I think this is an idea that’s worth pushing. My understanding is that Wal-Mart is planning to drop their bags at some point in the near future.

Canvas bags are actually more comfortable, hold more and more manageable anyway.

I’m glad you raised the issue. I’m not convinced that the solution should come from government on this one. I’d prefer private businesses stepped up to the plate.

But, I’d be interested to know what percentage of landfill trash is plastic shopping bags. From there, you could arrive at some hard numbers on how much it costs Fayetteville, or any other city, to eliminate that trash. I think those numbers would be useful.

I’m thinking a potential policy would go one of two ways: 1) a bag tax as you described, or 2) requiring stores to display the cost of the bag on the bag, charge for the cost of the bag, and not roll the cost of the bags into the prices of other products.

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one thinking of this, and I’d be really interested to hear what the other Council members have to say if you contact them.