There is No Free Bag
Just as there is no free lunch, there is no free bag. Even though you don’t see a separate fee for bags in most places, you are still paying for them in lots of ways.
Retailers pay 2 to 5 cents per bag. This adds up–day after day, year after year. Estimates by the Anacostia Watershed Society figures the average Marylander takes 750 bags a year, at an estimated cost of $15 to $37.50 a year. This cost is passed on to consumers through higher prices on other items, like pasta, produce, and dairy products, making it a “hidden” cost.
In comparison, a consumer might use two NWPP reusable bags for a year at the cost of just $0.99 each. For two dollars, the store saves money, the planet has fewer impacts, and the consumer has less waste to clean up! It’s a win-win-win for everyone.
Bag fees, such as the one in force in Washington DC and as of October 2016, in New York City too, are pro-consumer because they expose the hidden cost of bags and allow the customer to avoid it. Unlike a tax, the bag fee can be avoided. If you don’t want to pay the bag fee, you never have to! Just bring your own!
Don’t take a free bag. Take your own! Request a quote and see how you can be part of the solution.