Newton’s largest retailers have begun charging ten cents for paper bags at point of purchase and smaller retailers will begin charging later this year.
Has the new fee changed your shopping habits?
How are you adjusting to Newton’s new paper bag fee?
by village14 | Jan 13, 2020 | Newton | 42 comments
I think it’s terrible. A real nuisance for consumers. What is the City Council going to ban next?
I now do my grocery shopping in nearby Needham and Dedham.
I keep in my car bags from Star market, Russo, Whole Foods. It has not deterred my shopping. I’m not going to drive 2 miles to save a dime. And I keep Dion’s wine bag, it holds six bottled, in the car as well.
IT’S GREAT! I’ve been bringing re-usable bags for about 10 years and have no problem shelling out a measly 10 cents if i don’t have one once in a while, though i usually just use my pockets for small items. Hardly a nuisance. In fact, reusable bags, or no bag for a small item or two, are even more convenient.
I think the bag fee is terrible. But that’s the way this City Council operates. They suffer from Big Brother Syndrome with a desperate need to tell their constituents how to live.
I shop at Market Basket and use my own bags 3 out of 4 weeks. On the fourth week, I get plastic bags for my trash cans at home. I would rather the counselors spend time solving Newton problems and less time on bags. But I get one vote, and I use it at every election.
When you’ve seen miles of plastic shopping bags washed up on otherwise pristine beaches, as i have, you may come to understand the problem a bit better.
Has anyone noticed the small sized paper bags at Star Market? Not only are they 10 cents each you have to buy two or three of them with any reasonable shopping venture.
Follow the money !
I have dozens of re-usable bags. They often aren’t in my car. I’m happy to pay for the bag, but I want to know when the City hasn’t come down on the Tab which drops weekly newspapers in plastic bags unsolicited at every house. You can’t even opt out
@Claire – you can opt out of the Tab, though it may take multiple tries. I did so about 15 years ago.
And I almost always have reusable or already-used bags in my car. After I put groceries away, I put the bags next to the door so I’ll remember to bring them back to the car. I also have a couple of lightweight foldable nylon bags in my purse.
Until Newton has the courage to ban single use plastic in all stores.. this is just virtue signaling
– cereal, cookies etc stored in plastic inside the box
– water bottles and soda (probably the largest cause of waste!)
– plastic bags used in the veg/fruit section of grocery market
Honestly if the city wanted to cut down on useless waste then each homeowners garbage bin would be ‘weighed’ and charged per lb… but that would require real sacrifice on residents (ie stop buying junk and wasting food)
Very anecdotally, it seems to me like more people use their own bags now, which is exactly the intent of the fee.
I have been bringing my own bags for quite some time, but sometimes I forget or I don’t bring enough. What I’ve realized is that most of my shopping isn’t done in Newton, aside from Trader Joe’s and occassionally Wegmans however the past few times I’ve gone to Wegmans it’s been in Natick because I was running errands there. So basically the ten cent fee doesn’t affect me even if I forget my bags because I’m probably at Market Basket.
Mostly I just remember my bags now, which is the point, so it works for me. I’m more curious to see how things work when it goes into effect for the smaller retailers, where I wasn’t already bringing them most of the time anyways. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
From a policy point of view, my only real complaint is that the fee goes back to the retailer. I understand the politics of why we ended up with a solution that tries to influence end user behavior without burden on the business, but as a policy approach it seems a half-measure. “We believe single-use bags create a negative externality so we want to use regulation to price them appropriately based on those effects, but we want businesses to not bear any of the consequences of encouraging their use” loses a lot of moral clarity after the comma.
(DC charges 5 cents for plastic bags, of which 1 cent goes to the store. Chicago charges 7 cents, of which 2 cents go to the store. NYC charges 5 cents on paper bags, zero goes to the retailer. Generally the portion that does not go to the retailer goes to some sort of environmental fund and/or to subsidize reusable bags. There are several cities that do 5 cents to the retailer, though even that seems high. It’s hard to find anywhere else that gives them a full 10 cents.)
The other thing is my re-usable bags to date are all food or pharmacy bags. However, should I buy a $150 dress at Bloomingdales, I am going to need to buy a different set of bags for clothes. I don’t want broccoli bits on my new clothes.
I employ reusables for my weekly “big” trip to Wegman’s or Star and have been doing so for many years now. I’ve gotten in the habit of not using bags at all for “small” stops to e.g., CVS or Walgreens. That said, I will be making it a point to shop in other towns when at all convenient to avoid supporting the Newton Nannies. I’ll also be looking into using plastic rather than paper liners for my recyclables just for kicks.
@NewtonMom – if I’m paying $150 for a dress, a $0.10 fee for a bag isn’t going to be noticeable. If I regularly buy non-food items, I can sequester a couple of bags to use for clothing, etc.
