NY Times praises plastic bag tax

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Murt10

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Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/europe/02bags.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin


Funny how habits and peoples perception can be changed over time. Taxation/price seems to be a major contributor. A couple of years ago I couldn't see the plastic bag tax, smoking ban, fall in pub drinking, random breath tests, recycling and green bins working in Ireland.

Note that most of these initiatives are environment or health related. Now we are about to change over to diesel cars and low energy light bulbs. The major DIY chains are going to stop selling patio heaters.

I wonder what else will have changed in another 10 or 20 years?


Murt
 
Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable — on a par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.
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Slight exaggeration there by the NY Times!
 
Rubbish - there is no social stigma attached to paying for and using plastic bags!
 
Unfortunately, there is little stigma involved in not cleaning up dog poop, based on the amount of it that I bring home on buggy wheels. Wouldn't like to be responsible for putting my hands on the wheels of a wheelchair in the Dublin 'burbs.
 
"...... there is no social stigma attached to paying for and using plastic bags"

Certainly, stigma would be overstating it. But there is that phenomenon that people now will - if they have to buy a bag - buy the strong (more expensive) bag because they can pretend it will be re-used - even though there are already twenty of the damn things at home. There is definitely some mild social pressure not to use the old flimsy bags anymore.
 
MOB said:
"...... there is no social stigma attached to paying for and using plastic bags"

Certainly, stigma would be overstating it. But there is that phenomenon that people now will - if they have to buy a bag - buy the strong (more expensive) bag because they can pretend it will be re-used - even though there are already twenty of the damn things at home. There is definitely some mild social pressure not to use the old flimsy bags anymore.
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I dont think one could even call it social pressure. There are no consequences from other people that I can see for anyone if seen with a plastic bag. Nobody is going to point and stare at you.
 
MOB said:
"...... there is no social stigma attached to paying for and using plastic bags"

Certainly, stigma would be overstating it. But there is that phenomenon that people now will - if they have to buy a bag - buy the strong (more expensive) bag because they can pretend it will be re-used - even though there are already twenty of the damn things at home. There is definitely some mild social pressure not to use the old flimsy bags anymore.
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I totally disagree. I have certainly neither heard about or come across such social pressure in the past.

It is sort of funny being abroad (most recently Portugal and Italy in my case) and, from force of habit, bringing your own, previously obtained, plastic bags back to the shops and using them while getting odd looks from the cashier! :)
 
MOB said:
Certainly, stigma would be overstating it. But there is that phenomenon that people now will - if they have to buy a bag - buy the strong (more expensive) bag because they can pretend it will be re-used - even though there are already twenty of the damn things at home. There is definitely some mild social pressure not to use the old flimsy bags anymore.
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I often forget my re-usable bags when getting food and have to buy the plastic bags.
Before this post I never even thought about "was I doing the wrong thing". I will now feel conscience of buying the old bags.

Thanks!:rolleyes:
 
Don't think there is any social pressure not top buy plastic bags. The pressure is on oneself for economic reasons as find the savings made by all the offers in a supermarket can be negated if i have to buy a whole new set of bags at the checkout. Think it is the saving of a few bob that encourages people to reuse bags as if they were free again i bet people would resort to using them no problem!
 
Maybe it's just me;

But if (as, tbh, often happens) I buy three or four bags because I forgot to bring any (or more likely because I only came up to buy eggs but ended up doing a full shop), I do feel slightly sheepish if I meet someone I know at the till or on the way back to the car with a fistful of obviously new bags. Maybe this is partly because of being in a small town where you are very likely to meet a few people you know at the supermarket. Or maybe I am unduly sensitive.
 
MOB said:
Maybe this is partly because of being in a small town where you are very likely to meet a few people you know at the supermarket. Or maybe I am unduly sensitive.
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Maybe you could distract them from your embarrassing bags by talking about headage or set-aside payments or something? :)
 
Since the levy was introduced I have never paid nor will I ever pay for a plastic bag in a supermarket. I cannot get over the number of people who do not bring their own bags with them when out shopping. I was in France last week and the Casino supermarket were giving out free "double gusset" re-usable paper carrier bags to their customers. As regards being seen with plastic bags.....I cannot believe that someone would be that sensitive......next time you see someone with a Dublin Duty free plastic bag in a supermarket or similar....that's me.
 
This article is a load of codswallop. Apart from the factual howlers already cited, this one takes the biscuit...

Furthermore, the environment minister told shopkeepers that if they changed from plastic to paper, he would tax those bags, too.
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The article fails to recognise that plastic bags are still plentiful and prevalent for fruit & veg purchases, as well as for meat & deli goods. it also failed to mention that the UK government decided against introducing a plastic bag tax of its own, because a study there reckoned that the Irish levy was NOT environmentally friendly. Apparently, there has been an explosion in the volume of heavy duty binliners being bought and used in this country since the levy came in. Instead of packaging our refuse into flimsy used shopping bags, we now use heavy duty polythene bags for this purpose.
 
ubiquitous said:
This article is a load of codswallop. Apart from the factual howlers already cited, this one takes the biscuit...




The article fails to recognise that plastic bags are still plentiful and prevalent for fruit & veg purchases, as well as for meat & deli goods. it also failed to mention that the UK government decided against introducing a plastic bag tax of its own, because a study there reckoned that the Irish levy was NOT environmentally friendly. Apparently, there has been an explosion in the volume of heavy duty binliners being bought and used in this country since the levy came in. Instead of packaging our refuse into flimsy used shopping bags, we now use heavy duty polythene bags for this purpose.
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Not to mention the copious amounts of hot air which have been generated by the green movement. If we really wanted to make a difference we’d just use bags that degrade over a shorter period of time.
 
In all fairness, the levy has overall been a success in at least some ways. The amount of plastic bags littering our hedgerows and watercourses is noticeably less since the levy came in.
 
MOB said:
In all fairness, the levy has overall been a success in at least some ways. The amount of plastic bags littering our hedgerows and watercourses is noticeably less since the levy came in.
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....only to be replaced in instances where people dump rubbish instead of paying bin charges unfortunately
 
ninsaga said:
....only to be replaced in instances where people dump rubbish instead of paying bin charges unfortunately
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Yeah - this is a terrible problem around Dublin (city centre and environs) these days. Household waste, fridges/TVs, furniture, clothes etc. :(
 
ClubMan said:
Yeah - this is a terrible problem around Dublin (city centre and environs) these days. Household waste, fridges/TVs, furniture, clothes etc. :(
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That's all the boggers who live here treating the place like home ;)
 
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