BBS and many readers there are not ‘happy customers’ when it comes to the Loblaws’ plan to charge five cents a bag for anyone forgetting their cloth bags:
...I have no problem with charging market price for an item, but when you’re charging double the market price, things are a little different. Regardless of what you’re going to do with the remainder of the funds, it represents an involuntary donation to either Loblaws bottom line or a donation (and the resulting tax deduction for Loblaws) to the World Wildlife Fund. Personally I’ll exercise my choice and not shop at Loblaws or any of their affiliate stores…
Good point! Loblaws and the WWF come out ahead at your expense, and they get to look so virtuous.
The other point to keep in mind is that unless you wash those cloth bags frequently at high heat, they may end up making you sick. Of course if you do that, then they shrink. And then you have to buy more…
What a racket.
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More on where your precious nickels are going.
Tuesday Update: EPIC reaction to launch of five-cent bag fee by Loblaw – CPIA:
…The bags cost about 1-cent and the Loblaw charge of 5-cents represents a 500% profit. Retailers are turning a cost item into a highly profitable source of revenue at the expense of consumers. For Loblaw with its dominant share of the market, this is a major windfall profit of millions during a recession particularly since the retailer is rushing to introduce the fee in Toronto six months ahead of the city mandated deadline.
“With the Loblaw launch, the first shoe has dropped on the $44 million bag tax on consumers in Toronto which starts in June,” said Cathy Cirko, Vice President, Environment and Plastics Industry Council. “It is very hard to see this fee as anything other than a revenue grab by retailers during a recession which only adds costs to consumers’ food bills.”
Currently, seven out of 10 traditional plastic shopping bags are reused by residents as bin liners for garbage and organics. A fee for bags could drive residents to stop organics recycling. Consumers will now have to buy plastic bags if they want to participate.
“Consumers will now have to pay either five-cents for the traditional bag or 15-cents for a kitchen catcher which is three times more expensive for bags for their garbage,” added Cirko. “And since kitchen catchers contain 82% more plastic, at the end of the day, more plastic will be consumed and end up in landfill.”
Loblaws,in spite of excellent products,remains in my mind a mismanaged organization…..Before charging double for plastic bags,they should concentrate on stocking shelves with product and teaching their check out staff to smile.As a shopper on both sides of the Ottawa River,I can tell you from first hand experience,that there is no comparison between Loblaws and Metro or IGA Plus.Service is friendly but most important,you are hard pressed to find empty shelf space….I don’t know how Loblaws stores operate elsewhere but after shopping at at least five Ottawa stores in recent years ,I find they are all operating at the same mediocre level…..I know,I know…..what does this have to do with the price of plastic bags…….
Are they going to stop using styrofoam type trays and wrapping all their meats in plastic?
Are they going to stop all packaging in plastic?
We have on the market biodegradable plastic bags used by some businesses now. These are far better and easier to deal with than thick paper bags or cardboard boxes in landfill sites.
It’s a great idea because it makes NO SENSE.
Ever since stores cut back on plastic bags,I find myself buying more plastic bags for kitchen garbage,bathroom tissues, cat crap……you get the picture…Where is the ecological benefit???????
Squiggy, exactly. Of course they want us to compost all that stuff.
Good post – I’ve included reference in my blog – and added this post.
Seems Loblaws is even greasier than you suggest.
Shop Save-On and Overwaitea.
I popped into our neighbourhood Canadian Tire this morning and had to chuckle, in a defeatist kind of way, when I saw a display of paper bags for sale. These weren’t the big paper bags used for collecting leaves in the fall. These were the smaller type we used to get when we bought just a few items at the corner grocer. Smaller even than the bags we used to bring home our weekly groceries in.
Is it silly to ask why we just can’t go back to paper bags?
We know the forestry industry is hurting and this would certainly help bring back some of those jobs and the bags can be easily recycled.
Am I the only one thinking of this?
But then I think about how I have to get my order of fish ‘n’ chips these days in a styrofoam container that will still be around long after I’m gone when it used to be given to me wrapped in biodegradable newspaper.
