IKEA Will Start Charging Customers Five Cents For Plastic Bags - Inquirer

[hatrack]

Customers leave Ikea's 29 U.S. stores every day with Nordic-named housewares and assemble-it-yourself furniture, but the Swedish home-furnishings retailer wants to see shoppers walk out with one less thing: a plastic bag.

Ikea International A/S, which has its U.S. headquarters in Conshohocken, announced yesterday that it would start charging customers a nickel for every plastic bag they use to carry their booty of Glasklar dishes and Bibbi Snurr blankets. Proceeds from the surcharge will go to an environmental conservation group.

"We really feel the timing is right," said Pernille Lopez, president of Ikea North America. "It's a small step, but we feel it's good for us as a company, and it reduces our impact on the environment."

Ikea's U.S. stores went through 70 million plastic bags last year - and officials want to cut that in half over the first year of the "bring-your-own-bag" policy. That would equate to about 1.5 million trees being planted - an idea that got a favorable response from customers Ikea surveyed, Lopez said.

EDIT

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/16744081.htm

[jilln]

1. They should make it $5.

[kestrel91316]

15. You beat me to it.

[Katherine Brengle]

2. I think it's awesome -- and they are also

cutting the price tag on their heavy duty reusable bags to encourage shoppers to use those instead.

Which reminds me I've been meaning to buy those reusable green bags at Stop & Shop, need to pick those up next trip.

[htuttle]

3. My food coop has been giving a five cent discount for bringing your own bag for years

But it's one of those, you know, 'hippie' places....

[leftyclimber]

4. I was half expecting them to sell

assemble-it-yourself fabric bags with cryptic instructions that left you with something roughly resembling an M.C. Escher drawing when you finished sewing. :evilgrin:

Good on 'em for doing it right.

[Nihil]

18. LOL!

You hit the spot with that one!
:toast:

[Atman]

5. Trader Joes gives away $25 gift certificates for using your own bags.

Well, not really...you get entered into a drawing and they award the $25 every week or month (can't remember which). I'd do it without the incentive, or dis-incentive in the case of Ikea. Freakin' bags, paper AND plastic, take up far too much room. I look forward to bringing them back...and leaving the extras I don't need.

.

[tabatha]

9. Bags

The Trader Joe bags are so much stronger than either plastic or paper - that it is far better to use them - and they are not expensive.

South Africa started charging for bags a few years ago.

[Beaverhausen]

6. Good. I bring my own bags to stores

and I go crazy when I see baggers putting other's groceries in plastic bags - one item per bag.

ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! I want to yell at them - You will use that bag for 20 minutes and it will live 20,000 years in a landfill.

[CrispyQ]

12. I like when the customer has purchased something with a handle,

like a milk jug & they want it in a bag. Or they have one green pepper & need a bag. :eyes:

[Beaverhausen]

13. Oh don't get me started

the six pack of beer WITH THE HANDLE goes in a bag.

The jug of water WITH THE HANDLE goes in a bag. Most likely two bags cause it's heavy.

The bag of cat litter that doesn't fit in the bag is nonetheless put in a bag. :eyes:

Drives me nuts!

My canvas bags hold so much, are comfy to carry and last forever.

[jilln]

16. And it's so ridiculously hard to get out of a store WITHOUT a bag

even when you bring your own. They always want to put frozen stuff in a bag, or double bag stuff like flour in case it gets a leak... I literally have to tell them 3 or 4 times I DON'T WANT ANY BAGS. For most people, they only have to carry stuff out to the car anyway, how much possibility for grocery disaster is there in 5 minutes??

[lebkuchen]

7. That's standard for Europe

Germans usually bring in a canvas bag or two and bag their own goods.

[bahrbearian]

8. "I'll take paper, please"

[Atman]

11. Paper is just as bad. Get a reusable sack.

Manufacturing a paper bag is foul process that takes up lots of resources and leaves lots of nasty waste. It is really a toss-up with plastic, which just uses the resources in different parts of the process. You really should just use cloth bags. Trader Joes sells handled canvas shopping bags for just a few dollars.

.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Good, but should be higher. Ireland doesn't allow them.

[NMDemDist2]

14. i get a nickel credit per bag at Albertsons for bringing my own bags

i hate those damned plastic bags and with the spring winds starting up they are littering up EVERYWHERE :cry:

I have two LARGE cooler bags that keep my stuff cold if i have to make a couple more stops on the way out of town (which i usually do) and about 8 canvas bags I've picked up in thrift stores over the years.

edit to add, I have a large sling style purse that I put small purchases in too. when I got home from shopping yesterday I had a car phone charger in there and some small purchases from the drug store

it's funny the odd looks i get when i say "I don't need the bag, thanks"

[Javaman]

17. Will they also limit the plastic wrapping on the items they sell?

I applaud them for this measure but it's not harsh enough.

People get all bent out of shape over the use of plastic bags, but next time you go into any dept store, just look around at the amount of plastic packaging, it's obscene.

[Nihil]

19. Good

Most of the major supermarkets round here (Tesco, Sainsbury, ...) will give you
"points" on your store card for using your own bags but they haven't quite got to
the point of charging you for a carrier.

Good to see that a major international store is prepared to take the flak for
doing the right thing. Hopefully, it will provide the lead for others to follow.