We have similar bag laws here in Washington DC area, and they seem to work well. I was shocked last year when I visited San Francisco by how few people had reusable bags.

Plastic bags pollute our land and, especially, our oceans. Witness the island the size of Texas of plastic garbage in the Pacific. The plastic bag lobby fights every one of these ordinances.

I am all for reusable bags but we must also face the reality that they require a LOT of energy to produce them (far more than paper or plastic.) What is the tradeoff?

We have a similar law here in Toronto, but is 5 cents. I have two small bags that fold down to smaller than my fist and I have those in my purse at all times. easy!

Most people I know here keep reusable bags in their cars. I dont have a car so I do a small trip once a week

I find its not the charge that deters, but just ASKING if people want a bag or not instead of just giving them one. I dont know why cities dont realize that

I'm a little sceptical of these laws given that so many re-usable bags (especially those sold by supermarkets) contain lead and other leachable chemicals. A lot of branded bags really cant be washed, as well, and can often contain hazardous food borne contaminants after they've been used for a while.
I think the real answer is to go back to old fashioned paper bags or scrap cloth bags.

So, when are the savings going to be passed onto customers? I mean, retailers are buying far fewer bags these days, which means overhead has gone down, and now customers will be paying for the bags. Also, they do make biodegradable bags -- I mean, Mexico City can force large retailers such as Wal-Mart to use biodegradable bags but San Francisco can't? I suppose it was easier for city government to push the expense onto consumers instead of retailers.

The bag fee doesn't seem to make us greener in Toronto.
Some people just don't care and keep buying the bags. Some say they use them for trash. They would have to buy new plastic trash bags otherwise.

The even bigger problem is that some people feel awful being seen with plastic bags that they would buy a new reusables at the stores whenever they forget to bring theirs. It takes at least 50 uses to make a reusable bag break even with disposable bags, energy-wise. Thus, having too many reusable bags is an environmental problem itself.

I myself prefer nylon bags, they are strong and thin. Each bag can be fold into the size of an iPhone. I only have 4 of them. I recommend Envirosax.

What I really want to see is better packaging design. When you buy a pair of shoes, why do you need a bag? The box itself is a container, they can just add a strap. Most large bagged items at the grocery stores such as rice, pet food, or toilet paper, should come with a strap as well. Then you don't even need bags.

There has been a plastic bag levy in the Republic of Ireland for 10 years. Revenue raised is paid direct to the government and used to fund environmental projects. It's been a huge success and @Sandmama nobody has died here yet from "lead and other leachable chemicals" or " hazardous food borne contaminants after they've been used for a while.

@Detex "they require a LOT of energy to produce them (far more than paper or plastic.) What is the tradeoff? Obviously the tradeoff is that you, er, reuse the resusable bags many times thereby requiring fewer of them.

Here's an article from the Irish Examiner on the topic - http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/plastic-bag-levy-nets-166m-in-10-years-185605.html

I use my own bags often, but if I forget them it doesn't break my heart (or my wallet) - there's no charge here for bags, and I reuse them for kitchen trash. The garbage can under my sink is the perfect size for it, so I haven't bought trash bags for years.

I have used canvas bags for 20+ years .... before it was the cool thing to do. Do you really need a 'trade-off"? Isn't it enough that we get the plastic out of our water ways?
Make your own bag...even if you don't sew, they aren't that hard to do.
Target deducts 5 cents for every bag you bring in so consider a shopping trip that may use 5 - 10 bags. Many other stores in the SF bay area do the same. I do it with or without a 'trade-off' because I hate having so many bags at home that go to waste plus the thought of them sitting in our oceans/land fills. YUCK and so many animals get tangled in them and die. I try very hard not to buy plastic anything. I carry the re-useables both in my car and in my purse.

We also have similar bag laws here. I do have a baggu set of totes in a little pouch that are great for some things but I have found that packing groceries nicely works best in a double paper bag. They don't fall over in the car. (If I'm walking I have a stroller and just pack into the bottom basket.) I usually pay for a few sets of paper bags and then use them over and over. Most stores will pay 5 cents for each bag you bring, so they more than cover their own cost. I also reuse those cardboard wine holders for bottles of all kinds since they are sturdier than bags.