There’s too many bloody rules!
NeilD
I prefer the cloth reuseable bags as I use public transit, and never have to worry about the bag breaking on the bus
SaveOn & Safeway give a 3c credit (and points at SaveOn, although the points take forever to accumulate into anything of value, so I’m not sure that’s such a bonus).
Superstore has always charged for bags here in AB, so if you bring your own, n/c.
As for your link about “making you sick” they are specifically talking about reusable plastic bags vs. the cloth ones that most stores sell (except maybe IGA) and they only tested one bag, with no background or history on the user, so I’m not sure how valid a concern that is. That being said, thanks for the reminder to go home and throw all those cloth bags in the wash!
Typically, I wrap any meats in plastic before putting them in the cloth bag, but it is a good idea to disinfect them.
I do like Loblaws much and I’m a die-hard PCFinancial bank user, but this is a small sliver under my skin, this $0.05-a-bag + the forced donation to the WWF.
I will readily go to Metro or Sobey’s in Toronto to avoid this unwelcome bag tax. I can also easily go outside of the city to a Loblaws store to avoid paying the bag tax, but I would rather just shop In the city at one of Loblaws’ competitors as my small form of protest. Or bring in Sobey’s/Metro bags to Loblaws to pack my groceries in.
Slowly but surely, all these new rules, regulations, bans, and bylaws are really getting my goat.
It’s easier to know what you can’t do in the City of Toronto than what you can do.
I actually have little problem with this – better that the market is making these decisons rather than some government regulation that would be impossible to implement and monitor.
What irks me is what they are transferring these costs onto the consumer. I would have no problem at all if for a month they were to give out the cloth bags, and then after a month, implement a policy such as this.
The SAQ has done something similar to this over the course of the last 2 months. Now they don’t give out bags anymore. If you don’t bring in your cloth bag, you either buy another one, or look like a lush walking through the parking lot with you 3 bottles of wine.
One more little thing. If the program is so good and welcome by Loblaws and its customers, why is it just running the Bag Tax program in Toronto? Why not throughout all of Loblaws and its affiliate stores?
Wouldn’t Loblaws want to do this everywhere, and not just in jurisdictions where they are forced to charge for bags?
Just think about how much more money they could raise for themselves and WWF.
Seems to me that rather than tax their customers for their bags, they would offer incentives for those who use the cloth bags….like a discount on purchases or weekly products. How about making lives EASIER and positive for their customers?
Community leaders can get it together with their grocers and perhaps offer discounted or free admission to local events.
There are many ways this could have been approached.
The way it is appears to be another knee-jerk reaction, and not thought out enough. I already donate enough money, what with the 6 fundraisers at a time coming from schools, and local organizations, which is where I’d like to see my money at work.
Alan, I think the plan is to enforce the bag-charge outside of Toronto in April.
I agree with Liz J and Neil D. plastic and stryrofoam is everywhere. Get rid of it first where it hurts our health. I hate to see food sold on Stryofoam trays. Make degradable bags if you truly care so much.
I think this is just a posturing gimmick dreamed up by some pimply youth just hired from University who has not spent a lot of his life actually shopping for groceries. . It’s not going to last and a lot of customers will leave. Excellent customer service, is what makes a store successful over its competitors. This means respect for the customers and putting their needs first, and not assuming that they are all mindless, unable to make decisions for themselves and easily used and manipulated by the store management for a cheap (especially for them) publicity stunt.
I guess the made-in-China ‘environmentally friendly’ shopping bags they are pushing are just not selling fast enough. How much energy does it take to ship these ‘e.f. shopping bags from China anyway? that are probably made in sweat shops, pumping out pollution.
Typically, I wrap any meats in plastic before putting them in the cloth bag, but it is a good idea to disinfect them.
Candace, good idea. Yeah, you’d sure want to be careful about chicken leakings, etc.
I wonder if they’ll start charging for those clear plastic bags next?
It’s not going to last and a lot of customers will leave.
Bluejay, I agree. A lot of people are willing to put up with the inconvenience when shopping at No-frills type stores, but they expect the extras when paying more for groceries at the more up-scale grocery stores.
