This was funny the first time I read it. I really couldn’t believe, for a moment, that anyone would seriously consider this. Then I realized it’s San Francisco, which apparently has more mental illness per capita than anywhere else on the planet…
The AP reported today that the San Francisco city council is considering a 17 cent per bag charge for paper and plastic grocery bags, to be added onto your grocery bill. The charge may also be applied other places where paper and plastic bags are used.
The ostensible goal of this proposal is to reduce plastic bag pollution, but paper bags were added so as not to discriminate. And the initial proposal only affects large supermarkets such as Safeway and Albertson’s at first, though it could be expanded to corner stores, dry cleaners, etc.
This proposal is ridiculous on its face and is quite indicative of the insanity to be found in the Bay Area. Which is why I’m never going there again if I can avoid it. I leave it to all of you to continue to make fun of these damned fools…
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Karl Marx would love the popular moves among politicians in various state governments and the federal government to ban so-called "junk" food in schools, and to "put healthy food in" convenience stores and on the tables of those they define as poor. It's a very elitist and arrogant mindset that promotes this ideology, and it needs to be addressed.
Ultimately, the war supporters in Congress prevailed in the vote on the resolution. Still, the vote was significant because it places every member of Congress on the record as supporting or not supporting the unconstitutional, costly, violent occupation of a country that never attacked us. This vote should serve as an important reminder to the American people of where their representatives really stand when it comes to policing the world, empire building, and war.
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a-giâu
Feb 02, 2005
In some countries grocery shoppers are in the habit of bringing their own bags — or else pay. It’s great for reducing the amount of trash that gets buried to _slowly_ degrade over a millenium. ’tis about time America does the same. The real question here is whether S.F. shoppers are required to buy bags; if so, then I’m against it.
Hein Zelle
Feb 02, 2005
IO, you really need to come visit Europe sometime :-) My first experience in the US was the opposite of what you’re describing: I was amazed that no single store I went into charged for grocery bags, and that they all provided me (without asking) with multiple thin plastic bags.
Grocery bags over here are reusable (at least about 5 times) and cost money pretty much everywhere. So much so that most grocery stores also sell nylon fully-reusable bags and almost expect you to use one, too.
MCI_Employee
Feb 02, 2005
Aldi’s already charges for bags, the brown ones 5 cents the plastic 10, but with aldi’s you can bring your own back into the store
a-giâu
Feb 04, 2005
In Taiwan people nowadays bring their own grocery bags. Why? Small island, lots of people, expensive landfills. In the US some supermarket chains used to give refunds of 5 cents for each plastic bag you reuse. Then that became 3 cents, and then 2 cents. I guess land is cheap.
Taj
Feb 06, 2005
IO, why is this ridiculous? It seems to make good sense to me, of course, 17c is a little expensive, but our coop gives you 5c everytime you bring your own bag. Having them charge 5c for every bag would certainly encourage more people conserve resources. And in a large, urban area, this would certainly be welcomed.
Tony Sweeney
Feb 07, 2005
This subject came up on www.plastic.com last week — it turns out that there are two whole countries that have implemented this policy: Ireland and South Africa. Respondents from both countries claim that it works well, and keeps tons of non-biodegradable plastic out of landfills.
nick
Feb 19, 2005
IO, are you high? Why should stores give something that costs money away for free? Aren’t you Mr. Libertarian Free Market or something? Doesn’t the LP support a carbon (pollution) tax? The madness here is yours, not San Fransisco’s.
Michael Hampton
Feb 19, 2005
nick, I wish I was high. Why did you smoke the whole bag this morning, and not share any?
I don’t care at all if stores charge for grocery bags. But as you should very well know, this isn’t stores charging for grocery bags. It’s the government charging for grocery bags.
Feb 23, 2007
adaptive path » blog » blog archive » Making Hidden Costs Visible
Megan
Mar 03, 2007
People who think that they are entitled to waste and pollute as much as they want are the ridiculous ones. Having a plastic tax on disposable grocery bags is a great idea. The money raised from the tax is usually allocated for environmental conservation and it enourages people to be more responsible consumers. Hopefully many more cities will follow San Francisco and Ireland’s example.
Erin
Aug 11, 2007
I agree with most of the comments, THIS IS A GREAT IDEA, and would definitely get me to start bringing my own reusable bags.
James Bond
Nov 08, 2007
I think that grocery bags should be free. It’s ridiculous to charge customers for grocery bags. San Francisco does have a lot of insane people.
Fred
Nov 30, 2007
What’s free, and what’s not free, is often arbitrary, and it’s subject to change. Free parking/pay parking? Free to get a phone call, but pay to make a phone call? All these are done differently in different places. Shaking it up a bit is just fine. Fundamentally it will all settle out, and we’ll laugh at those people who give away bags for free.
Martin
Jan 11, 2008
Europe has been doing this for years. It makes great sense. charge $5 per bag, then watch how many bags we save. Everyone would and should bring there own. Isn’t that the least we can do? The US govt is so far behind. The people have make this happen. One person can change this, you can turn things around.
Deanna
Jan 05, 2010
I lived in Africa for 3 years and they also get charged for bags. People have less money over there than here, as you can imagine, and it worked perfectly. People knew to bring their own bags to the store and if they had to pay they would use that bag until it literally fell apart. The reason over there was for less trash, could you imagine if bags were free? The amount of trash already that litters Africa is outstanding, why add to that? Here I think its a great idea. We really need to cut down on waste and this is a great way to start.