Customers should be charged a 10 cent tax for every new plastic bag that a grocer gives them. Customers may reuse plastic bags and not be charged any amount. But if they don't have a bag of any kind already with them and want to use plastic instead of paper, they should be charged a tax per bag, not a flat tax and use as many as necessary.
They pose as a hazard to the environment as well wildlife and young children. Biotoxins are produced when plastic bags are exposed to water. Plastic bags also contribute to flooding and water pollution. And any plastic bag that is exposed to food can't be recycled. According to the United Kingdom Marine Conservation Society, plastic bags take 450 to 1,000 years to decompose.