Letter to my Rep: Forbid retailers from requiring consumers to use a bag.
A letter I sent to one of my state reps, who is the primary sponsor of a bill that would ban plastic bags and add a 10 cent tax on recycled paper bags.
I'm contacting you because you're the primary sponsor of [bill number] and I have a related proposal, which is simply that retailers cannot require consumers to use a bag.
For context:
I shop at [Cannabis Store] in [redacted]. It's a cannabis dispensary. Every time I shop there, they put the product (which is in a sealed jar, as required by law) into a disposable plastic shopping bag with their brand information on it.
When I've refused the bag in the past, they told me I have to take it. They've told me it's required by law (which is not true), among other things.
They have since added a trashcan at their exit so that on your way out, you can throw away their bag if you so please. After I make my purchase, I remove my product and receipt from the bag and leave the bag on the counter. When I do this, they tell me "I'm going to need you to take the bag with you". I say "No thank you" and I don't take the bag.
While they have not banned me yet for refusing to follow their wasteful policy, this sort of friction is not something anybody should have to deal with. There is an environmental component of the plastic waste, but there is also the consumer-rights issue of a business (a public accommodation) forcing me, a consumer, to engage in behavior that is not required by law, that has no clear social benefit, that also produces waste.
I support [bill number]. I also think a piece of legislation like I'm proposing would be incredibly easy to pass, and would incur zero costs for any consumers or businesses. It also aligns politically with conservatives who would likely support the aspect of empowering individual freedom.
Thanks,
Reed