For me, it is the principle of it. The sight of fluttering plastic bags stuck in a tree outside my house just bothers me a lot, maybe more than it should. But it strikes me as indicative of the attitude that has got us (humans) into the situation we are in. We are a throwaway, somebody-else's-problem, want-it-now society. I know that my choice not to use plastic bags in and of itself will probably have no effect on the world. However, since I am only one person, that is all I can hope to do.
A one-time $5 purchase of a few reusable bags is not going to make any difference in your wallet. Not every decision has to be made purely on the basis of cost. Sometimes you have to use your wallet to make statements based on principle.
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