A new city ordinance requires retailers to charge a 20 cents per bag fee.

In the spring of 2019 if you're in the town of Fraser, Colorado and make a purchase at a grocery, convenience, or any retail store be prepared to pay an extra 20 cents for a plastic bag to tote your stuff. Kroger Brands has already said it will ban all plastic checkout bags at their stores, which includes City Market, by 2025. It's a trend that's catching on across the country. Should Grand Junction ban or tax plastic bags too?

"This addresses a problem that we've seen for a very long time," says Michael Brack, the assistant to the Fraser City Manager, "I think it's pretty obvious the negative effects plastic bags have on our environment and our community and this ordinance will address that concern. Essentially, it encourages our guests and our community to break the habit of using disposable plastic bags."

Kroger Brands was the first major retailer in the US to ban the bags. Kroger estimates it uses 6 billion such bags each year. The grocer industry discards an estimated 100 billion bags each year! That's a lot of bags which trash disposal giant Waste Management says only 1% are recycled.

The City of Fraser wasn't willing to wait for stores to ban the bags so they took action. Should other Colorado cities and towns take similar measures? Is banning or taxing plastic bags the right thing to do?

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