People take bags when they already have some without even thinking about it. If they were paid for, it wouldn’t be so automatic, and people would think about it. I always put shopping straight into my backpack, or bring a plastic bag with me, eliminating it completely. We’re polluting enough without adding unnecessary plastic.
In Belgium this system has been introduced. Yes, it reduces the amount of plastic bags.
But like you can’t exchange the used and broken ones for new, I don’t like it at all to pay 8 eurocent for a plastic bag, I was already paying for because it was one of the costs stores had already.
Asking 8 eurocent for a plastic bag means that supermarkets are now making a profit out of a previous cost.
I read recently that the carbon footprint of comparable paper bags is greater (largely because of manufacture and transport costs, they are larger and heavire and more complex to make).
I believe the major UK supermarkets use Biodegradable “plastic” bags. I recycle my shopping bags as waste-bin liners. How many people BUY non biodegradable plastic bin-liners instead – making the problem worse?
I do use some large heavy-duty reusable (woven and coated polypropelene?) bags (bought at a supermarket in France) for that part of my weekly shopping done at Aldi – who charge for bags.
My verdict is: charge a small amount (one or two pence) for the bags, require that they are biodegradeable, put a tax on bin-liners etc. Educate and incentivise rather than annoy everyone with legislation.
A related issue is packaging for fruit and vegetables. I can buy pre-bagged items maybe on an expanded polystyrene tray and plastic wrapped or I can pick loose items and put them in a small light plastic bag the shop provides. I think the latter is environmentally “better” but it’s still a plastic bag getting thrown away.
Nothing biodegrades in a landfill—there’s no bio there to degrade it. And biodegradable plastic bags are still made out of non-renewable resources, and may not be recyclable with other bags. So I think it’s a little annoying to have “biodegradable” bags that create the illusion of being environmentally friendly.
PCC here in Seattle is getting rid of plastic bags soon:
http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/products/bags/plasticbags.html
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