3 ms·

In the UK we brought in a similar law and the shops were allowed to charge (if I remember correctly) 5p for the thin bags that were previously used or 10p for a

In the UK we brought in a similar law and the shops were allowed to charge (if I remember correctly) 5p for the thin bags that were previously used or 10p for a stronger one. It wasn't long before they mostly phased out the thin bags and started raising the cost of the stronger bags, I think they're maybe around 50p now. They've also mostly moved back to bag-less delivery (if you get delivery). Anecdotally looking around the shop when I visit, most people are using the much stronger "bag for life" bags which costs (again I'm half guessing) a few pounds and are reused from one shopping trip to the next.

thimp 3y ago
Yeah that's about it. They slowly made them prohibitively more expensive. I've actually had the same shopping bag for 27 years and have gone from being seen as a hippy weirdo to never being questioned. It was just normalised that you got bags free before. That should have never been the case in the first place!
- lurking15 3y ago
  > and have gone from being seen as a hippy weirdo to never being questioned you're still a hippy weirdo
  - xethos 3y ago
    Sure, but nobody calls them on it any more. Sounds like the Overton window shifted to people using less plastic too.
    - lurking15 3y ago
      > Sounds like the Overton window shifted to people using less plastic too wasn't the whole point of the article that people in fact use more now, also political self-segregation/echo chamber seems to be worse than ever so as much as people talk about overton window shifting it's mostly just partisans being blind to the people that don't share their opinions
      - xethos 3y ago
        Following through the HDPE link in TFA, it leads to a seperate latimes article. Pulling from that: > In 2010, volunteers with the California Coastal Cleanup removed 65,736 plastic bags of all kinds from the shoreline, water, watercraft and coastal recreational areas. > Coastal Cleanup Day 2016 was held before the statewide ban was in effect, but between the 2010 and 2016 cleanups, dozens of cities and counties across California had enacted single-use plastic bag bans of their own, including Los Angeles. The effect was noticeable: In 2016, only 24,602 plastic bags were picked up. I'll grant you that it flattened out after 2016 a good bit, but getting nearly 63% of the way there is at least approaching the 80/20 rule - indicating the statewide ban had a measurable impact and got people most amenable to the change to make the small sacrifice to bring their own bags
        lurking15 3y ago
        from the article > According to a report by the consumer advocacy group CALPIRG, 157,385 tons of plastic bag waste was discarded in California the year the law was passed. By 2022, however, the tonnage of discarded plastic bags had skyrocketed to 231,072 — a 47% jump. Even accounting for an increase in population, the number rose from 4.08 tons per 1,000 people in 2014 to 5.89 tons per 1,000 people in 2022. from you > indicating the statewide ban had a measurable impact So what I'm reading is that there's more plastic waste polluted after the law and lawmakers are claiming it's simply a matter of ineffective law. Sounds like a redux of No true Scotsman. Why don't we instead blame legislators for their complete ineptitude that's been proven over and over? It's a matter of whack-a-mole, doomed to fail: make life easier for people instead of being a punitive, incompetent schoolmarm that only serves to inconvenience and infuriate people with much greater concerns in their lives. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to humiliatingly carry a small number of groceries in my arms to the car because I refuse to buy yet another reusable bag. Well jokes on you environmentalists, I'll have to drive to the grocery store again tomorrow and use more gasoline!
  - thimp 3y ago
    Glad to know that :)
mukundmr 3y ago
It is better for shops to just sell jute or cloth bags at retail price for carrying goods instead of allowing users to buy any type of plastic bag. This is how it is done in India in places where plastic is banned. Of course, customers can bring their own carry bags and avoid buying bags.
gkbrk 3y ago
If I remember correctly, Tesco will even replace your "bag for life" if it's broken. Or at least they did for a while.

thimp 3y ago

Yeah that's about it. They slowly made them prohibitively more expensive. I've actually had the same shopping bag for 27 years and have gone from being seen as a hippy weirdo to never being questioned. It was just normalised that you got bags free before. That should have never been the case in the first place!

lurking15 3y ago
> and have gone from being seen as a hippy weirdo to never being questioned you're still a hippy weirdo
- xethos 3y ago
  Sure, but nobody calls them on it any more. Sounds like the Overton window shifted to people using less plastic too.
  - lurking15 3y ago
    > Sounds like the Overton window shifted to people using less plastic too wasn't the whole point of the article that people in fact use more now, also political self-segregation/echo chamber seems to be worse than ever so as much as people talk about overton window shifting it's mostly just partisans being blind to the people that don't share their opinions
    - xethos 3y ago
      Following through the HDPE link in TFA, it leads to a seperate latimes article. Pulling from that: > In 2010, volunteers with the California Coastal Cleanup removed 65,736 plastic bags of all kinds from the shoreline, water, watercraft and coastal recreational areas. > Coastal Cleanup Day 2016 was held before the statewide ban was in effect, but between the 2010 and 2016 cleanups, dozens of cities and counties across California had enacted single-use plastic bag bans of their own, including Los Angeles. The effect was noticeable: In 2016, only 24,602 plastic bags were picked up. I'll grant you that it flattened out after 2016 a good bit, but getting nearly 63% of the way there is at least approaching the 80/20 rule - indicating the statewide ban had a measurable impact and got people most amenable to the change to make the small sacrifice to bring their own bags
      - lurking15 3y ago
        from the article > According to a report by the consumer advocacy group CALPIRG, 157,385 tons of plastic bag waste was discarded in California the year the law was passed. By 2022, however, the tonnage of discarded plastic bags had skyrocketed to 231,072 — a 47% jump. Even accounting for an increase in population, the number rose from 4.08 tons per 1,000 people in 2014 to 5.89 tons per 1,000 people in 2022. from you > indicating the statewide ban had a measurable impact So what I'm reading is that there's more plastic waste polluted after the law and lawmakers are claiming it's simply a matter of ineffective law. Sounds like a redux of No true Scotsman. Why don't we instead blame legislators for their complete ineptitude that's been proven over and over? It's a matter of whack-a-mole, doomed to fail: make life easier for people instead of being a punitive, incompetent schoolmarm that only serves to inconvenience and infuriate people with much greater concerns in their lives. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to humiliatingly carry a small number of groceries in my arms to the car because I refuse to buy yet another reusable bag. Well jokes on you environmentalists, I'll have to drive to the grocery store again tomorrow and use more gasoline!
- thimp 3y ago
  Glad to know that :)

mukundmr 3y ago

It is better for shops to just sell jute or cloth bags at retail price for carrying goods instead of allowing users to buy any type of plastic bag. This is how it is done in India in places where plastic is banned. Of course, customers can bring their own carry bags and avoid buying bags.

gkbrk 3y ago

If I remember correctly, Tesco will even replace your "bag for life" if it's broken. Or at least they did for a while.