AS I READ the various articles about the proposed 20 cent per bag charge that may be implemented come May next year, I am really confused.
I read that plastic bags are “environmentally dangerous”, and so this fee is to act as a deterrent to the use of plastic bags. This therefore raises some questions in my mind.
Don’t supermarkets already use biodegradable plastic bags? (The mounds of plastic flakes in my cupboards and drawers testify that they do.) If biodegradable bags are being used, then isn’t the environmental issue already being dealt with? If some supermarkets are not using biodegradable bags, the answer would be to change the bags, not charge for them.
The grocery bags are biodegradable, but maybe the other bags are not – the bread bags, the bags you put fresh produce in, the bags your meat is packaged in, and so on. It would seem, therefore, that these bags pose a greater environmental hazard than the biodegradable grocery bags. Will there therefore be a fee for these bags as well? An extra 20 cents on every loaf of bread that you buy unless you bring your own bag?
What about other establishments? If I buy a shirt, will I have to pay for the bag or is this only for supermarkets? If I subscribe to your newspaper and the delivery person puts the paper in a plastic bag before tossing it into my yard because it is raining, will I get charged an additional 20 cents?
If everyone stops taking their groceries in plastic bags, will the supermarkets reduce the price of garbage bags? I believe that most households use the grocery bags to put garbage in. If there are no grocery bags, we will need to buy garbage bags – a win-win for the supermarkets: they save the expense of providing grocery bags and enjoy increased sales in garbage bags.
Interestingly enough, the article in the newspaper indicated that BICO was one of the main entities behind this move. Will ice cream therefore be coming in card boxes? Which has greater impact on the environment – a biodegradable plastic bag or an empty hard-plastic ice cream container? If this fee is to help the environment, isn’t it basically just another “garbage tax”? If so, does the Government get the money? Will it be used to help clean the environment?
If a supermarket wants to charge for bags because they are an additional expense and the supermarket is trying to keep prices down, I can understand that. PriceSmart does not provide plastic bags (except for putting the meat into). PriceLo charges ten cents per bag if you want bags (will they therefore have to raise their bag price to 20 cents once May 1, 2017 comes around?).
If that is the reason for the fee, then none of the questions above apply. Once you claim that the fee is for environmental reasons, however, everything just gets confused. Could you help me to understand?
– MAX MILLAR