Seattle is considering new ways of reducing waste. The city is proposing that restaurants and grocery stores be required to get rid of plastic foam containers and charge a 20-cent fee for plastic bags at convenience, grocery and drug stores.
Seattle Times columnist Jerry Large said grocers complain that they don't want to have to collect the 20-cent fee because it will slow down transactions. Grocers would have to wait to see how many bags are used before the clerk could ring up the sale. The fee could also put a burden on baggers because customers may want to cram more goods in each bag to save money.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is concerned that its members will get stuck hauling heavier bags.
If people bring their own bags, who will make sure those bags are sanitary?
The bag ban is scheduled to begin in January. The ban on foam containers would be phased in starting in January.
Aldi's, a national grocery store chain charges from .10 a...
