We don't have a ban, but many places are charging for plastic bags. If I remember I bring reusable bags, if not then I have something to dispose of my kitty poop in.

The University of AZ did a study of the cloth bags and found that most of them have bacteria, ecoli, etc and other disgusting stuff in them. People think they are being so smart in using them but don't bother to wash them ever so often.

The city I live in are banning plastic bags starting Jan 1. I don't think it's a good idea. Nobody I know washes their reuseable bags ever. When the cashier is touching other's dirty bags, your groceries are next. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. I hope this ridiculous ban gets reversed asap.

Keep up the Portlandia references!!

Agree that a ban may be a little extreme. Although when I lived in Germany, grocery stores didn't have plastic bags so you carted it all to your car. Of course, this is only helpful if you have a car. If you're walking (like me), you're stuck awkwardly carrying it all.

We have a ban coming into effect where I live soon, and I just think it's dumb. I think charging a fee for them is entirely appropriate, they're generally just a wasteful luxury so that seems fair to me. And while it would be cool if they maybe came up with another way to incentivize reusable bag use, I use plastic bags for a ton of things around the house and think banning them is crap. I use normal totes most of the time, but when I run out of plastic bags I leave them at home, because, in fact, plastic bags are great reusable items. I really don't appreciate having government regulation stepping in to save me from having an easy, cheap source of wastebasket liners.

I live in a city that has imposed a $0.05 charge and I love it. We adjusted to bringing our own bags pretty quickly and I don't really see it as a hassle; it may be a small thing but people just need to be more mindful of the waste they create. In fact, I feel like the people who complained the most were the upper-middle class folks who drive cars, since they were giving less thought generally to how they transported their groceries. A lot of the discount grocery chains that tended to be in low-income neighborhoods, like No Frills, already had a bag-purchasing policy.

PLEASE don't buy those cheap grocery store "reuseable" bags. They're made of bad material and are impossible to wash. Cotton totes and nylon (like Chico) bags can go right in the wash along with aprons, tablecloths, etc and will last generations.

I just leave our cotton totes at the top of the stairs. Done. We never forget them, what's more we get a 5 cent discount for each bag regardless of whether we use all of them or not. It's like having a 45 cent coupon every shopping trip. Bans are stupid! It's not an *actual* ban, it's a tax. A ban would mean the grocery store would NOT HAVE BAGS to hand out. That would be the solution, people.

As someone from Portland, it's really really inconvenient. And I find myself buying a lot of plastic bags to make up for the lack of grocery bags. Now, rather than seeing mostly plastic bags lying in the rain, we see puddles of paper bags.... People aren't recycling them, they're just throwing them away... sometimes on the ground because "paper is biodegradable, right?"
When you forget your bag, you either get 7-8 paper bags or buy a "cloth" bag. (I've also seen a lot of those cheapo "cloth" bags in the trash... because some of them aren't recyclable.)

I live in a suburb of Los Angeles that is adjacent to a low-income area and the closest grocery store is in that neighborhood. The ban has been in effect since August 1 of last year and I've been using a nylon bag that wraps itself into a ball and stores easily in my purse. I'm at that store a lot and have noticed that folks just cannot get into it. The default is to just buy a ten cent bag all the time, or else try to juggle a gallon of milk, loaf of bread and all the other groceries among whomever is in the party. I don't see it catching on there.

This has been law in South Australia for a few years. Works fine. Pay for bags or BYO. We take responsibility for bringing them AND washing them or else disposing of them thoughtfully. No lawsuits necessary. Change takes time to adjust to. It's really not that hard.

We don't have that in Dallas, thankfully. I'm definitely a bag reuser and like having the option to stock up on grocery bags to use around the house if I need them.

It does bum me out more stores just don't even have the option for paper bags anymore. Recyclable, holds more, sturdier. Its a much better option all around if you're not forcing people to bring their own bags.

In general I keep a small folding bag in my purse at all times, but if once in a while I forget one (or it's already filled from a previous errand), getting a paper bag generally works okay for me. Except of course the handles on those tend to rip AND if it's raining out? Forget it!!

I have a reusable bag that folds up and attaches to my keychain, so I always have it, even on those spur of the moment trips. I usually keep a few in my car for the same reason, but those rotate out between uses & washings, and sometimes we're left with just the one lone bag on my keychain, but this is fairly rare. We don't have a ban yet, but I hear one will be in place soon. I don't think it'll change much in our area. Once people get used to it, it'll be no big deal again.

