Hi John,
I think this is pretty cool. Back in the day people would bring their own bags because thats the best way to do it. At some point capitalism came in and took over. Probably under the premise that bringing your own bags is inconvenient and not healthy. I don't bring my own bags to the grocery store, but I will be soon.
I watched a recycling special the other night on Discovery Science. The best way to make recycling inexpensive is to purchase the products that it comes from(demand). Keep up the good work!

Oh no!! What will those of us who use these FREE plastic bags do if they are banned. What will we do with the soiled diapers, the chicken carcasses, leaky table scraps and dozens of uses in our daily routine? I guess then we have to PURCHASE little plastic bags, like we already do the larger ones to put out our trash? If banning plastic bags is good for the environment, why does the city REQUIRE us to use plastic for trash collection? Ban all plastic ... PAPER bags for trash collection. Pheew! (holding nose)

I am in Florida for the winter and they are taking banning plastic AND paper bags. You will have to buy one or bring your own. What happens when you go to the store with onebag and decide to buy much more.....If they do not supply the bags, people will just leave groceries in cart requiring owners to put back on shelves.....I feel if the grocery store (especially the big ones where people buy 100's of dollar of goods should supply some sort of bags. You should not be reuiqred to own 10 shopping bags or more just to pick up your groceries when they are making the profit....I believe in recycling, so let the store give them out and then you bring them back....

You should check out this clip from Wired Science about the "great garbage patch" in the ocean. Basically it's a swirling mass of plastic bags and other plastic trash.
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/22-flotsam_found.html

Oh please, people, stop the whining! Plastic bags are a huge environmental issue. Just making an effort to bring your own bags 50% of the time is an improvement --don't let perfect be the enemy of good here. I've been using my own bags to purchase groceries and do my other shopping for years. The most difficult part about it is convincing leery boneheaded retailers you are not shoplifting when you bring in your own bags. Another huge benefit -- my canned beans have never torn through the bottom of my canvas bag.

My hat goes off to Hannaford Bros. for promoting cloth bags. They are available for a moderate fee in the check out lanes. They are both practical and hold quite a few items. The straps are long and they make it easy to carry. I also think that the legislature should pass a tax law on plastic to help with the budget deficit. We can only be taxed so much on the so called sin taxes such as alcohol and nicotine. Plastic is a killer of wildlife who suffer a terrible death when they injest it. It will be around long after we are gone. The only thing worse than plastic is the ignorant people who do not dispose of it properly.