‘If Poop Grew On Trees’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

The bag tax is going into effect on Friday, and you’ll be paying 5 cents for every disposable bag you use. But to take the sting out of the tax while still getting shoppers to use reusable bags (which is the point of all this anyway), several stores are partnering with the city government to make reusable bags freely available for a limited time to their customers.

At DC Giant locations, baggers will be putting customers’ purchases into reusable bags for free this Friday for a week starting this Friday, up to a quarter million bags (thanks for the correction from Giant’s PR people!). Harris Teeter locations will be giving away bags to VIC card users who spend at least $20. Safeway will be giving away reusable bags through local non-profits, while CVS will be giving them away at their locations (though Wells’ office doesn’t specify for how long). Target, on the other hand, will be providing a 5 cent discount (in addition to the 5 cent bag tax you avoid paying) for every reusable bag you provide.

Personally, I’m not a great rememberer-of-reusable-bags, but when I use them, I always ask myself why I haven’t developed better habits about it. Aside from any environmental or cost concerns, I can fit a lot more groceries in my one Kiva foldable bag (hell yeah that’s an affiliate link), and the sturdy straps on a reusable bag make it a lot easier to carry a heavy order home.