I wash my reusable bags fairly frequently, but while others might not, I don't see how this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Shopping carts/baskets are not sanitized throughout the day, and the same bacteria & germs live on them. Wash your produce before you eat it. It's common sense. Unless you're the only person who shops at your own personal grocery store, your food is being touched by a lot of (potentially dirty) people before you get it. Someone not washing their grocery bag is the least of your worries.

I use my reusable bags all the time, and wash them when they need it (usually after I've carried meat in them, or if they've been folded up for a while and smell musty). There's no ban on and no charge for disposable bags where I live; I'd support a charge.

My biggest frustration with the $.05 charge for plastic bags in Washington, DC is that it applies to all places that happen to sell food. So, for example, you have to pay for a bag at Macy's because Macy's has a counter that sells Godiva chocolate. That's a little silly.

Can someone please explain why paper bags are considered better? They may be recyclable but how many forests are chopped down to make those bags? Do people even realize that plants and forests phytoextract heavy metals from the soil and pollutants from the air?

Emmi - I think part of it is begin biodegradable. Here in Malibu, we've had a plastic bag ban for age. Now, we no longer have to deal with plastic bags being all over the streets and gutters. Paper bags happily fall apart in water. It's so much better.

@MaliBooRadley thank you for the response, and you're right that they biodegrade faster. However, are you aware of the consequences of deforestation? We're talking catastrophic climate change, cancer-causing pollutants in the air and soil, the destruction of trees that are used for medicine, extinction of species and unstable ground that leads to severe mudslides. Why do people think this is no big deal?

Emmi,

So you're saying...plants are bad cause they're metal and pollution sponges? Trees used in paper bags would be considered no more/less polluted than a tomato in your garden.

Actually, most paper bags are made from close to if not 100% post consumer recycled products. I checked and the 2 stores near me with regular old paper bags are 100% recycled paper.

in MS i dont ever see a ban happening. i like to sometimes use the reusuable bags and sometimes not. i use the plastic bags for tons of stuff around the house.... cat litter, bathroom garbage bags, to hold other bags, dirty/wet clothes storage on trips, and i toss scraps of food off the cutting board into them to throw away outside so my kitchen doesnt smell of onions the next day.

i think as long as you are using them more than once there isnt a big problem. i never realized how dirty the resable bags could be - ive never thought much about washing mine. i will now!

@jmorri26 - no, my friend. I'm saying that herbs and trees remove toxins from the soil, water and air for FREE and then turn them into more benign substances. It has been estimated this costs 1,000 times less than extraction of pollutants by humans. I do wonder if paper bags are recycled. I have never seen any evidence (recycled symbol, etc) that tells me they are. If so, much better. But remember that A. even recycling plants produce carbon emissions and B. 2nd law of thermodynamics: we still need virgin paper added to the recycled stuff to keep the integrity of the product.

@mlhirt Just so you know there are some really nice organic cotton totes that are thicker and they will last generations; also after decades some folks cut them up and put them in their compost pile. They are very stylish and can be put in the wash, plus some places give you a discount for them. It's fun!

I am one of the folks who has a hard time remembering my cloth bag all the time (as well as my coffee tumbler), but I still would support this ban.

I feel bad when I forget my bag. And I should.

Why should we continue to create excessive waste to offset the very slight inconvenience of learning a new habit?

And seriously, are dirty cloth bags really an argument? Maybe people don't know better. Spend energy spreading the word that those bags should be washed frequently, not avoided altogether.

I'm in DC and the 5-cent bag tax doesn't bother me a bit. I take my reusable bags whenever I do a big shop. For spur-of-the-moment errands, I'll just cram everything into my purse (I carry a pretty big purse) or eat the 5-cent charge--it goes toward cleaning up the river!

I actually prefer to get paper bags and then I use them as garbage bags in my kitchen. What's the point of foregoing the plastic at the store and then buying plastic bags to put your trash in? As previous posters have mentioned, the paper ones are made from recycled material and are biodegradable. Some stores charge $0.05 for them, but I'm fine paying it. I shop 2-3 times a week and usually just get 1 bag on each trip.

Emmi - Didn't say that, nor am I arguing that point. I opt for canvas bags. Take a chill pill.

I keep an Envirosax rolled up in my purse at all times, it weighs almost nothing and tucks into a corner of my purse easily:
http://www.envirosax.com/

Plus about 6 other random non-compact canvas bags in the car. Which I frequently forget to bring inside.

