W9OD Loc: Wisconsin

Check your oil?

BebuLamar

Before my retirement I worked for a plastic bag company. During COVID we made good profit because the oil price went down and thus the cost of plastic resin. States that banned plastic bags like CA allowed store to use them because they don't want people bringing the bags in from their home. Import competion from China also was down due to transportation probem,
Thinking of it my entire career involved making instant garbage. They are including styrofoam cup, CD and cosmetic packaging, bottle cap, paint and solvent can, plastic bag. All are used once and then garbage. Not something I am proud of.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

When I used to plow snow, I kept thinking how totally unnecessary the plowing was if people could just wait a while.

The first time I saw plastic bags being used for store shopping was in England in 1974. They soon became popular in the US.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

Many places, where I live, are beginning to post signs stating there will be a percentage of the charge added to the bill when using a debit or credit card. The indications are that the business must pay a small surcharge for having the transaction completed electronically and the business is passint that charge along to the consumer. SOme places actually give a discount for using cash. Also, many businesses are offering discounts to military veterans.

BebuLamar

It's not so much electronically processed. Electronically processed payments are less expensive than manually processed payments. However, the credit card companies charge a fee because they have to put out the money first and some of them may have to pay the customers in term of cash back. The credit card companies make sure they make some money even in the case that the customers would pay off every month and don't pay interest. Merchants accept credit cards because it would increase their sales a lot but sometimes the sales increase isn't enough to make up for the lower profit margin.

Nodpete Loc: Naperville, IL

Not too long ago I got a 'half dollar' in my change from a Burger King. I hadn't seen one in a long time. Young folks have no idea what it is.

BebuLamar

I have 1 dollar, half dollar coin and 2 dollar bill change from time to time.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

In NY, it's illegal to charge more for credit, at least in restaurants. They can give a discount, but they can't charge more. Gas stations do it very often, and I avoid them. When I see a price posted at a gas station, I look for "Cash" written below the price. My CC saves me 5% on gas, so paying cash would cost me more.

It's been shown time after time that accepting CC is good for a business. Sure, they have to pay a fee, but people spend and spend more if they can use a CC. People bypass stores that are "Cash Only." When I ate at a restaurant a few days ago, I left a larger tip on my CC than I would have done with cash, partly because I didn't have the appropriate bills to leave more.

I hate to see this happening, and I hate to see businesses cry because they have to pay a fee. They don't cry when I pay them. Why do businesses accept credit cards at all, then? Easy - people spend money that they don't have with them. This is a hypocritical move on the part of businesses. Will they add a "fee" for their electric bill? "Would you rather eat in the dark? We could turn the lights off." Imagine having to carry $500 in cash to spend a day out, eating and buying. You'd be making regular trips to the bank to withdraw cash, provided you have the cash available.

In NY -
[i/]“Businesses are not allowed to advertise a price and add a surcharge at the point of sale when a consumer elects to pay with a credit card,” part of the article reads. According to the Department of State, a business can offer customers a discount for paying cash. Dec 20, 2023[/i]

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

Read an article recently that New Jersey outlawed 1 mil plastic bags for food stores above a certain store size (2500 sq ft). Paper replacements were too expensive. End result was more plastic going into land fills because the solution was to make reusable plastic bags out of thicker film. Turned out they weren't really reusing them and ended up in land fills too. That's how government works.

BebuLamar

Yeah they banned thin plastic bag. The company I used to work for normally make 0.6 mil thick bags. For the states that banned them we sell the 2.5 mil bags. The stores charge 5 cents for the bags so they don't mind paying us. We sell the bags by the pounds and thus the 2.5 mil bags is good business for us and the store do not lose any money as the 5 cents is more than what we sell to them.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

My neighborhood has shown that stores do not have to supply bags. When I go into a store, I bring my own canvas bags, as do most other shoppers. I keep several in my car, and carrying one or more into a store has become a habit. Think of the thousands of gallons of oil that are wasted making single-use plastic bags. The bag goes from the store to the car to the house to the dump. What a ridiculous waste! Civilization somehow survived for hundreds of years without plastic bags.

Cragzop Loc: NYC

I remember when it was only paper. Then they said we were deforesting the trees, so they introduced plastic.
Now they realize that the landfills will take 2 zillion years to break down all that plastic!!
Yeah, I want more government in my life.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

As much as some people resist government regulation, it has saved countless lives. Businesses resist it vigorously. I remember when seatbelts were proposed and the fight that automakers put up. Then came air bags. We were warned that accidental deployment would kill thousands a year. Every time a safety measure is proposed, business resists it, while more people die.