When you go food shopping at the supermercato, typically you bring your own bags. If not, you can buy various grades of bags.... including the standard plastic number which is free in the US. They cost .20 each here (that's .20 Euro, people!).
But these bags are very different from the thin plastic bags you find in every grocery in America (except maybe Trader Joe’s and Aldi).
They are biodegradable
They are larger than the US model
They are strong and don’t come already defective with rips or holes along the bottom seams
They are biodegradable. Yes, I said that twice, as it bears repeating
The requirement of paying for the bag gives it an added emotional value that will make you think twice before tossing it in the trash. People at the checkout counter actually accuse other shoppers of stealing the .20 plastic bag which they brought with them from home. I myself have been very insistent with a checkout guy that, yes, indeed, I brought that bag from home. (I needed that bag to carry home my 1.50 bottle of wine!!!)
So, maybe this is something to think about. Should it be an inalienable right to receive free, defective plastic (harmful and unsustainable!) bags at the grocery store every time you shop?
Or does it make better business and environmental sense to shift the responsibility of bags to the shopper — simultaneously providing a better product and the desire to reuse?
