Is a charge for disposable bags coming to Davis?

Recently, the North Coast Co-op, with stores in Arcata and Eureka, made the following announcement:

"Our Goal is to reduce our consumption of paper bags by 80% in time for Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

To help make this happen, the North Coast Co-op is charging 10¢ for each paper bag used at check-out... and paying you 5¢ for each reusable bag you bring in and use to pack your groceries. "

The Davis Food Co-op has long had a policy of offering a "Bag credit" of 5¢ for every paper bag you save by bringing your own bag. In the past few years, we've seen an increase in shoppers reusing old bags, or bringing in reusable bags, as an increasing awareness of the inherent wastefulness of disposable bags takes hold in our culture.

But for every dutiful shopper who comes in with their stack of bags to bundle up and take home a cart full of groceries, it seems we hear from another who says "Oh, shoot, I left my bags . . ." In the car. In the trunk. At home. Often, wherever the bags got left, the shopper finds it isn't worth the trouble to hunt them down, and one more unnecessary disposable paper bag gets used to cart the groceries home.

It happens to me all the time.

Will a charge for bags actually get consumers to change their behavior? The results don't lie-- grocers who charge for bags overwhelmingly see a reduction in the consumption of disposables-- often a radical reduction, as much as 80%! Even Wal Mart has started charging for disposable bags at some of its Northern California stores, citing the goal of "overall waste reduction of 33% by 2013" as its impetus.

The management team at the Davis Food Co-op is talking seriously about adopting a bag charge at our own store, and we're currently running a survey at the registers asking our shoppers if they would support a 5¢ bag charge (we would retain the 5¢ bag credit, as well). Preliminary results show that, overwhelmingly, our shoppers would support this measure.

The pros and cons are evident: but as leaders in our foodshed, the Davis Food Co-op cannot ignore the tide of support for waste reduction that the trend to charge for disposable bags represents. It's a way to demonstrate our commitment to the conservation of the environment, and a means of educating our community about the huge impact that small actions (like the reuse of grocery bags) can make.

We'll be making our decision soon, but we'd love to hear your thoughts! Please comment below if you strongly support or oppose the proposal to charge a 5¢ fee for disposable shopping bags at the Davis Food Co-op, and tell us why; we're listening!