Why the Plastic Bag Ban Doesn't Work

Starting March 1 of this year, the city of Kirkland implemented a city-wide plastic bag ban, preventing any retailer from giving plastic bags to customers.  Instead, they can give out paper for a 5 cent per bag charge.  They do this to try to encourage people to bring their bags so that very few bags have to be made and used.  THIS DOESN'T WORK.  And I'm going to explain why.

1) Paper bags cost more to make and are harder on the environment to make
Paper bags cost more to make than plastic (if you look at the cost per bag to retailers).  I'm not sure of the amount for either, but it's something like this.  Each plastic bag costs about 1/100th of a cent, while each paper bag costs 1/2 a cent.  It's a significant difference.  Those aren't exact, so don't quote me on that, but it's similar to what I remember seeing.  Point is, paper costs significantly more PER BAG.  Sure, they can hold more, but 50 times more?  Yeah right.  Also, paper bags come from trees while plastic comes from the ground.

2) People never remember to bring their bags--and are too lazy to go get them!
I find it simply astounding that the residents of Kirkland were given a year's notice about the plastic bag ban, told to remember to start bringing their bags a year in advance, and two and a half months into the ban people are still forgetting them.  We, the city of Kirkland, had a year to prepare, and we totally freaking failed.  That's like given an entire semester's notice of a test in a class and told exactly what to study for, and choosing not to study.

Anyway, the most common thing I hear is "I forgot/left them in the car."  Really?!  Great, they're less than  1,000 feet away!  Oh, you're too freaking lazy to go get them?  Are you s****ing me?!  First off, if you're shopping with someone else make the passenger hold the bags on the way to the store.  If you're shopping alone, leave them on top of the passenger seat... and put your cell phone on top of the bags there.  You won't forget that, will you?  Which means you won't forget that bags.  THERE IS NO EXCUSE.  Secondly, if the bags made it to the car, and you realize it before you've done much shopping, GO GET THEM!  No excuse.

3) People are content with paying for bags in Kirkland
This isn't true of everyone of course, but a majority of Kirkland residents are all right with paying 5 cents for every bag.  I'd say the average order only requires 2 or 3 bags, which comes to 11 or 16 cents (if you count tax--yes, they are taxed... lol... gotta love America).  Most people are ok with paying the bag fee, because Kirkland is already an expensive city to live in, what's 20 or so cents every time you shop?  It's nothing.

People being ok with paying for bags means a lot of paper bags headed out the door, which means retailers have to increase production on paper bags, which can't be good for the environment.

4) Reusable bags cause cross contamination!!!
When we had plastic bags, I would always put meat that wasn't that tightly wrapped in a plastic bag before I put it in a reusable bag, if they brought them.  Now, with no plastic, if someone comes to the front with reusable bags and no produce plastic bag around their meat, I am forced to put their leaking meat in a reusable bag.  Guess what?  There's a decent chance that bag doesn't get washed before it's next use.  People are lazy.  If they're too lazy/forgetful to bring their bags sometimes then they're too lazy to wash their bags, too.  Reusing bags, especially cloth bags, can cause cross-contamination which can result in sickness and in some cases even death.

5) People can just shop in neighboring city for plastic bags and dispose of them here
Currently, neighboring cities Redmond and Bellevue do not have a ban on plastic bags, so I'm sure many shoppers have flocked to those cities for free and convenient plastic bags.  And I bet they're still doing the same things with the plastic bags that they did before.  Myself included, many Kirkland residents have brought plastic bags from other cities into Kirkland and used them as trash cans, pet waste bags, etc.  They're still ending up in Kirkland garbage cans.


So what do we do?  I'd say bring plastic back, and if people really want it they'll pay for it, too.  All the money that plastic bags make could go towards environmental efforts to keep them out of landfills.  Bring plastic back, but make people twice before they stuff them in the garbage.  Also, couldn't they make the plastic bag bio-degradable, like you see with the food compost bags?  Why can't those be made into shopping bags?  Oh well.  In the meantime, I will continue getting plastic in Woodinville, Bellevue, and Redmond and bringing it here, because people in government do not know how to THINK THINGS THROUGH.

My Thoughts on Checking/Cashiering at Safeway

I have now been checking/cashiering at Safeway for over two months. Many people have asked me what I think of it and if it is better than being a courtesy clerk.

First off, overall, yes it is better than being a courtesy clerk. For one thing, you get more respect from people that know you. For example, instead of someone you know seeing you as a bagger and thinking you are stuck in a minimum wage job, they see you as a checker and see you have more responsibility and assume you make more than the minimum wage. Fact is, however, I don’t. At least not yet. I haven’t worked at Safeway long enough.

Secondly, it seems like time goes faster as a checker, especially when it is busy. As a courtesy clerk, my carts hours (obviously an hour of my work day I would do nothing but retrieve carts) went by really slowly, especially if the weather was bad. Which is another reason why being a checker is better: you never have to cope with the elements. You get to stay inside all the time. You never have to dress according to the weather.

Of course, there are a few downsides to checking. You have to stay in the same spot 90% of the time, which doesn’t allow you to burn as many calories as being a courtesy clerk. Secondly, you are doing the same thing over and over. Scan item, scan item, enter PLU code, scan item, etc. It is very repetitive. But I’d prefer scanning items repeatedly over getting carts repeatedly.

One last downside is that you have to deal with problem customers. There are just certain people who are either having bad days or are mean people naturally that will go through your line and give you problems. Now, I haven’t actually gotten yelled at, but I’ve had people get very upset. It really kind of deflates you. As a courtesy clerk, you can choose to walk away from those situations, but as a checker, you gotta stand there and take it. Myself, if I encounter one of these people, I just try to shrug it off and move on to the next customer.

However, I still think being a checker/cashier is better than being a courtesy clerk. I don’t have to deal with cleanups anymore, no more carts, no more taking care of the garbage, and no more getting up at 6 am. *Shudders* However, checking alone can get kind of dull. That’s why I wish sometimes I was just a backup checker, who works in a different department. That way, instead of checking being the only thing you do, it can be a break from what you normally do. Perhaps someday I will make the switch to a department that needs me.

Finally, I just wanted to say cashiering is not as bad as it seems. If you generally have nice customers, work can actually make your day better. Plus, the pay goes up quite fast the longer you work there. And the coworkers are all really nice and fun to talk to. They make work a lot more fun and more enjoyable. This is my job for the foreseeable future, and overall, I do enjoy it.