Target Shoppers Are Getting Hit With A New Fee At Checkout

Target shoppers in Illinois will soon be met with a fee just for using the plastic bags at the register while checking out.

Earlier this week, the city of Highland Park proposed a 15-cent tax on plastic and single-use bags in stores ahead of a planned citywide ban on the bags by 2030. The new tax would take effect on July 1, 2027, per the U.S. Sun.

Highland Park’s City Council initially proposed a 10-cent fee in April, but Assistant City Manager Erin Jason said that wasn’t high enough. 

“We originally came up with 10 cents in April. Then the conversation became ‘Is that enough to change behavior?’” Jason said. “So, we looked at other communities like Oak Park, who made the decision to elevate their single-use bag tax to 15 cents next year, and go with that.” 

Roughly 53% of survey respondents from a local news outlet opposed the new tax, with those in favor saying they supported it because of perceived environmental benefits. 

Even Target shoppers outside Illinois should expect a similar tax or outright ban on plastic shopping bags to be coming soon to a city near them. The company already caused an uproar when it started charging a bag fee for curbside pickup orders, which often involved charging customers $1 up front for 10 bags in certain states beginning in 2023. 

Currently, 12 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, have completely banned single-use plastic bags.

California also recently closed the loophole that allowed the use of thicker plastic bags, which were meant to be reusable but often were only used once. Now those bags are illegal too. As of January 1, consumers have to buy a bag made of recycled paper or use their own reusable bags while shopping.

There is no federal ban on plastic bags, but environmental activists have been pushing to change that. Besides the individual states with plastic bag bans, more than 200 counties and municipalities have enacted ordinances either imposing a fee on plastic bags or banning them outright.

Those bans are not stopping at plastic bags either. A new law that went into effect on August 1 in New Jersey bans restaurants from including plastic utensils in takeout orders unless customers specifically ask for them. 

Many states are also phasing out plastic straws in favor of paper straws that often disintegrate before you can finish your drink. 

More from this network:
Domains for Sale · GOTPeople.org · TheDSAPlatform · The Truth About Socialism

Donate to GOTPeople.org