Did you notice? All the dimes in this article’s photo are pre-1965 silver dimes, each worth $1.30 in silver value alone. If you’re hapless enough to pay with such a valuable coin, you’ll just be left holding the bag!
The markets i shop at typically deduct 5 cents for each reusable bag i bring, or add 10 cents to the card charge for a paper bag. I almost never see folks paying for groceries with cash nowadays.
Michael Singer,
Great comment!!! Yours deserves recognition as the best (and cleverest/funniest) V14 comment of the month.
A lot of the comments here seem to be along the lines of “this doesn’t solve the whole problem, so why bother?”
But that’s the point, we are taking steps and steps take time. City Council only has so many levers it can throw to make a difference, so this is one. Keeping bags in your car (as Jack does) isn’t such a huge burden. Shopping by bike isn’t a huge burden.
The real change in behavior here could be that instead of shopping once a week people start shopping more often and buying less at each purchase. It allows for more fresh produce and less packaged goods, which can help reduce some of the other parts of the criticism I read in the comments.
The decision on where to spend your money is up to you. No one is forcing you to buy things that are filled with plastic, you can make almost anything you want, you can change how you eat, you can change how and where you shop. Your choice.
If you really think it’s worth it to drive another 20 minutes to save on a 10 cent fee, then go ahead. I have to imagine that’s going to get frustrating after a while, and if you are a professional who bills by the hour that’s not going to make economic sense, hey, you do you.
While I would be happy to see a reduction in bag-related litter, I fear that this measure is largely symbolic, and does little to tackle the amount of packaging that comes with most purchases today. If the objective is to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable material in landfills, this will have almost no effect, as most packaging is built into supply chains and is outside the control of local retailers.
Frankly, it’s the Big Brother aspect of this new law that sticks in my craw the most. Sending the Health Department around to punish retailers if some checkout clerk omits to add a bag charge seems heavy-handed. Why couldn’t the Council have exempted paper bags, and done away with that aspect altogether?
Chuck,
You say “people should start shopping more often” to facilitate less packaging and fewer bags to help save the environment yet that would hurt the environment by adding to the carbon footprint of more trips to and from the store, to say nothing of added traffic congestion (and don’t suggest you simply mean riding bikes to and from the store, grocery in tote — unrealistic for the vast number of Newtonites).
Mr Welbourn, of COURSE the effort is largely symbolic. That is fundamentally ALL that the Board of Aldermen are capable of doing. In case you are new to Newton, as a group and largely as individuals, these people have proven to be historically incapable of focussing exclusively on problems where the levers they have do provide for a comprehensive solution. (Even then, success is far from assured). Rather, lured by their insatiable appetite for virtue signaling very literally at our expense, they are perpetually drawn to ban this or restrict that. Whatever the shiny new object of their ire may be.
Chuck,
As a once a week shopper, I bring my own bags (three out of four times), and while I purchase a weeks worth of groceries (individual apples and oranges and peppers), I am fortunate that I can do that, because I don’t want to drive to the grocery store multiple times in a week. I stick to a list. Besides, after my full time job is over for the day, and after I drive my kids to after school activities, I then cook a dinner (from scratch). I don’t understand why my weekly grocery bothers you. We eat the strawberries and blueberries first, and the apples and oranges are for later in the week. My loaf of bread for sandwiches is the same. My pound of turkey lasts almost a week, and then the kids PB&J. I have made the once a week grocery shopping work for 20 plus years. And, I also know to purchase individual fruits and veggies when possible to reduce the packaging.
I plan my dinners for the week (mushrooms are cooked first). I try to be good to the world.
I’m sorry if everyone misread my comments. I’m not saying that you just eliminate your weekly run. Yes, I do a weekly run as well.
But the supermarket itself is a result of the car. The idea that we go to the market, fill up on everything we need for the week in one motion, and then store that at home is something that emerged thanks to large car trunks and cheap refrigeration. The next half-century was devoted to creating ways in which they could sell us more stuff, mostly shelf-stable and packed to “stay fresh.”
So if your goal is to reduce packaging, then make the trip along with your other errands and shop differently. It changes a bit of how you live, maybe you stop on your way home to grab something between the house and the train. This may also change what you demand of the places where you shop. For example, you don’t go up and down every aisle every day. Some stores are seeing this as a trend and adjusting (the Stop and Shop on Needham Street is an example).
When your ability to carry things home changes, so does how you shop. A car trunk means there is little personal cost between the small box of cereal and the large one (or buying no cereal at all). But if you are carrying those things for a few blocks, or putting them in a push basket, or on a bike, then you give that decision some thought.
