With states across the country enacting plastic and single-use bag bans to combat pollution and plastic waste, retailers are beginning to phase out single-use shopping bags in favor of reusable bags, and now fees if the totes are forgotten at home. Walmart was the latest retailer to ban plastic bags in certain states and even placed began placing surcharges on each shopping bag customers required for those in New Jersey. Target has joined Walmart with bag fees—based on state laws, customers will now face bag fees at checkout for drive-up and pickup orders. Here’s what we know:
Automatic Bag Fees Will Be Added To Pickup Orders At Target
According to Target's website, drive-up and pickup orders will now face fees on bags based on local and state mandates.
How it works: That means when you place a pickup or drive-up order in a state or city with bag legislation, Target will charge for bags. And to account for large-quantity orders, you will automatically be charged for ten bags for $1, no matter the order size. You won't be able to choose 'no bag(s)' when you place the order, but you will be refunded once you pick your order up if you do not need bags.
Once the order is prepared, the number of bags will be adjusted based on how many bags were actually used and you’ll be charged accordingly. When you arrive to pick your order up, you can decline the bags if you would not like to use them and the store will refund the cost of the bags back to your payment form. Target notes that the refund may "take days" to get back, and is dependent on bank processing.
Target already enacted bag fees for in-store purchases in places where bag bans are in place. The latest news means that you will want to bring reusable bags in-store and for any pickup orders to avoid the charges.
Who Is Impacted By The Plastic Bag Fees?
You may be affected by Target's latest plastic bag fees if you are in states which have enacted legislation around plastic bag use. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, eight states—California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Vermont—have banned single-use plastic bags.
Of course, the exact legislation will depend on the state. For example, New Jersey bans single-use paper bags for stores larger than 2,500 feet, which means orders in stores like Walmart and Target cannot be fulfilled with any plastic bags or paper bags. Walmart's combatting this change by charging 42 cents per shopping bag on delivery orders and 10 cents per bag for a pickup order.
Customer Reactions To Target's New Bag Fees
Some are happy to see fewer plastic bags in circulation, which often up as waste in landfills and in waterways. In response to the bag fees being added on at Target, one commenter on Reddit wrote the fees were "better than to have plastic oceans."
Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture. A study from the American Chemical Society found that it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill, but even then the bags don't break down completely and instead become microplastics which continue to excrete toxins and pollute the environment.
Regarding the bag bans and fee changes happening across the country, another Redditor wrote, "Oregon has had a plastic bag ban for years now, it was a hard adjustment at first, but not that hard. Personally, I love my reusable bags, and on the days I forget I just have to pay a nickel (5 cents) for a paper bag, and I reuse the paper bags for other household things, and there’s less plastic in our dumps, it’s a win-win for me."
Of course, the new changes are not without some controversy, and many are not supportive. Those who do not believe in the bag bans enacted are disappointed to see the fees in place without a choice. Others are skeptical of Target's intentions. One customer on Twitter wrote, "Thanks, but no thanks Target: I am not absorbing your cost under the guise of 'saving the planet'."
Some shoppers call the fees and self-checkout bagging a "hustle," alluding to the fact that the stores are creating more work for the consumer.
So, leme get this right. Target and Walmart introduce bag fees at check out, then I have to bag items myself? talk about a hustle!
— Wayne Pretlow (@pretzenmassa) March 27, 2023
Other customers are concerned their bag fees aren't getting refunded as Target promises. One customer wrote that the chain "never refunds the $1" despite them declining bags, acknowledging that it "adds up over time" for customers shopping there multiple times per week. Another customer tweeted, "I just checked and have 10+ orders that they charged me the full dollar for."
@Target is continuously overcharging for bag fees and not refunding after pick up. I decline bags EVERY time I shop and they never refund me my $1. This adds up over time and is a big problem when I shop there several times a week.
— (@floridastatema) February 23, 2023
Colorado recently started charging 10¢ for bags used. @Target automatically charges $1 on mobile orders for a bag fee, then is supposed to adjust it based on how many bags you actually use. I just checked and have 10+ orders that they charged me the full dollar for
— danielle marie (@miss_danielle13) March 14, 2023
Yikes! Of course, no one should get charged for bags they did not end up using. As states, stores, and consumers adjust to the bag bans, Target may want to reconsider its system to ensure customers do not still end up getting charged for declining bags.
