- Greg Bustin - https://bustin.com -

The 10-Cent Incentive

I recently visited our daughter Jordan in Austin, Texas, for a Dad’s Day weekend at the University of Texas.

In some Texas cities – Austin, for sure – and in parts of 13 other U.S. states and Washington, D.C., there’s a “Ban the Bag” movement. And it’s growing.

The “Ban the Bag” concept began as a voluntary effort, and some people jumped on board because they’re passionate about reducing the environmental impact of single-use bags.

Other less passionate folks needed more urging to “Ban the Bag.” So last month a monetary reward and penalty became law. There’s now a 10-cent charge added to your bill if you want the store to provide a plastic or paper bag for your groceries.

There’s a 10-cent credit if you bring your own reusable bag.

You can’t incent passion. But you can incent behavior.

What behavior are you incenting?