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Comment by version_five | Hacker News Reader

We have this in my jurisdiction. Now you can get a useless (because you can carry max 1 and cant re-use it for much) paper bag that uses more energy and creates more pollution than a plastic bag.

This only hurts poor people anyway, it's easy for comparatively wealthy people to just buy new "reusable" bags every time they need them, or to truck the paper bags home in their SUV. Poor people who have to walk or take public transit, and choose between buying a bag and a food item are who will suffer. But I feel like that's the point

Imagine being so out of touch to actually buy in to policies like this.

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We shop at a grocery store in a pretty poor area. At least half the people do bring their own reusable bags. The price is pretty cheap for them and they last a long time. The energy difference between one plastic bag and one paper bag is minimal. Yes, in volume it ads up but the choice is between one of this or one of that. To me the issue with the old plastic bags was that they were too light and escaped into the environment where they clogged waterways, choked animals and broke down into plastic particles. The heavier plastic bags and the paper bags are less likely to escape and pollute.

Most of the economically depressed people in my area are already using reusable bags and pull carts for some things as they don't usually have cars and don't want to carry stuff a long ways. This pattern extends all the way up into the lower middle classes and was long before any bag-ban here.

Note: I live in an unusually walkable area in the U.S.

Those disposable plastic and paper bags are way too weak to take on a 10-15+ minute walk home unless you double paper bag or only put like 3 things per plastic bag.

Seems like a simple fix would be just to give out some reusable bags for free. Reusable bags are way easier to carry than a bunch of plastic ones. Do you actually think that getting rid of single use plastic bags is to make things more difficult for people who are poor?

Some stores have done that, they buy a "thicker" bag (like you see at Menards or Home Depot) and call it reusable (to be fair, it would be) and use them as normal.

The point is signaling how perfect California is. Practicalities aren't an actual issue.

I love my reusable leather bag, it works great. But I'm glad I can get a bag when I forget it without a huge expense.

Goodwill around here has a decent selection of "used/donated" bags that they put your stuff in, often they're pretty decent and not just a reused grocery bag.

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