My theory is to make disposable plastic (or paper) grocery bags the same price as the reusable canvas bags.
In other words, charge $2 per bag, no matter what kind it is, paper, plastic, or canvas.
If everyone had a pay a $2 surcharge for every bag they DIDN'T bring to the store for reuse, that'd fuckin' cure people REAL quick of using BILLIONS of 'disposable' bags per year.
I'm serious.
Do most people really just toss away the paper or plastic bags they bring home from the market? I dunno, maybe it's just me, but whether paper or plastic I reuse them for either trash or recycling bags in my kitchen. Heck, the bags I get from the market come in handy in my house. Don't understand all the complaints.
I have neighbors to the left and right of me. Each week, our recycling bin is overflowing. Our trash can is usually about half full. They don't even put out a recycling bin. Maybe they just don't drink as much beer as me! (Is it time for a kegerator SS1?)
I'm glad that you get it. And I'm glad that the grocery stores in L.A. get it. But, where I am, people still don't get it.
We have two small trashcans in the house that we use plastic grocery bags in. They get emptied once a week. Usually, there are a couple of pieces of tissue in them, a q tip or two, occasionally an empty tube of toothpaste. I'll get a paper grocery bag once a month for peanut shells.