5 cent fee for plastic bags

[fuji]

It's back as an issue since Ford is now talking about scrapping it.

http://www.thestar.com/news/toronto...-wants-to-scrap-five-cent-bag-fee-can-he?bn=1

I honestly think the fee should be kept, but I agree that it's silly that the proceeds go to the grocery store. I don't know that it should go to the city, maybe some sort of agency should be set up to collect the fee and distribute it to worthy environmental causes or whatnot.

There is one other thing that irks me about it--if I'm going to spend 5 cents on a bag, I want a bag that is worth at least 2 cents. In other words, I hate getting a shitty quality bag for my 5 cents! I'm doubly irked when my item requires a double bag and the clerk actually charges me twice, when in reality if they had just provisioned high quality bags from the get go I wouldn't need it doubled.

 

[Questor]

It's back as an issue since Ford is now talking about scrapping it.

http://www.thestar.com/news/toronto...-wants-to-scrap-five-cent-bag-fee-can-he?bn=1

I honestly think the fee should be kept, but I agree that it's silly that the proceeds go to the grocery store. I don't know that it should go to the city, maybe some sort of agency should be set up to collect the fee and distribute it to worthy environmental causes or whatnot.

There is one other thing that irks me about it--if I'm going to spend 5 cents on a bag, I want a bag that is worth at least 2 cents. In other words, I hate getting a shitty quality bag for my 5 cents! I'm doubly irked when my item requires a double bag and the clerk actually charges me twice, when in reality if they had just provisioned high quality bags from the get go I wouldn't need it doubled.

The 5 cents is to discourage you from using plastic bags. A doubly strong plastic bag has twice the plastic. Kinda defeats the purpose. Get a reusable bag. Save your nickel.

 

[Tangwhich]

If it was going to the city I might be in favour of keeping it.. but if it's for the retailer then it should be scrapped.
At least 2 of the supermarket chains changed their bags to much better quality once the fees kicked in.

From my observations, in the beginning people were making efforts not to use bags but that seems to have been thrown aside now.. this is nothign more than a cash grab for the retailers at this point.

 

[fuji]

The 5 cents is to discourage you from using plastic bags. A doubly strong plastic bag has twice the plastic. Kinda defeats the purpose. Get a reusable bag. Save your nickel.

A lot of times I stop by the grocery store on my way home from somewhere, so I don't have the reusable bag with me. No, I don't have one stashed in my car--I don't drive a car in the city. So I get penalized for taking public transit or walking by this 5 cent fee, which assumes you drive an environmentally catastrophic car.

In the city I live one of the lowest carbon-footprint existences it is possible to live. I can walk almost everywhere I need to go, I live close to work, close to the things I do on an ordinary day. I rarely drive, and hardly even take the TTC. Living in a condo my energy costs are remarkably low. What blows this all out the window is my habit of flying to Europe and Asia multiple times a year both for work and for pleasure--add in my air travel and I become one of the highest carbon footprint people alive, but I'm not prepared to give up travelling.

 

[fuji]

If it was going to the city I might be in favour of keeping it.. but if it's for the retailer then it should be scrapped.

To be fair Loblaws donates it all to various environmental charities, but nothing requires them to do that, and others probably don't.

 

[905asianqt]

I would like to know what ever happened to the good old days when I was growing up, where groceries were put into a strong paper bag....now that is cool.

I am guessing the 5 cent fee for the bag is definitely to deter you from using plastic bags and to use one of their brand name "green" bags or any green bags. I know at Loblaws, No Frills, Fortinos, where they carry Presidents Choice products, eventhough they charge you a dollar for their reusable bag, they also take off 2 cents per bag that you do use on your groceries....

Now that is my $0.02 lol xoxo

 

[Keebler Elf]

From my observations, in the beginning people were making efforts not to use bags but that seems to have been thrown aside now.. this is nothign more than a cash grab for the retailers at this point.

To the contrary, I see most customers at grocery stores bringing reusable bags. And that's a good thing.

