Jersey should bag the bag ban — how smart businesses could profit (Opinion)

Just when you though New Jersey politicians have done all they could possibly do to aggravate us, they find another layer of bedrock to drill through.

Now comes a bill calling for the banning of all single-use plastic bags, plastic straws and polystyrene food containers. They also want to charge a 10 cent fee on paper bags. But wait, it gets better!

State Senator Bob Smith of Middlesex, is pushing for a ban on paper bags as well.

Apparently while vacationing in Aruba, Smith was impressed with the way shoppers brought their own bags. Thank God the New Jersey Senator didn't vacation at our shore or he would have pushed for a ban on sausage and peppers, but I digress.

If people want to bring their own bags, that's fine. It's also incumbent of the store to do everything possible to make your shopping experience as comfortable as possible and that includes providing you with a bag to carry home your merchandise. If I had a store, I would pay the 10 cent bag fee as an incentive to get people in. It could be the cheapest promotion ever especially since you're already making a profit on what you're selling. It's also much better than having someone walking around with a bag that has my competitors name on it.

Also, single use plastic bags are a myth in New Jersey. I use my bags I've gotten from the store at home to line the waste baskets throughout my house, pick up my dog Fluffy's waste and sit in my truck in case I need them for other things.

If we're so worried about the environment, then why are we not banning plastic water bottles too, which I imagine are a much bigger problem in the landfills They will still sell plastic bags of all shapes and sizes. I guess sea creatures won't mind dying in a store bought bag. But of course there's one type of plastic that will never go away, the plastic that you use to make your purchase!

Just another reason to drive people to shop online.

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