After study, Okinawa grocers to start charging for plastic bags

After study, Okinawa grocers to start charging for plastic bags
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, January 11, 2008

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Grocery shoppers off base will soon be saving money by bringing their own bags.

A recent three-month study by supermarkets in Naha showed that by charging customers 2 to 5 yen for a plastic bag, more people brought their own, thus saving stores money and also saving energy and helping the environment.

The study, conducted September through November at six supermarkets resulted in changes in shopper habits, said Satoko Shimada, chief of Naha’s Zero Emissions Promotion Office.

Results at various stores saw 30 percent to 85 percent of the shoppers bringing their own bags, she said. Previously, less than 17 percent of shoppers brought their own bags.

“It saved about 1.87 million bags in total,” Shimada said. “The total weight of the saved bags was 10.87 tons, saving the 5,254 gallons of petroleum that would have been used to make the bags.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51533