I absolutely agree with this post about the ban of plastic bagsin the city of Austin. As a proud resident of this city that has some of the best grocery stores in the country  and are the home base of Whole Foods market as an example; I find it pretty inconvenient to pay for a reusable bag whenever I forget to bring one to the grocery store. The problem would be a lot simpler if it was just a case of convenience we were discussing but this new law also represents an  added cost to many families for that trip to Walt-Mart or H.E.B as they now need to spend some extra dollars for bags in order to carry the groceries home. In many other cities where this law has been implemented  businesses have seen an increase in shoplifting as a consequence of the bag ban; costing grocery store thousands of dollars, a problem they didn’t have to deal with beforehand. As one could assume, it’s easier to hide  items in your reusable bag than it would be in an empty grocery cart.

There is also a health concern that  environmentalists have forgotten to address with these reusable bags. When you load your bag full of groceries  there can be something that falls off or leaks that may go unnoticed  when you empty your bag.  In a plastic bag, that’s not a big problem . Nevertheless, with a reusable bag even if you think you have wiped  it up with a paper towel ,there is very likely  to be some of those germs left over . This facilitates the spread and growth of bacteria that can contaminate the other items.

I also believe that forcing us  to use reusable bags takes away from our freedom as individuals to decide whether we want to use this plastic bags or not. It's a pretty  intrusive regulation, and not a good one. I have high hopes for it to get repealed in a near future.