Star: Shopping wars: 'Screw it, I need some bags'

[Mustapha]

I keep a plastic bag in my back pocket, always there...

 

[Skeezix]

I support the 5c bag charge. I wish in fact that we had Germany's law, which is (as I understand it) you can unpack whatever you buy at the store if you like, and the store has to bear the cost of getting rid of the excess packaging. Quite a clever way to put pressure on those manufacturing products to get pressure from someone they actually will listen to (the retailers) to minimize their packaging.

And it makes sense - if you have something, that because of its fragility or size, that requires packaging, you'll be glad of it. If the packaging is superfluous, then leave it behind at the store. Separates the wheat from the chaff.

5c bags are only the beginning.

When the new City of Toronto Act was enacted, City officials mused openly about instituting such a system here in Toronto. I think it got bogged down in practical considerations (e.g. absent a change to provincial law, a product without its packaging may not be returnable, etc.). There were recently a spate of articles in the media respecting ongoing internal discussions at the provincial level intended achieve the same objectives. We should start hearing about new packaging rules sometime soon.

Anything that gets rid of clam shell packaging is a good thing in my books.

 

[OttoSchloss]

Many pet owners use the bags for poop disposal but there are of course more expensive biodegradable alternatives.

I don't have a problem using the reusable bags many retailers provide (here where I live in the U.S. both Target and grocery stores sell totes as an environmental (and profitable -for them) alternative. And I make a point of not doing a huge weekly grocery shop but rather go several times a week to purchase what I need for that day.

 

[CDL.TO]

If they are charging 5$ for their 'eco' canvass bags, you could buy 500 regular bags before you break even. Somehow I doubt that the average eco bag lasts 500 uses before attrition kills it. So, providing recycled alternatives would be an improvement over trying to corral shoppers into more expensive bags.

Your math is wonky. A $5 bag would equal 100 regular 5c plastic bags. And besides, the bags at Loblaws are $1, so that's equal to only 20 regular bags. Since each $1 bag (made from post-consumer recycled plastic, BTW) holds the equivalent of about 2 old, free plastic bags, they can pay for themselves quite quickly.

This whole thing is pretty amusing, IMO. Just as someone mentioned about when they first started recycling programs, people will bitch and moan about having to change their habits, and a couple years later everyone will have adjusted and the fuss will seem foolish in retrospect.

Oh, and if Billonlogan came up to me when I used to work as a cashier, it would be an easy decision. Choice #1: Allow a customer to shoplift by not charging him for a product, breaking a rule, and putting myself in danger of being fired; or Choice #2: Refuse the difficult customer's illegal request, follow the rules, and possibly get a nice little break from the cash register to wander around the store and re-shelve the products.

 

[Urban Shocker]

The small plastic bags supermarkets provide for putting fresh fruit and veggies in are still free. I double-bag my purchases, and have stockpiled enough of these sweet little transparent nothings to use as sandwich bags, and as replacements for the larger bags ( now costing 5 cents ) that I once used for green bin food scraps, until the end of time.

I also stockpiled those heavy-duty plastic LCBO bags for years, before they became unavailable. Whenever I whip one out at the checkout to cart away my occasional bottle of off-dry Riesling, or Muga Rioja in, the sales clerks get all misty-eyed with nostalgia.

 

[AKS]

I find nothing wrong with the charge although it is inconvenient and I'm not used to it. I sometimes forget about it and wait at the cashier to bag my stuff before it hits me I need to buy the bags. It takes getting used to. People need to remember to bring their grocery bag or else buy another one to use later. It's a habit people need to develop. It's an inconvenience at first, but consider the environment we're helping out.

 

[Tuscani01]

I support the 5c bag charge. I wish in fact that we had Germany's law, which is (as I understand it) you can unpack whatever you buy at the store if you like, and the store has to bear the cost of getting rid of the excess packaging. Quite a clever way to put pressure on those manufacturing products to get pressure from someone they actually will listen to (the retailers) to minimize their packaging.

And it makes sense - if you have something, that because of its fragility or size, that requires packaging, you'll be glad of it. If the packaging is superfluous, then leave it behind at the store. Separates the wheat from the chaff.

