Do you think that Australian stores are removing plastic bags for financial or environmental reasons?

In Sweden no store gives away plastic bags. There the expectation is that if you don't have you're own, you should pay for for the convenience of not having to carry all of your groceries in your arms. The upside is that the quality of the plastic bag is higher, with the focus on re-usability over disposability, which I expect will happen in Australia over time.

The fact is that stores already charge you for plastic bags, they simply factor it in as a marginal percentage increase on items you buy. So yes, this is a cost saving exercise on the part of stores, but happily it is also a great benefit to the environment; a benefit which we along with our descendants will all share in.

For me, the owner of supermarkets are promoting this one is to save their operation expenses, when they are giving free the plastic bags and they don't get any profit from it, then it will be not so great for their revenues..

If the supermarkets will not give free plastic shopping bags, where the shopper will put their stuff? Hoping that the supermarkets will replace plastic shopping bags into biodegradable bags so that it could be better for us.

orio

I don't care what their true motives are. The point is that throw-away bags are killing our planet, and we NEED to break free of this dangerous and wasteful lifestyle.

If they save some money while promoting healthy shopping habits, more power to them.