5 cent fee for plastic bags
- Thread starter fuji
- Start date
Your're wisely exercising your choice to buy bags as you need them in bulk for far less than if you chose to buy them one-by-one at the cash. No problem.
And I who choose to put my purchases in my pinko-bike-riding backpack no longer am no longer forced to subsidize your—and everyone else's—'free' bags. If it was thanks to militant environmentalism that such hideous socialistic oppression was ended, more power to it.
TANSTAAFL. And as the concensus here suggests, Mayor Ford appears to be out to 'fix' a problem that isn't one. What's he gonna do, require stores to give away bags?
I think the lesson may be what you can blithely blue-sky about as a Councillor, you gotta stay zipped about as Mayor. People take Mayors seriously, expect them to be serious, and to have seriously considered what they propose.
Was at the store last week - grocery clerk starts loading up the plastic bags. Customer says "Hey, put more in each one - I'm not made of money!". Clerk says "We aren't in Toronto, so the bags are free - you can have as many as you want". Customer is like "Really? Oh, OK then - continue". LOL. The moral of the story is: Want free bags - shop outside of Toronto city limits (but not at Loblaws).
The solution isn't as simple as shopping outside of TO. In Ottawa most Supermarkets, department stores and drug stores charge for bags. Hell even Mac's Milk is charging for bags.
Walmart and Longo's never started charging this Miller rip-off fee in any of their stores (outside of the city of T.O.). As a result they have received thousands of dollars of my business since this silliness started, and Loblaws, Metro and Highland Farms have received $0.00
Capitalism is a beautiful thing. If everyone patronized the retailers that decided NOT to rip off their customers and stopped shopping at the places that do, this nonsense would be resolved quickly.
I thought paying/charging for stuff was the essence of capitalism, and the myth that everyone deserves stuff for 'free' just for showing up was the fatal flaw of socialism.
But I'm with you about retailers ripping of their customers by burying the cost of 'free' bags in every price whether you use the bags or not. The nonsense would be quickly resolved if we boycotted them.
Putting a price on what you consume is capitalist as well as environmental, they aren't opposites in this thinking. Neither expects a free ride.
Since it has reduced the volume of bags, this proves they were giving away too many in the past and as a conservative Ford should be pleased about this reduction in unnecessary waste.
Since it has reduced the volume of bags, this proves they were giving away too many in the past and as a conservative Ford should be pleased about this reduction in unnecessary waste.
You must live in a rural area cause most stores in the burbs now also charge for plastic bags
"And I who choose to put my purchases in my pinko-bike-riding backpack no longer am no longer forced to subsidize your—and everyone else's—'free' bags. If it was thanks to militant environmentalism that such hideous socialistic oppression was ended, more power to it."
So, Oldjones, do you think that when people started to have to pay for bags the price of everything else went down?
So, Oldjones, do you think that when people started to have to pay for bags the price of everything else went down?
Difficult issue: I hate the cash grab, so what to do? Paper bags carry a much, much larger environmental footprint. Plastic lands in landfills, ugly but it's not biodegradable so it does not add greenhouse gases on decomposition. There is new technology out there for breaking down and recycling the bags in deck boards.
Still, the bags are reusable and environmentally pretty inert. I propose a bag charge of 5 cents a bag for anyone who needs more than 1 bag. I could live with that.
Still, the bags are reusable and environmentally pretty inert. I propose a bag charge of 5 cents a bag for anyone who needs more than 1 bag. I could live with that.
Of what relevance is that? Gouging whatever the market will bear is part and parcel of free markets; are you suggesting that all prices must be justified by cost? That's commie talk!
when i go grocery shopping it doesnt matter if i buy a couple of items or a cart full, i always buy 20 bags. i get strange looks when i buy a box of cereal and a litre of milk and then ask for 20 bags. but i use them for the garbage chute in my building, plus for picking up after my dog, i dont trust those little black doggie bags.
It's not a tax. It's a surcharge that is kept by the retailer.
Some retailers give SOME of the proceeds to charity (for which they get tax benefits at our expense).
Plastic bags should be banned outright and that will have the right effect.
Some retailers give SOME of the proceeds to charity (for which they get tax benefits at our expense).
Plastic bags should be banned outright and that will have the right effect.
