The Arizona Republic reports that IKEA is going to start charging for plastic bags at all of its American locations. The goal, of course, is to force people to internalize the cost of their garbage. It's awfully difficult to do with pollution - how can we measure the pollution an individual creates - but it's easy for garbage. Simply charge people when they buy what will, inevitably, make its way to the garbage pile. The result is, hopefully, more re-use by those that don't want to pay for more bags, and less trash for the city.
It seems to be working:
The program, originated in Ikea's British stores last year, reduced consumption of bags at those locations by 95 percent, Liss said. Ikea will donate the first year's proceeds from U.S. sales of the five-cent bags to American Forests, a Washington-based conservation nonprofit.
This article brings to mind an interesting book called "Cradle to Cradle." It describes the entire life-cycle of our disposable goods - from purchase to trash heap - and makes apparent that many of us don't think of what happens to the stuff we throw in the trashcan. It just "disappears."
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