I have some reusable bags that I bought at the store. I use them because they work better with the bagging station they have. Since most foods are packages (not like I am emptying cereal right into the bag), I don't think toxic chemicals in the bag or "hazardous food borne contaminants" are a problem. Besides - who is to say that plastic bags don't contain toxic chemicals? And yes, if I ever had seafood or chicken leak and soak one of the bags, I would throw the bag out, but how often does that really happen?
I started buying them about 5 years ago and have been using them once a week - that means I have used them well over 200 times, breaking even in the energy department. And they can be washed - just not in the washing machine. I hose them off with the hose, I'm sure you could do the same in the shower.
To say that it is not worth it doing this because you have to use the bags many times to "break even" and that people will never break even because they forget the bags is just an excuse not to try to change habits.
Personally, I think that a 10 cent charge is not enough. A 25 cent charge for every plastic bag would get people to change their habits very quickly and it would very much improve their ability to remember to bring reusable bags.
Biodegradable bags are not a solution because they need air and sun to degrade, both of which is not available in landfills (of course they will biodegrade floating in the ocean, so maybe it is a start anyway).
In my area, many stores give you 5 cents off your purchase for every reusable bag you use, so they do pass the savings on to the consumer.
I used to use shopping bags for trash but they are so cheaply made that for each 5 shopping bags I got, only 1 didn't have a big hole in it, so I decided that buying trash bags and using reusable shopping bags is the better choice.

We have a similar law in Seattle. We just take bags to the grocery store - or get charged a bag fee for paper bags. We don't mind - we were a bag-toting family before the change.

I grew up in India using reusable bags made from cloth, old clothes, paper - you name it - whatever suits your wallet...and also bags were not given out that easily by any stores - unlike in the US - if you asked for an extra bag - it would be forwned upon - sadly all of this is changing!

Its just a matter of getting used to! Just think of it as your personal contribution to save the environment!

I always reuse my plastic bags for kitty-litter, and my paper bags for holding recycling. Guess I'll need to buy plastic bags with the purpose of using them for cleaning out the litter box now? I dunno...is there an eco-friendly way to do that? I don't want to flush litter down the toilet, as most waste treatment facilities are not prepared to deal with cat-borne illnesses.

I'm glad Seattle finally passed the paper bag fee, and got rid of plastic bags all together. I always carry a small tote with me, but often times I just don't use a bag at all. I can carry a few items in my arm without a bag.

I am with adora, better packaging -should be less its crazy how much packaging there is for everything.. I will not shop at Trader Joes because everything is so overly packaged, do I need my salad greens to come in a plastic tub size containor??

I do like these Earthtote bags a lot been using them for a while and I use 4-6 muslin cloth bags for produce and bulk items like rice, beans etc.. Everything gets washed once a month.
http://www.reuseit.com/store/reuseit-earthtote-recycled-p-788.html

Um, you know, if the City demands that Safeway stop using plastic bags and charge customers for paper bags, Safeway saves a ton of money. But Safeway expects you to pay for a reusable bag with an enormous Safeway logo on it. Does not compute. I have green sympathies and I have a tiny carbon footprint (no car, miniscule apartment, vegetarian), but these policies are ripping off consumers and lining the pockets of big businesses. There must be a different way.

I'm surprised SF even offers bags. I thought they had banned them. Guess I was wrong.

The Anacostia R. in DC is much less polluted now, now that we have a bag fee (it's not a tax) - thank you Tommy Wells!

Cloth bags are fine for the environment. For those concerned, maybe buy ones made out of older bags or clothes or material? As far as savings for the customers, I get .05 cents off my bill at the local gro stores, including WF of course.

Agree about Trader Joe's packaging!

JefferyK, that's a good question. I am waiting for it myself. Zehrs stores (i.e. grocery stores) charge 5 cents per plastic bag but if you bring a reusable one, you will get a credit of 1 cent.

Not all stores charge for plastic bags - Walmart, for example, does not.