All of this is to say, the choice of what we buy and how we shop is up to us. I’m just saying there are ways to make those purchasing decisions differently.
This whole discussion is not framed correctly. This is not a tax or a fee. Paper bags are made of trees, but they don’t grow on them. Based on some quick googling, they cost somewhere between 5 and 12cents, plus shipping, handling, and the labor to keep the registers stocked with them. An don’t forget frequent double bagging. Mandating a charge for them just says that people who opt not to ask for a bag or opt to bring reusable bags are not required to subsidize free bags for others anymore.
If you bring your own, you actually save 15 cents per bag: the 5 cent credit for bringing your own, plus the 10 cents you would otherwise be charged for a paper bag.
Ditto to going after the source (s) and not punishing retailers (esp. small!). I reach for brown bags in the produce dept (vs. the thin plastic) @WF. They used to be everywhere; now they’re mostly at hardware stores and small grocers. I asked for them at Star market and I got a look :/
Go after the Chemical Bros.! (not the band – another reference for you, Greg ;D)
Banning plastic bags make sense, but paper bags are recyclable. Many use them hold recyclables in their homes vs bringing their beer bottles to the big green bin outside one by one.
Those who use reusable bags will continue to do so. Those accustomed to paper will pay the 10 cents – because many in Newton can afford it. But for some, the 10 cents will add up…the people we should be helping with affordable housing. Oh the irony!
In anticipation of the fee, I’ve saved up enough plastic bags to take me through the next decade.
I can reuse each plastic bag 15-20 times before they breakdown and become so crinkly it’s embarrassing to be seen carrying them.
If you really want to make a difference then stop buying bottled water, soda bottles… yes, I know this may require sacrifice but stop kidding yourself your plastic bag is making a difference
I believe China just stopped accepting our recycled plastic, so instead of China making sacrifices for us in the last decades… we have to make some serious sacrifices soon
Maybe newton will have to build a recycling center in Waban
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/06/28/623972937/china-has-refused-to-recycle-the-wests-plastics-what-now
@chuck
I guess its not in the interest of “newton chamber of commerce” to ban plastic shrink wrap, plastic bags inside cartons, plastic bags from take out restuarants, plastic bags from ALL stores
… requires too much courage… but everyone can feel good about the 0.01% plastic they are saving in Newton
The bag fee has no effect on my life at all. I shop where I’ve always shopped – mainly Wegman’s, Marty’s, Russo’s, Target and some other specialty stores – depending on the products I’m shopping for. I always plan my trips to coincide with other errands – think most people do.
I leave my shopping bags in my car – yes I drive to the markets – and haven’t had to pay for a bag yet but happily will if I forget mine. I don’t know many people who buy bottled water anymore, most use aluminum water bottles.
Thank you. Yes, making at least some effort to do even a tiny bit to not personally contribute to a hideous world-wide problem does make me feel a little better.
There is also this startup that grew out of Babson’s incubator (an N-Squared partner).
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2020/01/14/save-planet-subscribe-stainless-steel-coffee-cup/okl6jnP1i0xaFuQHMHP53I/story.html
Alex B,
Well, at least the new ordinance makes you “feel a little better” in exchange for the hassle and cost, even if the environmental benefit is negligible if any.
Jim E. It’s certainly not a hassle for me to bring my own reusable bags. I’ve been doing it for lots of years. And, in addition to the pollution mitigation, customers bringing their own bags likely also reduces retailers’ costs of doing business.
I found it interesting when shopping at a local liquor store that a paper bag was offered for 10 cents. Alternatively When I was about to carry out loose purchases a cardboard box was offered for free, which I graciously accepted.
Does our “woke” council have any plans to ban single use plastic(the real problem) across the board?
For some naive reason I thought plastics were recycled but infact its just landfilled now that 3rd world countries are refusing our garbage to be shipped to them
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/21/us-plastic-recycling-landfills
Bugek, I do think all single use plastic should be banned and its manufacture haulted over time in addition to styrofoam containers. Restaurants automatically put plastic silverware into take out bags so I’ve started requesting no utensils for me.
When I was in college I worked at Hi-Lo foods on Beacon and Washington on Brookline. It was a no frills store and we charged 3cents per paper bag. This was 1979.
Interesting clientele. Not without its risks. Phil, the manager, got stabbed in the arm with a nail file chasing a woman down the street who had run out of the store with a case of those really large cans of tuna. ( you can’t buy those anymore since most of the large bluefin tuna, what’s left of them, go to Japan for sushi).
Then there was the ( mentally ill) woman who would try to steal groceries by “hiding” them I’m her dress pockets; to the point where her dress would be drooping.
Anyways, hanging for bags, what’s old is new again.
Charging for bags! It hanging! Stupid computer.