Old King Coal, according to several studies on this side of the pond, a reusable shopping bag has to be used somewhere between
150 and 1000 times before it becomes a net environmental benefit compared to the typical disposable plastic bag. Something those government studies tend to leave out. Furthermore, many people don't just toss that 'disposable' shopping bag after they get home, they repurpose it to carry their lunch, line a garbage can, or pick up pet waste. Instead, they now purchase dedicated plastic bags for that purpose - which are typically heavier gage plastic and so use
more net plastic (carbon) than the disposable ones. I used to use the paper shopping bags to line my trash cans - but now they cost 10 cents each - roughly 3 times
more than it costs to just buy the plastic bag trash can liners.
I take a two week ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado ever year. Breck implemented those mandatory fees on shopping bags years ago, so those thousands of skiers sitting in the 40 deg. C outdoor hot tubs (most heated with natural gas) - in sub freezing temperatures (often
way below freezing - as in sub zero F) - can feel good about their carbon footprint.
I'm all for protecting the environment, but today far too much of what passes for environmentalism is really just virtue signaling hypocrisy.