Charging for Grocery Bags: Loblaws Saving the Environment – Not!
There are better ways to save the environment than charging for plastic grocery bags. Rewarding consumers, instead of punishing them, is what grocery stores need to embrace.
Ontario consumers beware. Loblaws has found a new way to get more money from you. They are now charging 5 cents for each plastic grocery bag. You might think this will help the environment, however it actually helps Loblaws shareholders.
Until now, Loblaws has had to calculate the cost of shopping bags as an expense. Thanks to the mayor of Toronto, David Miller, they now can charge customers. Loblaws says that they’ll donate “some” money to environmentally friendly organizations. Of course they’ll keep the bulk of their new booty for themselves.
Funding environmental extremists is not exactly the way to promote good consumer practices. Some of those groups have agendas that would be devastating for consumers.
Why didn’t Loblaws choose to reward consumers for good behaviour by providing discounts to shoppers who bring their own bags and boxes? Speaking of boxes, why doesn’t Loblaws provide free boxes from the groceries they put on the shelf or in the freezer instead of tearing them up or shredding them? Shredding or compacting boxes wastes electrical energy. Boxes made of cardboard are environmentally friendly and are great for transporting groceries. Why is this obvious solution not considered?
Will Loblaws provide water resistant paper shopping bags with sturdy paper handles free of charge for people who don’t have a car? So far there hasn’t been a squeak from Loblaws. What about the sanitary advantages of plastic shopping bags which can be used for a variety of purposes? Consumers will have to spend much more of their hard earned dollars to buy plastic garbage bags instead.
In conclusion, whichever way you look at it, Loblaws comes out the winner and consumers are the losers. Next time you visit a Loblaws store, bring your own plastic bags and charge Loblaws if you have to pack your groceries. After all, they eliminated packers many years ago to save money and it’s about time we as consumers start getting paid for doing Loblaws workers jobs.
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