Do you need a bag with that?

That's the title of a blog post on the MediaPost by Brigid Milligan which explores the increase by municipalities passing ordinances to make it illegal to provide disposable bags to customers for free. The question that often comes up is that will people care about a nickel here or there and just accept it as a cost, and when you look at the lack of redemption by people for their bottles and cans you would think it's the case. But for me it's the question that matters most, the public asking "do you need a bag?" where the potency lies. I increasingly see people telling cashiers that they have their own bags, but that's the converted. When everyone is asked, the social pressure becomes, do I really NEED, or is it a nice to have. I know that I don't like to receive bags because I have to recycle them later, so the time I save up front is time I lose later. But I digress. It just might be that the question is more important than the answer in changing people's behavior.