It's a joke they call this a "ban". A ban on plastic bags would mean the store won't offer them. Don't buy those cheap 1$ "reuse able" grocery store bags. Calculate how many bags you use per year (I shop about once per week, approx. 10 bags per trip, times 52 weeks in a year = 520) after 10 years that's 5,200 bags made with fossil fuels then unleashed into the environment. Now imagine Instead using 10 cloth bags that last at least that long. Ten bags instead of 5,200 plastic or deforesting paper bags. To wash simply toss in the wash with your tablecloths, oven mitts etc. Also many stores give a 5 cent discount for each bag. Come on, people. This isn't brain surgery.

@b77
Most of the salad greens at the TJs I've been in comes in sealed plastic bags... have you been there in a while? (Or I could just be overlooking these, since I tend to only buy spinach.)

@emmi
... how big is your household? o.O Do you really used 10 bags a week?

I have a few reusable bags that I don't always carry with me... my everyday bag can carry a certain amount of stuff, and I do need plastic bags for garbage (maybe 2/week? Currently I have an excess) and paper bags v. occasionally for recycling so it's not a disaster either way. Usually I shop at TJs (5 blocks from my apt) and if you bring your own bag you get a raffle ticket for a $25 certificate which they give out on a weekly basis. Have never won yet, but no big deal. XD The larger grocery stores I know of give you $.05 per bag off your total. I have no idea what, if anything, Whole Paycheck does.

@Lepidoptery no not a big household but if you actually ever went 100 percent bag-free you'd realize most ignorant grocery store baggers will insist you still need double-bagged plastic for cooked chicken, or a single tube of toothpaste, one bottle of dish washing liquid and for some odd reason, a single candy bar and many other things they insist on putting alone in a bag. It's complete bull.

@roxy72 I live in Seattle where plastic bags are banned altogether unless they are very thick and "reusable." I switched to using paper lunch sacks for the kitty litter. Works great. I hate to see what it looks like after I drop it in the trash chute from my 3rd floor apartment but that's not my problem. ;)

I'm happy the city of Seattle decided to completely ban plastic bags. I've been using reusable bags for years because to me they are more practical - they don't tear, they are sturdy and you can carry them on your shoulder. I have some of the grocery store kind but only if they were given out free. My favorite are the kind that fold up into a tiny pocket that is sewn on. They are made of nylon or something and last forever.

@emmi
Ah, yeah... I try to bag my own things to avoid that but sometimes I'm not fast enough/at TJs the plastic bags are on the other side of the counter and the previous shopper hasn't gotten out of my way yet so it's time to pay and then the checkout person double-bags it all. >.> Oh well. Though, sometimes I think I don't really need reusable grocery bags; I could just carry some regular plastic bags (in good condition of course) around with me instead; they take up much less room than the reusable kind does, anyway, and I can still use them for garbage later....

First, this is one reason why reusable bags are a good idea: http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2009/09/kauai-plastic-bag-ban.html

It's a photo (I didn't read the connected article, which is probably relevant) of plastic bags infesting trees near a landfill. I saw this kind of thing once on a trip to Africa. It looks terrible. This shot is in Hawaii, and I know it happens everywhere. (In fact, a neighbor's bag blew up into a nearby pine tree at the edge of my yard a year or so ago -- far too high to reach. Might still be t here hidden now by branches, I don't know...) It's kind of lazy and irresponsible to inflict this kind of thing on our planet.

@akritenbrink, thanks for the kitty litter idea. I have been using the grocery bags I do get that way, and yours is a better idea. (Actually biodegradable! Kitty compost, eventually...)

I have a set of string bags bought years and years ago from Seventh Generation. They are pretty compact, but they aren't good for everything. A couple of canvas totes as supplements take care of the loose stuff and small things. I like the muslin produce bags, but haven't gotten that far yet. Packaging IS a big problem, but since a lot of people are basically narcissistic gimmees by nature, big packaging is the price we pay for preventing theft. The less you buy in general, the less packaging you buy. And, of course, the less needs to be manufactured, so the fewer jobs we have, and on and on. We are trapped, well and truly, by our consumer economy.

@Lepidoptery I don't understand. If you're reusing plastic bags short term, then using them as garbage bags thus needing more plastic bags later, how is that helping the environment?

