Shopping
Earlier this year I was living in Seattle, and I heard about this interesting little tax the mayor was trying to impose on shopping bags – both paper and plastic. I still have problems with the idea of this tax, even though it has become law in several cities in the US.
Beaverton, I fear, is next. There’s only one problem. Where are we supposed to get the cheap, sustainable, reusable shopping bags? I went grocery shopping this weekend at Safeway, and my large grocery order consumed upwards of 15 plastic bags. (I reuse these bags several times at home, and I do recycle, so I don’t count it as wasteful.) It would have been nice to use a few reusable bags, but I don’t have any and, apparently, neither does Safeway!
You probably can’t tell from the photo, but there actually is a rack at the end of each check stand for the bags. They’re sold at 99¢ each. Not too bad … except they have been sold out every time I’ve been to the store and are still completely sold out.
So, should I still be charged an enormous tax on my “disposable” plastic bags? Or should it be negated this once because there was no sustainable alternative available?
I know this doesn’t answer your question, but since you’re in Beaverton anyway, hit up Uwajimaya for thier bags. They always have some in stock. Wal-Mart is good about this too, so long as you have a Wal-Mart in reach and don’t feel like a social goon for shopping at Wal-Mart (which you shouldn’t).
Now, to answer your question, I think that you shouldn’t be exempted from this tax, because the reuable bags are sold everywhere. Technically you don’t even need to buy one that’s labeled specificaly for groceries; you could use those canvas bags that middle-aged women have been carrying around since we were kids, supporting every charity and event known to man. Bags like these are widely available, and I know from experience that Safeway won’t turn down using a bag even if you’ve bought it from another store or cause. (I usually end up using my Wal-Mart bag at Safeway for some reason.)
Also, I think the tax is meant to curb bad behavior as much as anything because, while you and I reuse our plastic bags to help extend thier lives and make them less waseful, most people don’t do this. And heck, does anyone but me recycle them? Most bags end up in the trash and take forever to break down. The reusable bags have been available in one form or another since the 90s at least, so I don’t think there’s much excuse for not using them. And wouldn’t it only take you one time of eating that tax before you went and scoured the city for a couple of the reuables? I think it’s an interesting plan that’ll inconvenience a lot of people for a short time, then die because no one needs to use the plastic bags anymore.
And seriously, remember Uwajimaya. That store’s a joy to visit anyway.