Every little bit counts
I am feeling like a Good Person. We went to my favourite grocery store yesterday, and for the first time (shamefully) we picked up reusable shopping bags instead of using the plastic bags.
Yes, we should have done this a long time ago. But at least we’re doing it now, which means that many fewer plastic bags swirling about our planet.
Believe it or not, the impetus for this was actually an Oprah show that Elizabeth watched, where they discussed the floating oceanic garbage patch and the number of plastic bags that end up there. It seems this is what we needed to finally shift us from “we should do something” to “here’s what we’re going to do”.
Plus, the Stop n’ Shop gives us a five cent discount every time we use reusable bags. I’m gonna be able to save up for that bike in no time.
photo credit: thingermejig
This post was timely for me, as I read it after returning from the grocery store where, for the first time, they are starting to charge for plastic bags. Before May 1, anyone bringing in a reusable bag received a three cent discount per bag; now, customers are charged five cents per plastic bag. From what I’ve observed, the difference in the approach has been remarkable. Suddenly everyone has reusable bags! I guess that once the cost of the plastic is transferred to us shoppers, we are far less willing to pay for a convenience that, as you pointed out, is messing up our planet.
It’s kind of remarkable what motivates us, isn’t it? We’ve been paying for the plastic bags the whole time, but it’s always been bundled into the price of the groceries. Simply making that cost visible — by charging an additional fee for plastic, rather than offering a discount for reusable — is enough to change behaviour.
It’s a subtle shift, from the assumption that everyone is using plastic bags, to the assumption that they aren’t, but it has a significant effect.
Now, we just need to recreate this effect with fossil fuels.