it's about time

After perusing the weekly Loblaws flyer this morning I have been informed that Toronto area Loblaws stores are now charging 5¢ for plastic bags, and giving away free grocery baskets. Plastic shopping bags are pretty much the scourge of the earth, and other places - like Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Australia, San Franscisco - have already started to ban them entirely. Outright prohibition is a fine idea, but probably not essential. Even a very small tax on the use of plastic bags will cause people to change their behaviour. Because really, it's not very difficult to purchase a few reusable grocery bags or baskets and bring them with you when you go shopping. (That being said, I've accumulated a fairly sizeable stockpile of said bags as a result of buying new ones on days when I forget to bring them... but then again, you can never have too many reusable bags. They're also more awesome because they can hold approximately a million items.)

When Ireland introduced a tax on plastic bags in 2002, within a year their use had decreased by 90%. Similar results occurred when the Ottawa IKEA began charging 5 cents a bag. My mom shops at no frills where they charge you 5¢ a bag, and she always brings her own - for economic/self-interest reasons, not because of environmental concerns. A plastic bag tax makes consumers pay for the hidden costs associated with their use - the litter from the disposal, the pollution and petroleum use incurred from their production, the harm to animals and wildlife, etc.

The campus bookstore at western now uses bioplastic bags, made from renewable plant-based sources like corn and vegetable oil instead of petroleum. They're more biodegradable, but, much like the case with biofuels, they are not a panacea. They rely on plant life (mostly corn) that is usually grown in a very energy-intensive way. It's a step in the right direction, but not something we should feel too comfortable about.



A quick google search for "plastic bags" brought up some interesting things.

1. A nice selection of mostly propoganda from various plastics industries.
   
2. In India, autopsies of mysterious cow deaths found 50-60 plastic bags in their stomachs. So much plastic accumulated that they were unable to digest and absorb the food that they consumed. Granted, maybe there's an element of stupidity involved on the cows' side, but stupid animals need the most love.
3. Canadians take home 55 million shopping bags every week. Globally, half a trillion plastic bags are produced each year. HALF A TRILLION. That is an insanely huge number.

In conclusion, I think a tax/ban on plastic shopping bags would be pretty much the greatest thing since the smoking ban.