@MaliBooRadley what do you mean, a chill pill? I was polite, agreed on your first point and stated the facts. Sorry tone of voice does not translate to the comment boxes, but FYI I did not intend to be offensive.

Where I live the grocery stores all have plastic bags still, sometimes at a fee of about $0.05 per bag, depending on the store. I reuse the plastic bags as garbage liners so I don't bother with reusable bags.

My parents live on Vancouver Island and most grocery stores there do not carry paper or plastic bags AT ALL, whether for a fee or not.

If I do ever switch over, I will probably buy a few plastic bins/boxes to load groceries in rather than getting reusable fabric bags.

@Emmi- um. Yeah. Lack of access to "nice" reusable bags is my problem. I live in Portland. I get "pretty" cotton totes EVERYWHERE. I am currently the proud owner of about 20 of them. That's not my concern here.
The problem is that in Portland, doing away with plastic bags hasn't taken care of the issue they were concerned with: waste reduction and litter. Rather than having plastic littering the streets, we've got paper bags forming goopy messes on the streets and sidewalks (it rains in Portland, BTW).
Also, most stores here are doing away with the "fun" discount they offered when you brought in your own bag.

The only thing that irks me about Toronto's bag fee is the decision to avoid accusations of raising taxes by requiring merchants to charge it, but allowing them to keep it; I'd much rather have seen the city collect the funds and put them toward a local environmental cause (watering the street trees, perhaps...).

That said, I think it's been great otherwise. I used re-useable bags anyhow (yay No Frills, charging for plastic bags before it was cool), but I see far, far fewer abandoned plastic bags flying around these days, and unlike others, haven't noticed an increase in paper bag littering.

I live in Long Beach, CA and it's been in effect here since the summer. No plastic in grocery stores, and 10 cents for paper bags. I try and keep reusable bags in my car, but when I forget, the paper bags actually end up coming in handy when we use them for recycling. Plus, it tends to cut down on the "I went in for 2 things and came out with 10" trips because it's too much to carry! Keep up the good work Paper Bag Banned Cities!

**Plastic Bag Banned Cities**

The ban just started here this Jan., and I still see plastic bags being given out at a lot of stores. I've always preferred paper anyway, so I'm not feeling too deprived, and support the ban.

What I can't figure out is what to do with your garbage if you only use canvas bags. Do you buy plastic bags? If I didn't use plastic bags in the first place, just paper for that, then I feel like that's actually worse for the environment. I was thinking about buying paper bags for that use, but couldn't even find them except in quantities of 500 intended for commercial use. I wonder what people did in the old days. Also, at 42, I remember a time when there were no plastic bags in grocery stores at all (except the small ones for produce).

And realized after posting I should explain...where I live paper bags are not banned (yet), but I feel guilty even using those these days when I could use canvas. But still hoard them because of the garbage issue.

I bought half a dozen canvas bags from Wegmans last time I visited my mom, but I'm always forgetting to put them in the car. Keeping them in the trunk when they aren't in use sometimes helps.

I do like the way HEB handles the plastic bag issue - they use them, but I've never seen them double bag anything, everything is thoughtfully packed, and large items (milk, paper towels, laundry soap) skip the bags and go right into your cart.

Plastic bags are banned where I live. I don't usually remember to bring a canvas bag, so I'll just pay the $0.10 and get a paper one, which I'll then use to hold my recyclables when I get home. Usually though, I'm only getting enough groceries to fit in 1 bag, so it's not that big of a deal. I like the idea though; making people conscious of the number of bags they're using shouldn't be a bad thing. Now if only they'd do the same thing with fast food napkins...

@MLHIRT good point. Maybe this conversation should not be about plastic bags. It should be about disposable ones. Or disposable anything. Because you get rid of plastic bags, we still have plastic packaging and trash in the form of paper. Have you heard of in-gredients? It's a new store in Austin with no bags or packaging of any kind. Change has to start with the stores. And what will it take to get them to keep those discounts? We ARE saving them money!

@Parsnip Sally the best option is to buy plant-based garbage bags, then start a compost pile. NY times had an article saying Americans throw away half the produce they buy. I thought that could not be right. Well, i started a compost pile and I was shocked! We were throwing away more than half! Now we are much better, we only change the trash once a week and we have an awesome compost pile with much less waste. I guarantee this, you will love the compost pile. It's magic!