It's about time...

Reusable bags have been the norm in Australia for a long time but supermarkets, shops etc tend to sell 'green bags' for $1 made of polypropylene ( a fossil fuel-based plastic). The bags are imported from China which doesn't help and people tend to just buy lots more (most admit to having so many green bags they throw them out) rather than remember to take the same ones.

Calico bags are a good alternative but they are imported from India and not usually made fair trade. I made 6 bags a few years ago which I've been reusing as much as I can.

For those who are worried about lead in the bags sold at the super markets: Make your own, or have someone make them for you. Not that hard. I make my own, make some for others (and make money selling them!), and I've been doing this all my shopping life (40-ish years.)
For those who "forget" to bring their bags into the store: C'mon, you don't forget your wallet, keys, shopping list, cell phone....! Get priorities organized. Make bringing the reusable bags in with you as important as bringing your kids into the store with you. You don't leave the baby in the car, right? Well, imagine your baby's future drowning in plastic bags. Now, imagine that you can bring a bag in with you, with your baby in your arms, knowing that all it takes is a few people to start a revolution. Be an inspiration to your children, show them by example what is important.
I also never use the produce bags. Most things can get put directly into your shopping bag. Imagine the tomatoes made it all the way from the farm to the store without mishap. They can make it a few miles in your car to your house!!! A lot of things already come in a plastic bag so I avoid them & go for the loose stuff. I have some small paper bags that have made their way into my life & I use them. But mostly I use my own made fabric bags for loose veggies & fruit. They can be washed & reused for years. If people think "ew, but the fabric bag will be dirty & will make the veggies dirty!" again, get real. You wash your fruits & veggies at home before you eat them!!! Besides, my little fabric bags are no more dirty than the produce is after being handled by the pickers, the packers, the produce guys in the store, the little kid walking by who just picked his nose & touched that apple before his mom saw him & slapped his hand, then that apple fell on the floor & someone picked it up & put it back on the pile. You come along & think "Oh, I could never put my fruit in potentially dirty reusable fabric bags! I'm going to use this one time use whale killing ocean destroying plastic produce bag!" LOL!
Lose the plastic bag mentality! Think: What did people do before the invention of plastic bags? They carried their stuff in baskets, boxes, or canvas sacks.
It's not that hard to do. I've been doing it forever, I taught my daughter to bring reusable bags, and now my 5 year old grandson says "Hey mom, don't forget to bring our bags!" (As a matter of fact, for his 3rd birthday I made him his very own grocery bag with wild jungle animal print fabric. It has a pocket on the side for his money. He STILL uses it every time he goes shopping with his parents. Third generation environmentally conscious family. My Dream for the Earth is that one day conversations like this will not need to exist as people will look back & scratch their heads wondering why the humans of the 21st century were so ignorant?)

roxy, my mother used to use (and probably still uses) empty juice or milk cartons for cat litter. Of course they can't be recycled then, but all the smelly stuff stays nicely inside the plastified carton. She opens it at the top, fills in what needs to go in and folds down the rim. Doesn't even smell underneath the sink until the next time she takes out the garbage!

Best way to remember your reusable bags: hang them on the same hook as your purse. Or plant them on top of your purse. Or whatever you always bring. Shoes, wallet, etc. I figured this out and have never forgotten my bags for 2 years now.

Yay, so nice of you to use Alicia's bag as your picture for this article. I've been a fan of her blog for the past 5 years and she makes beautiful things.

My grocery gives a nickle credit for each re-useable bag. Whole Foods will donate a nickle to a charity. Not every retailer does but the bigs ones will.

they don't need to require a lot of energy to make. I cut up old mens shirts ( either family ones with bad collars or stains and sew them into very sturdy but soft shopping bags. I call them man totes. they make great gifts for men too.

I wish it were a federal law. Only fresh meat and fish need plastic bags in my opinion. The container store sells small almost weightless re-useable bags for vegetables so you don't waste all that thin plastic they dole out in the grocery area. easily washable when needed

@Sarawelder one speaker on NPR gave a talk about plastics and pointed out that it is designed to last forever; so why is it being used to make disposable items? He agreed with you - he thought it should be against the law.

