3-On Your Side: Wal-Mart Tries Bring Your Own Bag Policy
PHILADELPHIA CBS) -- Paper or plastic? It's the common question we hear at the check-out counter. But as 3-On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds, the world's largest retailer is trying an experiment that takes it a bit further.
BYOB takes on a new meaning at two California Wal-Mart stores. It stands for "bring your own bag". This weekend the two Wal-Mart locations stopped offering free plastic bags. Instead shoppers can bring their own, buy 15-cent re-useable bags or don't bag their purchases at all.
But not every shopper is sold on this new policy there. Shopper Cris Ingram says, "I think it's a matter of principle, I'm already buying groceries here, I should get a bag." While shopper Jeff Hawks says, "We recycle, actually take old plastic bags and recycle them, doing for years and when I saw charging for bags, 15 cents, I didn't care for that at all." Some customers are on the fence. Shopper Kathy Turner is one of them. She says, "I'm not sure about it, I do bring my own bags to most shopping, but if I forget them I don't want to be charged for them." While others, think they're doing their part. Shopper Debra Courtade says, "We need to change our way of thinking so we can better the environment."
Wal-Mart says this is a test case. The company wants to find ways to reduce the use of plastic bags by 25% in each of its stores in the United States by 2013. While the new bring-your-own-bag policy at those two California Wal-Mart stores started this weekend, shoppers there did get advance notice. The stores have been posting signs and talking it up since October. Will the experiment spread to our area? Wal-Mart says that will be determined based on feedback from customers.
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
