Bags for sale – Would you pay for extra plastic bags?

My pet peeve is when I go to the supermarket and the packers at the checkout counter place my goods in one bag so that by the time I get to the car the bags are hardly able to hold its contents.

It seems that this is a frequent practice as several stores are cutting down on how many bags they offer their customers. Now in principle I agree with cutting down on the number of plastic bags being used as they end up in our landfills years later.

The problem I find is that if you are going to get rid of plastic bags, why not do so on a uniformed basis.  There needs to be further discussion with supermarket owners whose customers purchase large amounts of goods on how they can practically eliminate the need for plastic bags.

Brooklyn Supermarket located in Twin Gates plaza has informed its customers of a new change of policy in which customers are discouraged from using too many extra bags.

The notice at the cash register at the supermarket reads, ‘It is customary that your goods are properly bagged by the customer service attendants. Please understand any extra bag will incur a $10.00 fee.’

So will customers readily pay for the extra bags?

Well the customers that I spoke to said they would rather carry their own bags than pay for extra bags. The issue is not of course that the supermarket does not provide bags for its customers, it simply charges extra if the customer wants an additional bag.

I wondered if a lot of persons would pay the extra cost during these difficult financial times, but I was informed that some customers do not mind paying the fee.

I remember a simpler time when you got groceries in paper bags or boxes. This arrangement prevented a lot of the challenges now faced by customers and suppliers alike.

So what’s your take on this issue? Would you pay for the extra bag? Let me hear from you!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner Online Writer

Tags: bags, fee