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Don’t Charge For Plastic Bags, Give Discounts For Not Using Them
In a somewhat genuine effort to combat plastic bag use, stores often charge customers for bags. Give customers a discount for not using them instead.
Approximately 500 million to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year, according to Conserving Now. That means that in the time it will take you to read this article, 1 to 2 million plastic bags will be used. On average, each of those will be used for about 12 minutes, and only 1 in 200, 0.005%, of them will get recycled.
Most of us are aware that this is a big problem in the fight for sustainability and bad for the environment. That’s why tote bags and reusable shopping bags are increasingly popular. That is to be encouraged.
However, the last line of defense for this is still the cash register, where most businesses either offer plastic bags free of charge, or at a small fee.
Based on my experience in retail, there are three possible scenarios that can play out from here. The first: the customer pays for the bag. Second: the customer complains about having to pay for a bag. And third: the customer turns down the bag.
What This Accomplishes
Charging for plastic bags unfortunately doesn’t accomplish much. It often feels like it’s more about businesses letting the public know that they “care”, as opposed to a genuine attempt to lower use. This isn’t to say that charging for bags don’t lower use, but more often than not the fee for plastic bags is negligible.
The fight against plastic bag use has to be fought before the customer receives the bag. If businesses want to get serious about lowering plastic bag consumption, this is what I’m proposing: instead of charging customers for plastic bags, give them discounts for not using them.
It may seem like an insignificant change, but it would make world of difference. We, as humans, don’t like being punished, but we do love rewards, and discounts. That’s why store points and loyalty programs are so pervasive.
