Poll: Consumers divided on plastic bag ban

Poll: Consumers divided on plastic bag ban
Tags: Consumer Behavior, Supermarkets & Grocery Stores
August 29, 2010 - James Bickers

With the California Senate getting ready for a vote on AB 1998, which would outlaw the use of plastic bags in retail stores, we surveyed our consumer advisory panel — and the results are nearly evenly divided.

We asked 270 consumers at random, "Are you in favor of a ban on plastic bags at retail stores?" and 53 percent said they were not.

Selected feedback from poll respondents:

"If reused, disposed of properly or recycled, there is nothing wrong with plastic bags and they are more sanitary to use than reusable bags at grocery stores if the reusable bags are not kept clean (leaking meat juices...contaminating fresh produce etc.)."

"I live in El Paso, Texas and the joke in our beautiful city is 'What is El Paso's flag? Answer, The plastic shopping bag!' Must be because they're everywhere, and that's all you can see all along our roads as you drive through and into our city. They're in and on every open lot, and trash our desert landscaping. I say, no more plastic bags!"

"I think all stores should be like Aldi, pack your own groceries or use the flat boxes they provide."

"I'm tired of seeing them hanging in trees and floating in the waterways. Although convenient, they are unnecessary when reusable bags are cheap and readily available."

"Not everyone has a reusable bag or a bag to bring with them when they shop. Some people reuse the plastic bag to dispose of their rubbish. If everyone was smart and tied the bag into a knot before throwing it away, there would not be a lot of it on the road side. We must educate the people to dispose of them properly."

"It's a store's right to pay for plastic bags for their customers and an individual's responsibility to decide if they choose to use them or not."