Blowin’ in the wind

I saw a shopping bag blowing across Main Street in Bluffton yesterday, and it made me wince, because even though I’m still suspicious of Big Business’ attempt to shift packaging costs and pollution guilt to the consumer, I do realize that these bags pose an environmental problem when they’re allowed to roam free like that. And they do, far too often. Blowing bags just aren’t that uncommon a sight.

But why is it that you never see plastic trash-can liners blowing across the street? Because people spend money on them, have a use for them, and perhaps most importantly, have a well-designed box to store them in. A 12-pack ramen noodle box takes care of the storage problem, and many people do use these bags in lieu of commercial wastebasket liners. Is the gimme factor the problem, then? Because the bags are free, they’re perceived to have no value, and thus people don’t treat them the same way they would plastic bags they’ve spent money on?

If that’s the case, maybe Big Business is right to shift the cost of shopping bags to consumers. But I’m still not buying it.