Banning or charging for plastic shopping bags is a minor pain. This video explains why it's a major plus.

Plastic bags are bad, charging for them is good — (Image credit: The Economist/YouTube)

Starting this month, large British retailers have to start charging customers at least 5 pence (8 cents) for each single-use plastic bag. In the U.S. — a huge consumer of plastic bags — some large cities have instituted bans on giving out bags for free, and several other countries, including Denmark and Ireland, have charged for using bags for years. The results have been stunning, The Economist says in the video below. If you live in one of those places, you probably know that the transition can be hard — you don't always remember to bring your own bag, for example, which is annoying — but this video makes the case that the "humble" plastic bag is so "horrible" it's worth doing, anyway. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.