Shanghai supermarkets will stop giving free plastic shopping bags to customers after Jan. 1, in accordance with governmental environmental initiatives.

An online poll conducted by the Shanghai environment authority showed that 90 percent of those polled supported the new rule. Will the same amount of people stop using plastic bags when they are asked to pay for them? Not everyone holds the same opinion on this issue.

Li Shuidong

Deputy chief

Policy and Law Department

SZ Environmental Protection Bureau

First, I'd like to know how the government or the retailers price the plastic shopping bags. If they are cheap, the practice may not deter people from buying them. After all, it's hard for many shoppers to resist the convenience of having these bags.

If the bags are priced much higher than its market value, then who are entitled for the proceeds and how will the money be used? The consumers won't feel happy if they are paying extra money only to make the retailers rich.

Even if the price issue is settled, then how about the packing? There are of course situations where you can't beat a plastic shopping bag, such as when buying meat or messy items.

I'd like to wait and see whether Shanghai's initiative will work. Personally, I think the key to cut plastic bag litter is to educate people on how to reuse or reject the use of plastic bags.

Mr. Zeng

supermarket chain marketing manager

Frankly speaking, it is hard for the supermarket to tell which side it should be on from its own perspective. If we say we are against charging premium on the plastic bags, the government will think we don't care about the environment. If we do charge our customers for the cheap and convenient packing, some will think we are mean and may turn to other small retailers who offer free bags.

I think a plastic bag tax may be more workable and that the fund raised should be managed by government.

Aiqi Yang

cosmetics shop saleswoman

I'm not optimistic for Shanghai's new regulation. People have taken free shopping bags for granted for a long time. It is a habit cultivated by modern industrialization, and a habit is hard to change.

Some people will vote for it, but I just doubt whether they will take the action. Will they bother themselves by carrying a shopping basket or something to the supermarket when there are easy-to-get plastic bags in the shops?

In wealthy cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen, it is just as doubtful whether people will care about the money they pay for bags. A roll of a hundred plastic bags only cost several yuan. Will they change a habit for this little sum of money?

I suggest we encourage the development of environmental technology that will bring people convenience without harming the environment.

Janet Chen

administrative manager of a consultant company

I think it is a good move toward reducing plastic bag litter. Last month I read on the Internet that the Irish government imposed a plastic bag tax on shoppers in 2002. It is extremely successful, as the use has dropped by around 95 percent since then.

A plastic bag won't cost much but the accumulation is awesome over a year or longer. The charge to shoppers encourages them to reuse or reduce the use of plastic bags. I think people will gradually form a new shopping habit, or at least cut the unnecessary use of plastic bags.

The biggest problem with plastic bags is that they do not readily break down in the environment, with estimates for the time it takes them to decompose ranging from 20 to 1,000 years. Once let loose into the environment, plastic bags can cause considerable harm, blocking drains and suffocating wildlife that mistake the bag for food. So it is very necessary for us to take some actions to discourage their use.

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