I have Envirosax bags that I use for groceries, but I also use the plastic check out and produce bags from grocery stores as kitchen and bathroom garbage can liners, so I get those when I need more garbage bags. I try to keep my garbage down to a minimum (~1 small bag per week), which seems to be alot less than most people I know, so frankly, I don't feel all that bad about it. I suppose I could buy biodegradable bags, but those are expensive and usually way too big for my needs.

@Emmi
...? What do you use for garbage bags, then?

@Lepidoptery we use Seventh Generation trash bags. Certainly not much better than most other brands. But you have to distinguish between need and greed. No one needs plastic bags for groceries. For trash, it's not sanitary to go without. If I thought cheap grocery store bags could hold as much, I'd say that's good. But I don't believe for a second they do. Keep in mind also how much you can reduce trash by composting. We go weeks without taking out trash (it's on our back porch) because we almost never buy anything in plastic containers.

@emmi
I live in an apt in the city; I do not believe there are composting options here. I do not buy dedicated trash bags; I just use the few plastic grocery bags that I wind up picking up every couple of weeks. It wouldn't even make sense to purchase bags for garbage anyway; even if the bags are bigger, they wouldn't hold (much) more for the amount of plastic being used (the relationship between the amount of material (surface area) and the volume that a plastic bag can hold should be pretty linear?) and if I let the trash sit that much longer in the garbage can so a larger bag could get full before taking it out, there would be all sort of fruit flies and maggots crawling around. >.> Anyway, I'm not sure what your point earlier was, or if you had simply misunderstood me.

@Lepidoptery ask your city about that; I'd be very surprised in some states if there's no options. In states like ours (Massachusetts), they make it very easy because by 2014 it will be the law that everyone, no exceptions, must compost. Re:my other point there are cornstarch based bags and I think those would be a good idea to make them more widely available. :)

Watch the documentary "Bag It" on netflix. Great movie on this topic! It's sad to see what plastic bags are doing to animals in the ocean.

We don't have those laws where I live but I wish we did. I sometimes forget my bags (for that quick run-in) but I don't mind spending a little more for those times. I do still like to get my meat wrapped in plastic though so it doesn't leak, but I always recycle those next time I go to the grocery.

We have a similar law in Mexico City, but its not enforced 100%. Establishments have to charge I think about 5c per bag, and cannot give out any extra bags.

BTW, the bag featured is GORGEOUS! Where is it from? Thanks!

On Maui plastic bags are banned altogether. Most grocers do give a 5 cents credit per bag for bringing your own bag. Most retailers and dining do have paper bags available but rarely even mention it at checkout as they've gotten used to everyone carrying their own bags. I remember when the law went effective and everyone seemed to comply right away except for Walmart but they too are now complying.

I do prefer using cloth bags and I just throw mine in the washer and hang dry.

For fresh (organic) waste, what I do when I can is scrounge around in the trash for something I've recently thrown away that's empty, like a thing of spaghetti noodles, or an empty potato chip bag, and use that as the organic trash I'm generating at the moment. That way, my trash-trash can lasts a whole lot longer since it doesn't stink and smell up the joint. Then I use a piece of ... whatever (today it was a ripped longwise piece from a bag of pasta) to tie the bag and walk to the trash chute and drop it in. Don't tell me that's not going to make the journey while a trash-trash bag full of gunk will!

I live in a city, and while I have at one time had the opportunity to compost, I no longer do, so though it feels awful, I have to trash organic matter. And it does feel bad.

