New York to charge 5 cents for plastic bags

[BMR]

I live near an Aldi store, and Aldi charges you for bags. So I do keep a supply of reusable cloth shopping bags around.

But that would be too big an inconvenience if you were spending a day at the mall, at Walmart, etc. It is simply too hard to know how much you are going to end up buying, and how many bags to bring.

You'd be surprised how quickly you adjust, seriously, this is much less of a big deal than you think.

Frankly I think shopping bags are a very small part of our environmental and trash disposal problem.

I agree, but then again 5c is a very small amount of money. Even a plastic bag a day 364 days a year is way less than 20 dollars a year.

And you would have to be trying seriously hard at forgetting bags to spend that.

 

[FreddyE1977]

so.....the grocer would pocket the extra 5 cents for each bag he was NOT giving you, you'd be spending your own money for them, yet they would still, at the end of the day, end up in a landfill.

I can see why grocers would like this, but can't see how it benefits anyone else.

 

[DavidEduardo]

so.....the grocer would pocket the extra 5 cents for each bag he was NOT giving you, you'd be spending your own money for them, yet they would still, at the end of the day, end up in a landfill.

I can see why grocers would like this, but can't see how it benefits anyone else.

If the five cent fee is applied as in other places, the money goes to the government... State and local.. for environmental uses.

 

[BMR]

In the UK the money goes to charities. I believe the retailer can choose where they donate it, but keeping it is frowned upon.

Smaller firms with less than 250 employees are exempt, although some still charge.

 

[FreddyE1977]

So how does that affect stores like Aldi, which are already charging for bags?
I am certain Aldi is not currently giving that money to charities OR the government.

 

[CTListener]

So how does that affect stores like Aldi, which are already charging for bags?
I am certain Aldi is not currently giving that money to charities OR the government.

No, the six cents you pay for an Aldi paper bag (or the 10 for a plastic) helps keep the prices of the merchandise low. Since a box of corn flakes, for instance, is at least $2 cheaper at Aldi with its in-house Millville label than it is at a chain supermarket with the Kellogg's label, shelling out a few pennies for the bag is no hardship at all. Besides, does Aldi even have New York City stores? This only affects the city, not the suburbs or other parts of the state. I would think NYC rents are way too high for Aldi to set up shop there.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

In the UK the money goes to charities. I believe the retailer can choose where they donate it, but keeping it is frowned upon.

Smaller firms with less than 250 employees are exempt, although some still charge.

In Toronto, Canada, the 5 cent charge was cancelled, but stores chose to keep it anyway.
Shoppers drug mart is one of the stores charging the 5 cent fee, claiming that the money goes to charity,
but why force people to donate to Charity?
I mean, when you want the plastic bag bad enough, it shouldn't have a charge applied unless it's a deep discount grocery store.
Let people donate freely on their own time. Don't hold the plastic bag hostage to raise money for a charity.