5c bags are only the beginning.

Most stores here already allow you to leave behind the packaging. (Major retailers) The problem is returning your product if you are not happy with it. Defective products will be taken back no problem without original packaging, but if its something that goes back on the shelf you will have a harder time.

Has anyone else noticed better quality and larger plastic bags as a result of this 5 cent charge? Metro now uses a larger and stronger bag, and Canadian Tire also uses better bags.

 

[MisterF]

If they are charging 5$ for their 'eco' canvass bags, you could buy 500 regular bags before you break even. Somehow I doubt that the average eco bag lasts 500 uses before attrition kills it. So, providing recycled alternatives would be an improvement over trying to corral shoppers into more expensive bags.

100. You'd be surprised how strong those cloth bags are. I've been using them for a year or so and they're as good as new. Unless they're being dragged along the pavement there's no reason they shouldn't last years.

When the new City of Toronto Act was enacted, City officials mused openly about instituting such a system here in Toronto. I think it got bogged down in practical considerations (e.g. absent a change to provincial law, a product without its packaging may not be returnable, etc.). There were recently a spate of articles in the media respecting ongoing internal discussions at the provincial level intended achieve the same objectives. We should start hearing about new packaging rules sometime soon.

Anything that gets rid of clam shell packaging is a good thing in my books.

Good news. Wasteful packaging is a lot worse than wasteful bags, imo. And a lot harder to avoid.

 

[nfitz]

When I wanted a 5¢ plastic bag, they didn't have any available anymore. Bring back the plastic bags at the LCBO! I'll still pay the 5¢, but bring them back.

Yeah, I found that annoying as well. Those plastic LCBO bags were great - I got a lot of mileage out of them!

And the new Loblaws bags ... while you can get more stuff in, and they are bit stronger; they always have holes in them, making them difficult to us for cat litter, or lining the green bin.

I've noticed in the last few weeks, that my supply of bags to line the green bin is getting extremely sparse. I'm almost to the point of having to go buy some bags just for the green bin, rather than recycling plastic bags. Can anyone suggest where to get good quality plastic bags that don't leak - particularly for the 1¢ or 2¢ cost everyone keeps saying they are?

 

[Urban Shocker]

In addition to the small ( free ) transparent plastic bags I get from buying fruit and veggies at the supermarket, I've also been using the plastic bags that bread and bulk apples are packaged in: lined with a few sheets of newspaper, they work a charm in the green bin.

 

[UD2]

that's retarded. Now we're supposed to buy garbage bags to line garbage bins?

I don't like this new law, because we're probably going to be using the same amount of plastic.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

we're probably going to be using the same amount of plastic.

whether you get free bags (before) or buy garbage bags (after), yes, you still use pretty much the same amount of plastic.

 

[afransen]

Has anyone else noticed better quality and larger plastic bags as a result of this 5 cent charge? Metro now uses a larger and stronger bag, and Canadian Tire also uses better bags.

Loblaws also introduced a larger, heavier gauge bag that could be reused a couple times.

Some stores are giving incentives for using reusable bags. Loblaws gives you the equivalent of $0.005 or $0.01 in points (if you use their card).

Urban Shocker:

I hope you're not putting plastic in green bin waste. That sorta defeats the purpose.

 

[afransen]

whether you get free bags (before) or buy garbage bags (after), yes, you still use pretty much the same amount of plastic.

There's no way that every shopping bag purchased was then used for garbage, etc. There are billions produced every year in Canada. Many of them are landfilled (not as bags, just balled up and thrown in the trash), and many more littered, comprising a large part of the plastic floating around in the oceans.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

There's no way that every shopping bag purchased was then used for garbage, etc. There are billions produced every year in Canada. Many of them are landfilled (not as bags, just balled up and thrown in the trash), and many more littered, comprising a large part of the plastic floating around in the oceans.

shame on the people who don't reuse them and do such a thing. i guess i was only talking about myself and like minded individuals when i said "whether you get free bags (before) or buy garbage bags (after), yes, you still use pretty much the same amount of plastic."

it's too bad the multi-use folks get screwed for the sins of the single-use folks.