For the apartment dwellers & people who live in a place with no yard- Do you know about portable compost bins? They are about the size of a plastic storage tub (the ones for clothes storage for example). They have air holes & you put your compostable scraps in, fork it around, give it a bit of water sprinkling, close the lid. They even come with earth worms so you can get a good rich soil started. This soil comes in handy for house plants, giving to friends who need organic soil, or donate to schools (you can easily find a school that is doing organic garden projects). Also if your area has a community garden you can become a member & put your "home grown" organic soil to use or donate your soil to other members if you are not in a position to put in the time to keep up a garden plot. They may even trade you some produce for your soil. I know of all these things because I've actually done them all. I always feel blessed when I am living in a place where I can compost and/or garden. If not, I find alternative methods to dispose of my kitchen scraps so that the remnants of the Golden Gift of the Earth's Bounty (food) is not reduced to a slop mixed with inorganic toxins in a landfill somewhere. If you have non-compostable scraps like meat/bones, find out if a friend/co-worker/neighbor has a dog who would love to have them. Keep the scraps in a freezer bag until you have a sufficient amount to offer as a treat to a tail wagging friend. before my husband & I got dogs we used to do this & made many friends- both human & canine. I don't eat meat but my husband does so he'd save his meat scraps & bones in the freezer & then brought them to co-workers for their dogs. Then we started giving the bags away to anyone we knew who had a dog. There are SO many ways to NOT put food into landfills. One just needs to get creative & think outside the single use plastic bag!!!

I've been a gardener in the nearby community garden. At the time, there was no collective compost, so I composted in my own plot. I know all about doing that. In the garden, there term limits and when my term was up, a collective compost was started, but they do not allow scraps to be brought in by the public or the gardeners themselves. Living in a city, I kind of understand this. Though it is not the most well kept up place, still you don't want to encourage more rodents. And I know I know I know, there's a way to do it right so that rodents are not a problem. That is what I did in my own plot, when I composted, but to expect a whole bunch of people to know what they are doing, that might be a different proposition altogether.

And yes, I have heard about in-home composting. But I just do not want worms in my small space. If there were ANOTHER way, of course I would consider it. I just can't deal with the worms. Not just for the so-called ick factor, but other reasons that are too boring to go into now.

Point being, I am dedicated to reusing, recycling and when possible composting, I just don't see how I can do that. I can't go carting around my refuse to friends who live in stand alone houses in some far-flung municipality. Well I could, I suppose, but it's not a sustainable solution.

I really do my best to keep as much out of landfills as possible. If you only knew...

@ Borage- you represent an important segment of society: People who so desire to do the right thing but get bogged down with red tape (non compostable red tape I might add!). Yes, I too have lived in places that actually FORBADE composting, as well as bird feeders, bird baths, garden plots of anything other than annuals, tree planting.... It's as there's a War Against Nature. So incredibly sad. Well, Borage, I applaud you for all your effort, because it does take effort. But they say anything worth while is worth fighting for. Unfortunately so many people don't feel our Earth is worth saving. Why that mentality I can not even begin to fathom. Self hatred, maybe? Anyway, maybe you can be an instigator for change. All it takes is one person to start a revolution. I'm fighting right alongside you! Happy gardening!

Well I'm not sure about a war against nature, but banning perennial gardening is ignorant. Just a bad choice.

Unless the people wake up and force the government into action, unfortunately individuals doing things like switching light bulb types, and gardening or composting don't make much difference. Of course, it's a start and we all SHOULD do what's right and do-able, but once the government is involved, then progress has a motor. Without it, our actions are a drop in the ocean. Government must be the one to lead on the reduction of carbon in our atmosphere.

Don't expect to see much about that on Apt Therapy!

I live in Fort McMurray Alberta Canada and we started with paying so much for our bags at the grocery store but then they went even further by banning plastic shopping bags all together. You would think that would be a good thing but then something else happened. You could buy a reusable bag for under a dollar but most people forget to take the bags into the store with them. Now everybody is complaining because now they have tons of reusable bags in their vehicles and homes that they are starting to throw them out. So where is the justification in all of this?

Sandy, that seems a little canard-ish, if I may say so. Banning IS the way to go, and that's great that Alberta has done it. People can just get their own reusable bags, and keep them themselves. I have a supply of about five. The more attractive they are, the more motivated I am to keep them where I know I'll find them, not lose them, and keep them clean. I am not unusual. This happens all the time. People do it, and it works.

What you're saying smacks of problem-invention.

If you are looking for a truly green and sustainable reusable bag, try Project GreenBag. They are made from 100% organic cotton, biodegradable, and made in San Francisco California = green American jobs!

http://www.ProjectGreenBag.com
http://www.facebook.com/ProjectGreenBag
http://twitter.com/projectgreenbag