If anyone is looking for a recommendation of a reusable shopping bag, I recommend Baggu. They're light but sturdy, come in a wide variety of colors, and when you're not using them they fold into a little pouch (included with the bag) that's about 3"x3"x0.5" and fits easily into a pocket/purse/messenger bag/whatever.

Unfortunately they're made in China; can't win 'em all.

tax people who don't give a shit about this planet. Yes, my cat loves the wheat litter and it doesn't get stuck on his paws.

Neither plastic nor paper are winners. Do people realise how much water is needed to produce a single, sturdy paper bag? Not to mention energy needed to cut down & transport trees, process pulp by shredding & bleaching etc. That's lots of waste & pollution too.

“I’d pick up 50 bags a week instead of 2 or 3 if I wasn’t conscious of it,” said Mr. Thrasher, 31, a freelance writer from Fort Greene, Brooklyn. “You’re always having a plastic bag put in your hand.”

That's because you can't plan ahead worth a damn. I'm almost always carrying my reusable nylon shopping bag, which also acts as my lunchbag. I get 2 or 3 bags each year, not each week.

[13] Until they invent something else to put cat poop in, plastic bags are a necessity.

Why do you need to put cat poop in bags? There are plenty of corn and wheat-based cat litters that are biodegradable and flushable. Scoop it, flush it, end of story. They cost a few cents more per day, but you wrote you're willing to pay that anyway.

The only plastic bags I use is for my rubbish pails and since I'm recycling literally everything else, I have so little "rubbish."

2 point for me.

@24: Yeah, I have one of those "feel good" bags you think so little of. But it really helps the environment -- it tells everyone how important it is to be green like me.

Of course, I like to still get the plastic bags -- I don't want my nice canvas bag getting food on it, so I just stick the plastic bags inside my canvas one and, voila, environmentally-friendly. I probably end up using the same amount of bags, but what would the environment think if I was carrying around something dirty? It'd be like I didn't even care about keeping a clean planet!

I feel so good about what I'm doing to save the environment. Every time I see I pigeon I bend down and tell him "you're welcome, little pigeon," because I care.

i get a kick out of the people that carry around their little "i am not a plastic bag" bags. its nothing more then a lame fashion statement that makes impressible people feel good about themselves. jets burning massive amounts of fuel, carbon belching plants, city buses without proper exhaust systems, and somehow me getting a plastic bag is gonna ruin the environment. just recycle the damn bag when youre done with it.

I like using the NY Times delivery bags for cat litter. The width of the bag is just big enough for my litter scooper to fit into.

I love that I live in a country where the debates of the day include plastic bags vs the alternatives.

Now if government could just stop trying to control behavior through taxation...

I will keep using plastic bags until they stop making them. If they tax them, I will steal them and use them. The planet will not cease to exist because the inhabitants carry groceries home in a plastic bag. I think people who smoke, drink, eat, and breathe are a greater menace to the planet than those who use plastic bags. Let's stop having children because they use diapers. These babies will grow up and use plastic bags. By the time these children are adults the plastic bag tax will be greater than a college education. The planet has survived ice ages, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, wildfires, and other natural disasters. It will survive the plastic bag.

What if this is all just another money-making ploy? Think about it. Plastic Bags = free & reusable for garbage and dog poo....

Reusable Canvas Grocery bags cost from anywhere between $1 - $15 (for the stylish & hip ones)...

How many times have you gone to the grocery store on a whim and didn't have your "Green" tote with you? And you guiltily buy another one at the register... it all adds up.

... I'm just saying.

I like to put disposable diapers inside plastic supermarket bags inside 13-gallon plastic garbage bags which are then put into super-big industrial garbage bags and carted away by truck. And I order the diapers tax-free online so that I can have maximum hydrocarbon dispersal during delivery by a big UPS truck while avoiding any direct payment to the government. What a country.

not another tax...

this is why I go to my neighborhood pet store for large cans of Triumph cat food. they recycle bags and ask you to bring as many you want to them for re-use.

keeps the prices down. I have a feeling plastic bags are re-used more often than not.

wtf? old fashion way:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238422541876879.html

I usually do all my grocery shopping after work, or spontaneously... so If I can fit it all into my huge purse, I opt not to get a plastic bag...

But still, I did get one of those "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" totes and it was fine, until it got dirty, threw it into the wash, and it totally shrunk on me!

I say keep the Plastic bags. I reuse them for my garbage pale in the bathroom, and to sort my recycling... so it all ends up getting recycled anyway.

crud. that WSJ link is here.

How many times do people have to be reminded that this is another regressive tax and hurts the poor more than the rich? I know its 'a lot' of money to you and me but at what point is it 'a lot of' money? Why cant the market dictate the price?

My biggest complaint is that there more important issues for this city and current administration to worry about right now. Must not be any panhandlers on Bloomberg's morning subway rides. Out of sight, out of mind.

Anyone at Gothamist read something other than the Post or the NYT? How about the WSJ's look at the issue?

@6: Thanks for that. (I had just poured myself a nice fresh cup, too.)

I forget where, but someone suggested putting the scooped litter back in the box / bag the litter came in rather than plastic bags. And, ok, that's a suggestion, certainly -- but, umm, who wants to keep a big bag of cat crap in their house? It's a solution that works great if your cat takes one dump every two weeks...not so great otherwise.

(Though "big bag of cat crap" IS a useful phrase. And a good conversation starter.)

Until they invent something else to put cat poop in, plastic bags are a necessity. I'll gladly pay the six cents though -- to answer #4. My only concern is that everyone will likewise gladly pay the six cents, and that there will therefore be no effect -- so they'll bump it up to $1, etc.

Wait. Who hides their beer in a plastic bag?? Good ol' biodegradeable paper for me.

i'm more concerned about raising my kids with the love and support that they need so that they can ensure that their kids have a strong sense of self worth, and so are comfortable and happy being bloated hermaphrodites swimming through thick plastic soup.