Comments on: Social engineering, one plastic bag at a time

By: Bagman

Bagman — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:26:17 +0000

Stephen:

THE CHALLENGE:
Propose a market solution that deals with the negative externalities currently associated with plastic shopping bags.

THE CONSTRAINTS:
You can use state intervention, but preferably only in terms of adding user fees to existing public services or by providing some sort of tax incentive. However, overall bonus points will be given to solutions with little or no lasting government interference in the market and as few distortions to overall tax neutrality as possible.

THE PRIZE:
My admiration?

I'm serious, though. I recognize that the bag law leads to silly outcomes (banning biodegradable bags) and overall deadweight loss without any ecological gain (presuming that the lion's share of retailers will just add the 5 cents and continue doing what they're doing).

But given that these bags are tremendously wasteful (and that the financial cost of disposal and ecological costs of plastic waste are public), what market solution exists to solve this?

Don't wave your hands and say 'entrepreneurs will fix it.' They haven't yet. I'm having trouble thinking of how they could, in the face of what seems like an intractable collective action dilemma.

Thoughts?

(Not trolling BTW)

By: Name

Name — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:02:10 +0000

I'm pleased to see that someone understands the biological hazard of reusable bags. Where is the social education for a change such as this?

Now, to close the loop (which the Toronto politicians appear unable to do). What do most people use the plastic grocery bags for after they bring their groceries home? Garbage bags. So now, if they practice Miller's environmental responsibiltity agenda, they must purchase plastic garbage bags. So, basically, we not diverting plastic from the land fills at all (in Michigan). Just another political boondoggle. Unfortunately, being a resident of Mississauga, this nonsense has managed to precipitate to us.

We use biodegradable household waste bags (why not grocery bags?), there are paper bags available (remember the 60's/70's?).

Someone is missing the boat here. Unfortunately, it would appear that it's J.Q. Public.

By: Name

Name — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:02:10 +0000

By: Christopher-Peter: Maingot

Christopher-Peter: Maingot — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:47:43 +0000

We could always have our government up the anti of tax dollars, from the current $11 million, to what ever, so someone can work on another vaccine. Perhaps the drug companies will come up with another pill for the cure of tainted grocery bag syndrome. Are you presently prepared for the coming lawsuits from all those who are currently forced to ingest artificially fluoridated drinking water, especially in Toronto? The common medium for that process is Hydrofluorosilicic acid. This toxic industrial waste chemical is generated from the smoke stack scrubbers, of the phosphate and aluminum industries (pollution) and, these companies would otherwise have to pay about a billion odd dollars per year, to dispose of this toxic pollution (dangerous goods). So through the help of our governments, all of them, they came up with the brilliant idea….Let$ dump this crap into our drinking water supplies. The result of ingesting fluoride is ending up with a progressive disease known as fluorosis. HEALTH CANADA knows this problem exists but continues to promote the practice. I had to go off the topic of plastic bags, hopefully to cement a point for all of us. We are always instituting “cures” or searching for them, even though they are right under our noses…we never focus on looking at the “causes.” SICK CARE versus HEALTH CARE. All this government legislation and or ACTS, especially this plastic bag one, is simply adding to our political suffocation,

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:49:00 +0000

When do we see the first lawsuit by someone who gets sick as a result of being forced to used reusable bagss…..?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:51:25 +0000

So when can we expect the first lawsuit levelled because somebody was forced to use a tainted filthy bag???

By: Christopher-Peter: Maingot

Christopher-Peter: Maingot — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:32:26 +0000

This plastic bag “legislation” or “ACT” is just another “green plan” marketing plan, and again, it’s simply targeting consumers and dollars. Does anyone truly believe that they (consumer) were getting these plastic bags from the stores (retailers) for free before? Yea! They love you (retailers + plastic bag manufacturers)…the consumer. And, you don't seriously believe “they” were giving away the bags, before the “ACT” right? No! You were paying for it, before, and, you'll simply pay for it again…this time, more than before too…if you don't have a re-usable, get one, and out-law plastic bags all together. Some people are rich, and don't care about the 5 cents for a plastic bag, or the environment for that matter!

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:29:39 +0000

I kind of want these bags around, at least the ones with nice colors. I use them to crochet with: http://gottoknit.blogspot.com/2008/02/plastic-b...

They're still free in the States, and we get a two cent deduction for every reusable bag we bring in. I total at 12 cents a week (for every $1.00 bag I bring in).

As far as green, some articles state that plastic is actually *better* for the environment than paper:
http://reason.org/news/show/1003006.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09...

Go plastic!

By: Murasak

Murasak — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:30:19 +0000

I'll just shop in Mississauga.

By: Omanator

Omanator — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:29:01 +0000

Ardvarl/ It's not only to reduce plastic bags. It is the money maker for World Wild Life and other leftist organizations. Apart from that Loblaws can use these ” donations” as a tax credit. As long as we pay.
I happen to like Loblaws however, I refuse to buy plastic bag because the WWF has become a mouthpiece for the Al Gore's of this world. Should they refuse to use my cloth bags.( I wash everything carefully) then I forget Loblaws and go somewhere else. But their is no doubt, that the liftist socialist are on a high roll in North America.