Under a proposal announced this week by Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, that city's shoppers will be paying a 20-cent "green fee" for every "paper or plastic" bag they use to carry their loot away from supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores and the like.
According to a New York Times story today, the proposal will probably be taken up by the City Council (which is expected to pass it) this summer. The fee would go into effect early in 2009. Nickels says the goal is to reduce waste, reduce production of paper and plastic and "help ensure a truly sustainable city." Though San Francisco recently banned plastic bags outright, it appears that Seattle will be the first city to impose fees on both types of shopping bags. I'm guessing that more and more cities and/or chains (Costco got rid of all bags last year) will follow suit.
Seattle being one of the "greenest" cities on the planet (and I'm not referring to rainfall), the proposal will be handled by the citizenry with some grumbling but plenty of soul-searching. too. 
Let's face it: How hard is it to keep a couple canvas bags in the trunk of your car? Or a bunch of used paper or plastic bags (though the plastic ones really don't last more than one or two shopping trips).
Anyone arguing against the notion of re-using bags sounds downright stupid. Sure, we need to change our habits. And, re-train our brains. (I routinely get into the check-out line before I remember that I left the canvas bags in the car.) But it seems a reasonably painless way to deal with our mushrooming waste problem. (The bag on the right is available at Bags on the Run for $1.99 each, minimum order of ten.)
When I lived in Innsbruck, Austria about 30 years ago, I went to the supermarket one day, loaded up my little cart, watched the old frau enter the prices into the cash register, then swoosh my groceries along the shiny metal counter into a big heap.
After I paid, I realized the big heap was still there. Waiting for me to load, into my bags. In those days, no one had figured out that you could make a few extra bucks off shoppers by selling bags.
I left the store with an overstuffed handbag, cheeses hanging out of my pockets, a strand of sausages around my neck, bread under my arms and my hands full. It was not pretty.
But I never went to the store without bags again.
This idea is a winner! Maybe instead of a bottle of wine as a dinner gift, next dinner party as a guest one might want to bring a bag per guest. Hope each bag has a way to order more!
Posted by: Margret McBride | April 06, 2008 at 05:30 PM
I think San Diego should pass a plastic bag ban - lets work on it!
Posted by: Nora Jaffe | April 07, 2008 at 05:13 PM
@Margret
Brilliant idea! You will have done the environment a huge favor when you show up at a dinner party with a re-usable shopping bag for each guest.
Forget Prada and the Hermes Kelly bag. You're making a shopping bag the cool new status symbol.
Posted by: Maureen Clancy | April 12, 2008 at 03:05 PM