 

[TRX]

purpose was to reduced filing up in garbage but after they started charging 5 cents/bag, then plastic bag now can be recyclable

 

[Never Compromised]

By-law states that retailer must provide paper bags or boxes upon request. Have you ever seen that happen at the local BlahBlah's?

 

[A Quarter Inch Fall]

To the contrary, I see most customers at grocery stores bringing reusable bags. And that's a good thing.

I see customers at grocery stores bringing reusable bags and wonder how much salmonella's in those things.

 

[out4fun]

I like going in and just buying the bags, and then throwing them in the garbage can on my way out the door. Lots of fun to be had for about a quarter.

 

[d_jedi]

I strongly support removing this tax!

 

[Tangwhich]

To the contrary, I see most customers at grocery stores bringing reusable bags. And that's a good thing.

Definitely a lot of that.. but that was happening before the fee came in. In the beginning I noticed people without reusable bags would either get no bags or try to get as few as possible by cramming. From what I've seen that demographic have gone back to using as many bags as they need.

 

[Anynym]

To be fair Loblaws donates it all to various environmental charities, but nothing requires them to do that, and others probably don't.

Source?

Last I'd heard, some retailers claimed to donate some of the money they collect to charities, but I haven't seen anybody claim to donate all of it to charity.

And Loblaws dropped the fee in the maritimes for competitive reasons.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Definitely a lot of that.. but that was happening before the fee came in.

Nope, I'm talking about right now. Saw a lot of it over the Christmas holidays. When I go to the super market I see at least half of the people carrying in reusable bags from their cars (and that's being conservative). I rarely see people paying for bags for all their groceries. When they do pay, it's usually because they've run out of space.

A lot of people don't like paying 5 cents for bags. Not surprising since it's something new and we never used to pay. A lot of those same people would like nothing better than to see the charge removed. And so they go around saying nobody is using reusable bags, which is just plain bs.

At this point I'd like them to keep the 5 cent charge just to aggravate those people in the world who can't be bothered to use reusable bags. You know, the same people that throw their cigarette butts on the ground and toss their trash at the side of the road. In other words, the ignorant people who can't be bothered to make any kind of effort to better society (but are then the first people to say society is going to shit...).

 

[Greekstar]

The 5 cents is to discourage you from using plastic bags. A doubly strong plastic bag has twice the plastic. Kinda defeats the purpose. Get a reusable bag. Save your nickel.

The reusable bag is useless for my garbage. I use 2 grocery bags a week.

 

[Tangwhich]

I know people are using reusable bags.. I just don't think based on my observations that the 5cent fee is dettering those people without bags, which it was in the beginning.

Personally I have lots of reusable bags but I seldomly plan to go to the supermarket so I almost never have them with me.. if I can find empty boxes in the store I use them (I did that even before the fee)... but I often end up having to buy bags even though I'd rather not..

 

[Stoo]

There's a big grocery store in milton where I stop once in a while... They took it a step further. They don't have bags period. You learn pretty quickly to bring your own or just toss the stuff you buy in the back seat and head home.

 

[alexmst]

Reusing bags for food shopping is unhealthy - I will not do it.

In Florida the Publix grocery stores offer you a choice of paper or plastic (no fee for either). I opt for paper bags as they hold more, things don't shift position and they don't tip over in the trunk. When done unpacking just throw them in the blue bin for recycling.

Here in the GTA paper bags are hard to come by. Granted they are not great in the rain lol. I just get the disposable plastic bags here and try not to think about the store ripping me off for 5 cents per. Better yet some chains in the GTA don't charge if they are north of Steeles Ave (Loblaws does - if one avoids them and their President's Choice TV-dinner-quality items (lol) that back in the 70's used to be called No Name discount items in the yellow boxes one can still get free bags.

If Ford makes the fees optional Loblaws will have a fun PR problem on their hands. Their customers for the most part want the charges gone, but now corporate have hooked up with charities giving part of the proceeds away. So do they can the charity relationship and risk being denounced as 'not so Green', or do they keep charging for the bags and annoy their customers and have to field complaints all the time from the public?

 

[GPIDEAL]

Re-usable bags can be cleaned with a disinfectant spray.