Plastic Bag Fee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

One of these days I am going to get brave enough to ban plastic completely from my house (if only my favorite shampoo came in a glass bottle!).

So I guess you won't be posting on DCUM anymore after you make your home plastic free. You wouldn't want to you use that nasty computer with all its plastic parts anymore.

[Anonymous]

Prior to the new law, customers were already paying a five-crent fee on bags. For all those customers who brought in their own reusable bags, Giant and Whole Foods (maybe Safeway, don't know) deducted five cents for each reusable bag. That is, if you needed four bags to bag your groceries and you had four of your own bags, the grocery stores reduced your bill by twenty-cents. Many customers were not aware of this practice, as they would blindly accept the grocery bags and the additional five cent per bag to their bills. Now that customers are away, many bring in their reusable bags, receive their five cent deduction per bag, and help the environment, if only a little. It is a win-win situation. Any one who sees some form of government takeover, well I don't think there is much more you can say to them about this issue.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a problem with bringing reusable bags, but I am now freaked out by the thought that I have to WASH them?? I really do not need another task to add to my list, and if I have to wash them to reduce bacteria (as some PPs have pointed out), then I will definitely be going back to paying for and using disposable bags.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a problem with bringing reusable bags, but I am now freaked out by the thought that I have to WASH them?? I really do not need another task to add to my list, and if I have to wash them to reduce bacteria (as some PPs have pointed out), then I will definitely be going back to paying for and using disposable bags.

I read the article, and I'll admit I was a little surprised that the bags are so dirty. But, I still think the washing after every use issue is ridiculous. First, people have been putting food in resuable bags for years -- I have be using reusable bags for a long time myself -- and you really don't hear about reusable bag salmonella out-breaks. Second, you need to treat all your food as if it is contaminated no matter which bag you put it in -- that apple you are about to eat has been touched by the picker, the packer, the trucker, the shelf-stocker, the cashier and the bagger. Are you really sure all of them washed their hands. Third, do you really think the inside of your fridge is cleaner? Not if you are really a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a problem with bringing reusable bags, but I am now freaked out by the thought that I have to WASH them?? I really do not need another task to add to my list, and if I have to wash them to reduce bacteria (as some PPs have pointed out), then I will definitely be going back to paying for and using disposable bags.

Just spring for a bag to hold your raw meat and you will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Get a bag from the produce section and put your meat in one. They don't charge for those.

12:22 I don't think stores were charging, but they were rewarding shoppers who brought reusable bags. If stores were indeed charging 5 cents a bag, are they now charging 10 cents a bag?