They used these thicker bags 20+ years ago, then went to the thin ones. Now we all figured out how useless those thin ones are. And we’re back to the thick ones.
It’s quite shocking visiting a place with no bag restrictions like Florida or Nevada, where they just automatically bag even the simplest purchase of tictacs.
One thing I like about Japanese stores, they ask you if you want a bag....partly because they charge you for it (typically 3-5 Yen). For small objects at a convenience store, I often skip the bag. I typically carry my own fabric bags for deliberate grocery shopping, but if I forget I spend the few extra cents, and typically re-use the plastic bags around the house, usually as intermediate trash bags.
IMHO, an outright ban is exactly the right thing. The typical person will not turn down a bag given for free every time they visit the store. They get home, unpack and dump the plastic bag. Having people purchase reusable bags makes folks think and actually plan their supermarket visits (how am I going to carry my purchases). In Kenya, single use bags are completely banned, in less than 5 years, plastic bags on trees [1] became a thing of the past.
On the other hand since we don't get the plastic bags for free anymore I'm usually struggling to find a sturdy plastic bag at home when I need one, e.g. to wrap shoes in a travel bag.
No, that's not an argument about not banning them, just a funny observation how these things change. I also used to often not buy any trash bags and just use the decently sized grocery store ones, but maybe in never tossing but reusing them I was already an outlier.
It’s quite shocking visiting a place with no bag restrictions like Florida or Nevada, where they just automatically bag even the simplest purchase of tictacs.