Are You in Favor of Paying For Shopping Bags? [POLL]

By Jeff Deminski

S812 and A3787 are bills in the senate and assembly respectively which would put a 5 cent fee on all paper and plastic shopping bags. You go grocery shopping the traditional way, you come home with 16 bags, that's an extra 80 cents on your bill. Four cents would go to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to clean up Barnegat Bay. One cent would remain with the merchant.

It's an idea that's gaining ground around the country. According to the Hunterdon County Democrat,

San Jose, California passed a law that charges 10 cents for every bag you bring home. People there stopped using bags by about 90 percent. In Washington, D.C. a 5 cent per bag fee recently went into effect resulting in bag use dropping 86 percent.

These numbers are reported from the environmental group Sustainable Lawrence here in New Jersey.

Do you want to join the ranks of the canvas bag toters and bring their hippy ways to the Garden State?