So there will be little incentive go to Loblaws if you can get the same thing cheaper elsewhere, and the nuisance factor is the same.
There are a couple of stores in the Ottawa area who give you a 5cts/bag DISCOUNT for using your own bag. Positive reinforcement works better.
When washing those cloth bags: did any environmentallist think of the environmental impact of washing them? Heating water and using laundry soap sure isn’t good for the environment… Same thing goes for the current movement against plastic water bottles to using your own glas ones… when looking at the dishsoap/hot water, it doesn’t make sense.
“Typically, I wrap any meats in plastic before putting them in the cloth bag, but it is a good idea to disinfect them”
I don’t mean to be rude, but if you are wrapping meat in plastic to prevent leaks, not to mention the plastic and styrofoam of the original meat packaging, what exactly are you accomplishing here ?
A point nobody seems to make anywhere I have seen. Depending on your age and where you live, some may remember Knob Hill Farms. This store did something way ahead of it’s time. You were able to use plastic baskets, similar to a small laundry basket, for bagging your groceries. You paid a small deposit, and kept the baskets as long as you wanted. In between grocery shopping, I used these baskets for laundry, recycling, camping, etc.
After the store ceased business, I still have a few left around the house. They were easy to clean, load into the car, and carry in the house.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but if you are wrapping meat in plastic to prevent leaks, not to mention the plastic and styrofoam of the original meat packaging, what exactly are you accomplishing here ?”
Actually, nothing, which is what most of this feel good green sh*t is.
Try this article on for size, it won’t be published in our MSM, as it is not PC and completely against the Goracle or Suzuki mantra:
http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/11-01-2009/106922-earth_ice_age-0
More boneheaded tree hugging thinking by Loblaws et all. Must be some remnants of the old Soviet regime working for them & telling us all what is good for us.
We all know how well that worked over there.
What did we ever do in the days before plastic bags?
Those bags have never been free, but are part of overhead costs, so built into the cost of everything you buy at Loblaws.
Segregate your meats, and give them (the alternative bags) a quick wipe with bleach.
Every molecule of ethylene from crude oil, not used in plastic bags, will end up in eventually scarce fuel for your car, so stop complaining.
I can see why the Roman Empire declined.
Food Basics in my town has those brown plastic baskets that Knob Hill had. The carts are big enough to fit two or three at once. Works fine.
We’ve been paying for our garbage pick up $1.50 per bag…no free bags, for almost 10 years, and when we went to the bluebox, the box was free for the first while. Our problem is that most of the plastics, like the containers cherry tomatoes come in, or the containers from baked goods aren’t accepted by our recycling company, so it goes to landfill.
A good place to start complaining is the prevalence of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) containers for your favourite soft drink. PET is also made from oil, and has displaced glass as the container of choice.
Almost as bad is charging more for beer (in Ontario, at least) in aluminum containers (which are easily recycled) than in glass, which requires significant energy inputs from washing.
Nice to take a break from politics and debate the fate of the plastic bag
Squiggy – too funny. Thanks for the laugh.
I don’t have a problem with the Loblaws bag policy. I carry cloth bags and it works pretty well. People are generally lazy unless they are financially provoked into action. I shop at the Great Canadian Superstore, a subsidiary of Loblaws and I always bring my own bags. Their plastic bags tear too easily anyway.
Their plastic bags tear too easily anyway.
And that’s probably because they’re biodegradable. Which begs the question, why did they need to do this in the first place?
The poor plastic bag workers…
Even if the bags are biodegradable, I think it’s a good idea to encourage people to use the same bags over again. This is a small concession people can make to do something helpful for pollution. Just because something can be recycled doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to eliminate the necessity of it’s creation in the first place. Waste not, want not.
Waste not, want not.
I want free plastic bags and I promise not to waste them.
lol, fair enough Joanne. Hey before you hit the sack, I’ve written a new post about the upcoming budget. I’d be curious for your thoughts.
