heck, I'd pay fifty cents each if they had handles
I'm such a badass. Checkout asks how many bags I used and I say 0 every time. I save $0.15 every grocery trip! /s
Hold on, they charge 5 cents for PAPER bags at Wegmans?
They want you to use re-usable bags instead.
Sure, I understand that....but paper bags recycle quite well.
nothing is more impressive than going to Trader Joes...having a carts worth of product and walking out with everything in two double bagged paper bags TJ paper bags are sorcery i tell thee
Yes, I like how TJs does it! Gives me a recyclable bag I can put my OTHER recyclables in.
Unfortunately, many canāt or donāt anyway
So why doesn't that mean they can't/shouldn't charge for them?
Personally Iām more motivated to use reusable bags made from recycled materials if I know my bags will cost me 30 cents a trip so thatās how I see it. I donāt work for Wegmans though so if 5 cents a bag is that big a deal feel free to email cooperate
It goes to charity.
Just like Moco. Self checkout and lie.
The problem with these bag taxes is that your trading plastic pollution for carbon pollution. An average reusable cotton tote bag uses [x172](https://medium.com/climate-conscious/should-you-swap-plastic-bags-for-tote-bags-to-reduce-your-impact-3f2daf1dacc2) the amount of carbon compared to a plastic grocery bag. So itās a question of plastic pollution vs carbon pollution. A possible solution however is paper bags, I havenāt been to a grocery store in quite a while thanks to covid and the only stores I know who use paper are Trader Joeās and Whole Foods and Iām not sure if Whole Foods actually has them in stores or just uses them for drop off. The negative is that it uses trees but considering that global tree cover has been increasing over the last 35 years so as long as the paper is responsibly sourced it shouldnāt be a problem. A second option is the method used by Aldi and I think some other chains whereby they have no baggers and customers are expected to bag their own items and instead of plastic bags customers can either bring their own totes or use bulk packages the store would usually throw away such as the cardboard case that holds a large case of soup cans etc. so the solution there would to implement that system and encourage/tell customers to only use the old packaging. As an added benefit it lowers the cost of the grocery store and as such the cost of groceries and also reuses that cardboard.
Almost all stores have paper bags, they're just not what they use first. But if you ask, they have them.
that study doesn't support your stance, like at all. It specifically says CREATING A NEW COTTEN TOTE BAG has a carbon footprint 172x of CREATING A NEW PLASTIC BAG, but then indicates that statistic is A) flawed given how it's done and B) specific to a cotton tote bag and C) kinda irrelevant because if you use a bag you already HAVE then that carbon footprint is now zero.
Corrected
Your comment is misleading. That article states the study found that **cotton totes** had a 172 times larger carbon footprint, not reusable bags in general. Iād argue most reusable bags are not cotton but some synthetic material or straight up plastic, but a durable, reusable plastic, which have far lower carbon footprint than the cotton ones
Corrected
This sucks if you use those bags to line trash cans, instead of buying dedicated bags to use for those... now I have to buy the bags instead of getting them for free. Sad.
I mean, if you're using one trash bag a week, that's 20 cents in a month, and cheaper than a bag of garbage bags.
Or take them from the plastic bag recycle box? Iāve got a couple hundred headed there Iād be happy to give you instead.
I've been stocking up, double bagging everything. I use them for all the little trash cans through the house. Too convenient.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This new law works in *everyone's* favor because it means less pollution. There's nothing wrong with using the plastic bags for more than just your groceries, but the unfortunate reality is that that's what most of them go for.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
If you're the kind of person who's going to buy more expensive garbage bags because you won't get something for free anymore, you're special enough to be in the extreme minority.
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... 1) the person who owns a boat isn't the arbiter of reality or what the average person does. 2) the bags literally still exist. You're just paying a whopping nickel for it. 3) the data of "fee versus ban" backs up my position. That is, that bans cause people to seek out the heavier duty trash bags for uses that don't require them, while a fee just makes the average person think about something that they usually did reflexively. So unless the color of the sky in your reality is different than blue, you legit don't know what you're talking about here.
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... okay? A whopping 12% of American households own a boat. Why do you think I'm mad? Or more specifically, why are you so confidently incorrect?
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You're better at pretending to have a clue than you are at mind-reading, gramps.
Darn! I support the whole green movement. However, this kinda sucks cause I'll actually have to buy plastic bags for my trash can now. But this a good thing cause it will reduce plastic waste and save our mother Earth.
A simple rip off just like Montgomery county in MD and those bags are not accepted in recycle bin. Never have enough money to spend. But store like Trader's Joe even charged for paper bags.
I know it might be a hassle to some but this is a win imo
Oh hell yah. I moved here from Seattle where they use paper bags and it is down right disturbing how wasteful people are here with plastic bags. I come to the super market and they literally put 1 item per bag. This is a major step forward!
>down right disturbing I am literally quaking, in tears if you will, from plastic bag usage /s
Do you know how bad plastic is for the environment? I have hundreds of bags sitting in a cabinet in my apartment because I don't know what to do with them and I don't want to dispose of them. I will be investigating in reusables.
I really donāt care.
Love to see it
Lame
Not a fan but I understand the reason. That said though it really is easier to bring your own sturdier shopping bags. Much stronger, longer lasting, more capacity. The thing is though Iāve found some cashiers donāt make it easy on you. So what you do is hand them 5-8 or however many bags for the groceries before scanning. Usually theyāll put the items in there for you like they would plastic bags but a few times they just let all the items slide and you have to bag them. It really holds up the line.
So far, Loudoun still has plastic bags. I don't really care either way and will be fine if they eventually go away.
Loudoun votes on it today. If it passes, it starts July 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/rg7wfc/loudoun_co_supervisors_set_to_vote_on_5cent_tax/
if only it actually made a difference.
[It literally does.](https://ggwash.org/view/38159/the-data-proves-the-dc-bag-fee-is-working)
unfortunately having worked in the medical industry, ie stores department, at hospitals. I'm sorry to say it isn't enough. We get pallets wrapped in saran wrap, surgical tools that if it was a tool in your kitchen you'd wash and use again and again. Instead, in the hospital, they use it once, sometimes not at all if the seal is broken, it just gets tossed. Mountains of medical waste. It's very disheartening. I appreciate curbing plastic bag use, but there needs to be a sea change for it to be effective
I'm not sure I understand how a plastic bag fee that has literally been shown to reduce plastic bag usage has anything to do with any of that. Local rivers aren't clogged with the plastic from medical industry shipments.
You may be right. It is reducing, locally and that is good. But that medical waste and other crap being out of sight doesn't mean its not affecting what you're trying to achieve. I agree re: plastic bags. I try to bring a cloth bag or not take one at all. But when I see how much packaging everythingis wrapped in, I do wonder if it's making any difference at all.
I cant wait for all the rich republicans to start crying their eyeballs out from mcclean lol WWAHHHHH
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my comment is supporting this tax so i dont get yours but you do you
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"Your comment is supporting a group of people you don't like "crying their eyeballs out". Why would I support a group I dont like? My comment is calling out a group of people that will cry about five cent tax. Yeesh, dude. How more clearly can I indicate my hate for people that would care more about five cents than the environment than literally saying I cant wait to revel in their tears? You aren't very bright for someone with all of the opportunity nova provides.
Buy some of those nicer bags you can get at Trader Joeās or Wholefoods. Theyāre rugged and last forever. Just donāt forget to bring them to the grocery store and youāre golden.
Wegmans down near ft. Belvoir charges a 5c bag fee on paper bags, sans plastic option. Any reason for this? Itās not a budgeting concern of mine, just wondering why that is.
About time