Comments on: We Now Have to Pay 5 Cents Per Bag…

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:15:14 +0000

Hah! I like it!! Those things are DEF strong :) Good find!

By: nursedragon

nursedragon — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:02:58 +0000

I make super-strong waterproof carrier bags by recycling the 50lb bags my dog’s food comes in. The stuff they are made from is bomb-proof. I get at least 2 bags made from each one. I use nylon webbing for the handles.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:27:19 +0000

@Ken @ The Debt Diaries – Haha, there you go! I guess you just get super crafty when the rules change ;) Thanks for sharing, man.
@Melissa – Yeah, you’re probably right. I slipped again on my last trip to the store (though I still don’t have any reusable bags yet either), and just paid the 10 cents for the 2 bags. Not the end of the world, but it’s def. gonna take some getting used to. Glad you’re more on top of it now! :)

By: Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:09:35 +0000

Haha, first, I think you’re pretty grossly exaggerating the amount you’ll spend on these bags! :P

In Toronto we’ve had the plastic bag fee for a few years now, and now we don’t even think about it. It honestly didn’t take much to break the habit, and in fact, I prefer the reusable bags because the hold more, and they’re easier to carry (since I walk to and from the grocery store). I often have a small resuable tote bag with me (in my purse) for smaller items, and then just bring the larger ones with me to the grocery store. My mom keeps them in the trunk of her car. I know people were pretty outraged when it first started, but honestly, in no time, nobody cared. And when I forget the bags, I just pay the five cents, since I use the plastic ones to scoop my cat’s litter anyway.

By: Ken @ The Debt Diaries

Ken @ The Debt Diaries — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:02:57 +0000

Hi J.Money, I have to say I feel your pain. I live in Ireland where there is the tax on plastic bags here is 22c ( about 29c US) so forgetting to bring your reusable grocery bags, which can cost anywhere up to €2 per bag can be a real pain. If this happens, I generally look around for small empty produce boxes which also turns out to be a lot easier to carry items out of the store

Fortunately, the tax is waived on bags for items such as loose fruit and veg, so after using them to carry these items, I like to keep them handy for poop scooping.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:03:02 +0000

@Heather - Haha, I love South Carolina though. So beautiful! Esp those old unique homes?? Oh man, I could live in one of those in a heart beat. @Cynthia - Yeah. It's funny, I forgot again yesterday while at Target, and I didn't see ANYONE carrying bags around with them. Not even in their carts... I'm wondering how long it'll take for all of us to get our act together :) @Serena - I need someone to buy me a Merse ;) @Holly - You're better than I am :) At least it's on my mind now, though!

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:12:23 +0000

We do not have a plastic bag regulation here in my town in central California. We do get reimbursed per bag for not using plastic bags at some stores though. I don’t know if and when we will get a plastic bag regulation here. I still manage to use my cloth bags most of the time.

By: Serena

Serena — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:05:45 +0000

I’m in Montgomery County here in MD, and I have been hit with this fee a couple times (since Jan 1st) where I forgot to take the bags in. I took them inside when I went to Trader Joe’s, but–!!!!!–who thinks of taking reusable bags into HOME DEPOT??? Grrrr…..I think the tips of keeping some really compact ones in your purse is a good idea. And then, when you’re done with them, hang them on the front door knob. When you’re leaving, you’ll have no choice but to remember to take them back to your car and/or to your purse (if you’re a woman. Or, hahahah, a man who carries a purse, LOL). That is what I am going to do as a reminder.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:07:08 +0000

Ehh I was living in New Zealand when they started charging for plastic and now I live in Seattle (also anti-plastic). It’s not a big deal, just get some cloth bags and keep a wad of them in your trunk. Bring them with you when you go into the store (everyone else will have their own wad, so it’s not a big deal) – put the bags back into the car the next day when you leave.
In New Zealand, you can buy $1 or $2 bags at many places with the money going to a charity (tax write off!).

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:29:56 +0000

As far as I know in South Carolina they aren’t charging this fee, but SC is about 50 years behind in the times anyway. I always bring 3 or 4 reusable grocery bags with me. They carry more groceries and it’s much easier for me to carry the groceries into the house with 4 solid reusable bags than 20 little plastic bags. And it’s better for the environment. I’m a lactose-intolerant vegetarian (in other words, I’m forced into being a vegan) and part of my reasoning behind being a vegetarian is the environment, so if you talk the talk, you better walk the walk!