I bet most of us use those plastic bags for many things after we get them home, garbage liners, paint brushes, diapers, kitchen scraps, vehicle garbage and so many other things. I keep forgetting to take my cloth bags with me. So far plastic bags from my store are still free. And I refuse to shop at stores where I have to first pay for a cart. The one time they asked if I had my own bags I had never heard of it before. Small town living I guess. When told I would have to pay .05/bag I told them to shove it and walked out without groceries. She had to void about 200.00 worth. Went to Costco.
I bet most of us use those plastic bags for many things after we get them home, garbage liners, paint brushes, diapers, kitchen scraps, vehicle garbage and so many other things. I keep forgetting to take my cloth bags with me. So far plastic bags from my store are still free. And I refuse to shop at stores where I have to first pay for a cart. The one time they asked if I had my own bags I had never heard of it before. Small town living I guess. When told I would have to pay .05/bag I told them to shove it and walked out without groceries. She had to void about 200.00 worth. Went to Costco, paid less and got a box.
sorry, for double post. Nothing happened with the first one so added a couple of words.
Way OT but can’t resist.
Watching ctv national news, with closed caption and saw this,
The Bank of Canabis expects increased sales.
The announcer said, the bank of Canada.
Well now, the city council thought police,in Calgary, are looking at banning, plastic grocery bags.
I use cloth but I sure as heck do not want them banned either. How utterly “nanny state” do we need to go?
I’ve been to the land fill, many times and the bags are the least of the problem.
Interestingly, I work for a municipality (one that has minimal “recycling” facilities – no paper, only cardboard and #2 plastic).
When looking at recycling, municipalities are faced with costs to ship the recycleables – if they can find a place to accept them.
Most recycleables sit in warehouses because the costs are too prohibitive – or the government has closed down facilities because they are not making money.
So while we all feel good sending our “garbage” to big bins instead of the landfill; it is your tax dollars that are sending them to big warehouses where they sit until the warehouse is full then – where do they go.
Recycling is one of those feel good ideas that makes us feel like we are saving the planet, but in actuality the costs to store our garbage is more than if we just sent it to the landfill.
Our waste management company will not deal with the recycling issue because of the costs – it is left up to the municipality.
I would encourage everyone to find out what their municipality does with the recycling and where it goes and what happens to it after it leaves the municipality. You might be surprised and don’t expect straight answers.
I know I was surprised and it sheds a whole new light on “doing the right thing”
Maybe the answer it to target the companies that totally overpackage their products.
What exactly is the complaint here?Is it that we have become such a throwaway society that plastic bags have become a right,or that a nickel will bring economic hardship,or filth and disease will become rampant thru the use of cloth bags.Go to a competitor,bring your own bags or boxes or reuse plastic bags from a previous shopping trip.There certainly is no shortage of plastic bags in any household if ours is an example.I just don’t get it.The issue reminds me of friends whining about the price of gas as they load up on beer & water.
Greyburr, are you trying to take away my right to whine?
I don’t have many rights left.
lol,no Joanne,it is simply that there are so many other windmills to tilt and so little time!
Greyburr, I hear ya!
I don’t regularly shop at Loblaws, but I occasionally pick up some PC [President's Choice, not politically correct
]goods. This time I will take with me my Dominion and Metro plastic bags and use them for shopping there.
I know Loblaws has promised the 5 cent proceeds from the sale of plastic bags to the World Wildlife Fund. Seems to me that there is huge conflict of interest with this for the WWF. If they are profiting from the sale of bags, you’d think they’d want more of us to buy them!!!!???? Go figure.
[...] Loblaws has really got me angry because they’re using Earth Day (tomorrow) to launch their no-more-free-plastic-bag policy. [...]
I spent $80 to $120 a week for last 25 years shopping at Loblwas.
A grocery store will not lecture me and will not support WWF or any other organization without my approval.
Total boycott.
George, I hear you. I really object to my money going to the WWF too. If it were something else, like a Foodbank or something, I could live with it.
But not such a left-wing organization as the WWF.
I am shopping at stores that do not charge for bags.. Walmart is cheap and doesn’t nickel and dime you.
Smart move on Loblaws and Sobeys to drive me away!