[mhays]

Those are good points emathias. Especially the bit about our focus on easy stuff that doesn't have constituencies, vs. stuff like cars that do. (Though the plastic bag industry has a big lobby and is fighting stuff like this hard.)

Since paper bags are also problematic, I'd favor a rule where a paper bag is 5c and a plastic one is 10c. You can have a bag, but it costs something, but something minimal.

And yes, walking is a hell of a lot more beneficial. But I'd still love to crack down on people who use a bag for every lunch rather than just carrying the freaking to-go box, or use 16 bags every time they buy groceries.