When purchasing groceries at the supermarket, it seems natural to respond with a “yes” when the cashier asks, “Do you need a bag?” Whether we are purchasing one item or a refrigerator’s worth, at least one plastic bag always seems to make it home with us. Most shoppers are unaware of this habit, and must begin to realize the damage resulting from the consumption of plastic bags.

To tax shoppers for the use of these bags is a very plausible solution — one that is currently in effect at a few supermarkets. A ‘plastic bag tax’ isn’t simply a way to collect more money, but is about recognition, education, and developing a culture of increased sustainability.

The production of plastic bags uses high amounts of energy and non-reusable resources. According to the Greener Footprints website, Canadians use nine to 15 billion plastic bags a year. To produce this number of bags would require copious amounts of energy. Furthermore, the production of plastic bags requires petroleum — 8.7 plastic shopping bags contain enough petroleum energy to drive a car one kilometre — as well as natural gas and chemicals, leading to greenhouse gas emissions.

Approximately 1.5 billion bags are distributed in BC annually. Most of these eventually end up in a landfill or the open ocean, as less than one per cent are actually recycled. Plastic bags are not biodegradable and could take hundreds of years to break down. Researchers estimate that one bag has the potential to kill one animal every three months due to unintentional digestion or inhalation.

One bag has the potential to kill an animal every three months due to digestion or inhalation.

While we may understand the damages caused by using plastic bags, this knowledge hasn’t spurred significant behavioural change. So how can we make change happen? A tax on plastic bags could save us from plastic mountains and a garbage-laden ocean. Perhaps, a few cents charge on these bags could motivate us to pick up our cotton, reusable bags on the way to the supermarket.

In Toronto, retailers were required to charge five cents for every single-use plastic shopping bag requested by customers. The result led to an over 70 per cent decrease in the distribution of plastic bags, and diverted 1.3 billion plastic bags from landfill sites in 2009 — that’s almost the number of bags that British Columbians use every year!

Additionally, many large retailers in Toronto, including Loblaws, Metro, and Shoppers Drug Mart, continue to charge for plastic bags as a claim of commitment to sustainability.

Is money the only motivation for us to stop using plastic bags? A five-cent tax may only cost the average shopper $10 a year, which may not be a significant enough amount to seriously consider. However, one of the major components of a plastic charge is to increase awareness of our habits.

The tax asks us to pause for thought before deciding on plastic bags at the check-out. Plastic bag charges could lead us to question whether we truly need to use a plastic bag at the supermarket, and remind us that we have the option to answer: “No bags please.”