Here in Portland (the shop where they filmed that bit is my regular store :) on SE Belmont), they are still not charging for paper bags, but I think that may be happening eventually. I usually carry a big purse, so even though I forget my fabric bags all the time, if I'm just buying a couple things I stuff them in the purse. I definitely try harder since the ban to remember my reusable bags, but I have lots of uses for the paper ones, so they don't just get thrown away. They hold my recyclables, become art projects for the kiddos, etc.

One point that many people seem to be missing is that many of the cities with an outright ban on plastic bags are coastal cities. Plastic bags are terribly harmful to fish and other wildlife when they get into our oceans.

One tip for those who drive a car but always forget to bring their bags: when you get home from shopping, hang the bags on your doorknob. The next time you go to the car (whether you are shopping or not) just grab the bags and put them in the car. Et voila. You will always have the with you.

San Francisco has banned the plastic bag for awhile now. I always have a durable, thin and light bag folded up in my bag. At least, I carry on my shoulder. I don't want to help grocer advertise.

My biggest peeve is, when I remember to bring all my tote bags with me, I then find myself using plastic bags AT the grocery store, for produce and bulk items. Now, I generally just throw the produce in the cart, willy-nilly and unbagged, but many people see the bags there, and feel compelled to wrap up their lettuce, etc. These bags are a great solution:
http://www.amazon.com/3B-Bags-Reusable-multi-pack-contains/dp/B0040MET8S

I just love them, for produce and bulk items! Now I just wish that Whole Foods would get their act together and allow customers to bring their own containers to the bulk bins! (My local store does not currently know how to handle this - I tried it once, with manager approval, and caused a scene at the cash register.)

I prefer to cary my groceries out in the hollowed out carcasses of tree huggers.

Another resident of Portlandia here, where plastic bags in retail & grocery stores are banned but paper bags are not. Many grocery stores offer a $.05 credit for using your own bag, but the stores I go to do not charge for using paper.

The grocery stores where I shop use paper bags that are made of 100% recycled material. Even Target's paper bags are 90% recycled.

I love the ban on plastic bags and commend the city for taking it on. We use doubled up paper bags under the sink to collect our (city-collected) compost and single paper bags for our garbage, with no problems. And contrary to what was noted by another Portland above, I don't recall ever seeing piles of wet paper bags clogging our city streets! In my opinion, the plastic bag ban is a win/win.

@Emmi Thanks for your response. I do compost, and even have worms to help. You're right in that it helps immensely, so we don't have very much trash-trash...it's mostly recycling. I've been advised to just use a plastic can without a liner, and just rinse it out often, but I might also try using newspaper to line it, just because I hate gross, drippy plastic cans.

JGODDARD68 – Hah!

Joan ;)

I was worried people wouldn't have a sense of humor...

When I lived in Italy, there was a 5 cent bag charge. I didn't mind it because it forced me to remember to bring my reusable bags with me (or just my backpack). Now that I'm back home, I forget to bring bags probably 90% of the time. This is pretty lame of me, I know.

São Paulo just banned plastic bags from supermarkets, in agreement with the supermarket association. Most places sell reusable fabric or plastic totes, and there is a huge fashion of wheeled shopping bags, like these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/upptacka-shopping-bag-with-wheels__0117274_PE278006_S4.JPG

For those who forget, you can always buy the biodegradable plastic bags they sell, for R$0.15 a pop. The downside? The pastic bag charges have always been included in the price of food (some say it's upwards of 5% per item) here, and the prices haven't gone down.

I work at a grocery store that doesn't offer plastic bags--instead we sell a variety of reusable bags (cloth, jute, nylon, etc) and offer free cardboard boxes to customers. I really like the box as an alternative to handing out bags. They are still recyclable, but also super easy to reuse for storage, cat toys, etc. I don't understand why more stores don't offer this, when it's really just a matter of offering what would otherwise get tossed or recycled in the store.

Plastic bags are not banned where I live, but should be! I use an Italian leather handbag that is called la Busteria (the carrier) which can be both used for food shopping as for a handbag.

Oh, Boy.. I just HAD to Share this with all my friends..lol.. As of July 1st Every person in the Seattle Area will NOT EVER use Plastic Bags.. And if you do forget your cloth bags or what ever type you do have ... They (Grocery Stores) Charge you 5 cents per Paper Bag ......... What happens if your on Food Stamps and don't have cash on you???? What are they going to do then????

That would be Paper Bag that they would charge you the nickle for...