If there’s one thing that Toronto never fails to provide, its entertaining municipal politics. About a year or two ago, under the reign of our previous mayor, the city passed a bylaw requiring all retailers to charge $0.05 for plastic bags. It was hailed as a landmark decision that saw a major reduction in plastic bag usage. Everywhere I went, I saw more and more people carrying reusable canvas bags to do their shopping. This week though, our new mayor, Rob Ford, attempted to undo these efforts by scrapping the $0.05 fee. He succeeded…but then in a surprise motion brought forward by one of the mayor’s own allies, city council voted instead to completely ban plastic bags starting in 2013. By next year, people will either have to use reusable bags, boxes or something else, because there won’t be a plastic bag in sight! Hopefully, anyways – it may get delayed if the plastics industry decides to sue the city. Nevertheless, hopefully it does go through and I think this will be a great achievement when it does. Sure, people will denounce this as a huge inconvenience – heck, even I sometimes pay the $0.05 for a plastic bag when I pop in to the grocery store for a spontaneous purchase. I end up using the bags for my garbage. It also will likely lead to an increase in paper bag usage, which really isn’t much better. But this kind of government-driven action is the best and most efficient way to change consumer culture. Much like people got used to paying $0.05 for a plastic bag, people will know be forced to adapt and get used to using reusable bags or other carrying devices. Let the plastic bag rest in peace and let’s find better alternatives for those situations where they are still useful!
Last week’s post, Planning a Green Frugal Wedding – Dishware, was included in a number of blog carnivals including:
- Yakezie Carnival, hosted by 20′s Finances
- Carnival of Money Pros, hosted by Financial Conflict Coach
- Lifestyle Carnival, hosted by Organic Fashion Blog
- Festival of Frugality, hosted by The Frugal Toad
- Carnival of Financial Camaraderie, hosted by My University Money
- Mo’ Money, Mo’ Houses talked about her experience sponsoring a child overseas. I think I would probably hesitate to do this myself as I tend to favour donating time over money.
- I like beer…and I love the money I get back when I return the bottles to the store for recycling. Apparently I’m not the only one, as Sustainable Personal Finance wrote this week.
- A guest poster on Modest Money highlights some of the pros and cons of investing in the stock market.
- Young and Thrifty talks about the financial benefits of waking up early. I don’t care how convincing his argument is, I think I will always be a night person.
- The Outlier Model looks at how to budget for living expenses when living in a city on less than $20,000 a year. Its a tight budget, not sure I could manage it while maintaining the quality of life I desire.
- Thirty Six Months talks about why she dislikes the wedding season. As someone planning a wedding at the moment, I can definitely sympathize with her concerns.
- Digging Out and Up recounts an experience where she learned that banks are trying to infiltrate schools to teach kids about money. I have to agree with her, as much as there is a gap in the school system when it comes to teaching personal finance, I don’t think that the banks are the ones to fill it!
Happy Weekend Everyone! And if you feel like commenting, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Toronto’s plastic bag ban…
Aren’t plastic bags recyclable these days? what’s all the fuss about? He should’ve kept the 5c fee!
BeatingTheIndex recently posted..Weekend Edition: Canada at 6 million bopd by 2030
They are recyclable, but the question is how many people actually recycle them? Not everyone does… That said, I agree with you about the 5 cent fee. To be honest, I don’t really understand his motive for even trying to get rid of it.
Earth and Money recently posted..The 9-Week Summer Productivity Challenge
I bet retailers who charge the 5 cent fee weren’t too happy about this decision. They just lost an easy source of extra revenue. Ultimately it should be better for the environment though. Personally I alternate between using reusable bags and paying for plastic bags. Like you I use the plastic bags for garbage. So in my case this move would actually produce extra waste & energy use as I would get forced to buy boxes of garbage bags.
Modest Money recently posted..Early June 2012 Blog Update
Yup, for sure, retailers are going to lose money with this decision. Especially if they now choose to provide some alternative bag at no cost. But sometimes values other than the bottom line have to be prioritized.
Earth and Money recently posted..Earth and Money Has Been Live for 3 Months!
Thanks for including me! I didn’t realize that you were from Toronto! I work there!
Marissa @ Thirtysixmonths recently posted..Euro Cup 2012
I use the plastic bags for bod poop and so do not mind them as much… but generally speaking I think the ban is a good thing.
PB @ Economically Humble recently posted..Week in Review – Favorite Summer Saving Links
I like the fact that plastic bags are being banned in several regions around the world. I for one do not like using plastic bags, but sometimes plastic materials are very useful like, drinking straws. Imagining this without can be frustrating, but for the ultimate good of the planet, why not?
John Exami recently posted..Famous Insanely Dedicated Scientists
Banning plastic bags is always an interesting thought. While I agree that many of the bags produced now end up as trash, we personally re-use all of our grocery bags. Mostly we use them as garbage bags, and the opportunity to use them as such means we don’t have to buy plastic garbage bags. This saves money and means less bags have to be produced for the sole purpose of being thrown out. I think there is a limited use for plastic shopping bags, as long as they’re re-used
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