"Reusable shopping bags are about to go decidedly mainstream," and the public can actually make money by not using polyethylene bags, according to a story by Bruce Horovitz for USA Today.
The article stated that Target, "the fifth largest U.S. retailer last year, will announce Monday plans to give customers a 5-cent discount for every reusable bag they use to pack their purchases.
"The move comes within days of drugstore giant CVS' plan to give participating CVS customers $1 cash bonuses on their CVS cards every four times they buy something but don't request plastic bags," The article said, "...Customers wanting to participate must buy a 99-cent tag to be scanned with their CVS card." There is a limit of one Green Bag tag scan per household per day.
Jessica Smith, shift supervisor at CVS on Riverside Drive, Bassett, said that local CVS stores already have the tags and are participating.
The USA Today article said, "In tandem, the two programs could keep billions of plastic bags out of the environment and nudge other big retailers to take similar steps, says Allen Herskowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"Plastic bags are the most ubiquitous form of waste on the planet,' Herskowitz says. "They are among the most deadly forms of marine debris, lethal to threatened species of marine mammals throughout the world."
According to the article, "Americans are recycling more plastic bags than ever, but it's still a fraction of the estimated 90 billion plastic carryout bags produced annually in the U.S. recycling of polyethylene bags, sacks and wrap (in tons)."