Minneapolis Could Start Charging A 5-Cent Fee For Plastic Bags
Over the past few years, I’ve notice a growing trend anytime I’m buying groceries: people with reusable bags. While paper and plastic bags are very much still dominating the checkout lane, it does seem like more people are bringing their own bags into the store. I decided to give it a try and bought one of my own (which I lost within two months - whoops!). It’s not a bad idea, and actually has a few benefits: it’s more environmentally friendly, it put a limit on the amount of Doritos I can stuff into my bag, and I didn't get saddled with a bunch of bags I’ll ultimately just throw away. It’s definitely an extra step, but not too bad of an adjustment overall.
It seems you could be seeing reusable bags a lot more in the future – at least if you’re in Minneapolis.
According to KARE-11, the Minneapolis City Council is considering a new proposal that would charge customers a 5-cent fee for each bag used. For me, that would typically lead to an extra 15 to 20 cents per grocery store visit. It’s a relatively small-yet-annoying fee that would probably switch me over to reusable bags, so I can see the point.
But if you have no desire to deal with reusable bags, that has to be a small pain for sure.
It’s still unclear where exactly that money would go, and opponents of the proposal argue that companies can already get paid for collecting used bags and recycling them. I’ll leave it up to you: should Rochester follow suit and impose a 5-cent charge for plastic bags? Vote away in the poll below:
Credit: KARE-11