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Pass on the Trash and 6 Cents

Posted by Matthew / October 16, 2005

Dear IGA Supermarkets,plastic05.10.16.bags
Thank you for giving me a discount of 6 cents on my last grocery purchases. Your discount was a token for bringing my own bags. While I'll be sure to use that extra 6 cents wisely it is not for monetary reasons that I bring my own bags when shopping. I do it for preservation reasons. Would it be so difficult for your chain of independent grocers to implement a simple environmentally friendly policy?

I suggest that instead of giving a 3 cent discount per bag saved, you could charge your customers 10 cents for every plastic bag they use rather than giving them away for free. Think of the extra income that would bring into your stores while at the same time reducing some of the estimated 1 trillion plastic bags produced worldwide every year. If grocers in countries such as Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, India, and Taiwan can implement plastic bag practices, why not you?
Be proactive and I'll shop at your supermarkets with greater frequency.
thank you,
Matthew Vatta

image courtesy of co.washington.org

Discussion

4 Comments

Nancy / October 16, 2005 at 08:23 pm
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I was just thinking as I shopped today, it would be nice if all the chains offered the "paper or plastic" option.
wil / October 16, 2005 at 09:55 pm
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What's up w/ the paper/plastic thing? Which is worse? I asked at a couple stores and one said, "i don't know" and the other said, "they're about the same."
David Nesseth / October 22, 2005 at 03:15 pm
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Matthew,

IGAs I've spoke with aren't familiar with this 6 cent policy. Is there some place you can direct me to? Any info at all on this would be appreciated.
matthew / October 22, 2005 at 03:27 pm
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Hmmmm...Maybe it's only the IGA near my place (corner of Mt.Pleasant & Soudan) that offers money back for bringing your own bags? IGAs are independently owned (hence the "I" in IGA) so maybe it's a choice of the proprietor.
By the way: it's actually 3 cents per bag at my IGA. I used two of my own bags = 6 cents total.
Anyone else out there getting a pittance for bringing their own bags to their local supermarket?

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