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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Say goodbye to free plastic bags, just in time for Earth Day.

Loblaw grocery stores across the country - including the two Extra Foods stores in Yellowknife - will start charging five cents per bag today.

Johanne Marineau and Yves Lavallee can't believe Extra Foods will start charging five cents for plastic bags. They think it's a rip-off. - April Robinson/NNSL photos

This comes ahead of a territorial government plan to tax stores 25 cents per plastic and paper grocery bag this fall.

"It's not going to have any effect on what we're planning to do," said Alicia Korpach, waste reduction coordinator with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Whether Loblaw stores charge an extra five cents, it will be up to their discretion," she said.

"But we certainly commend any private or corporate initiatives to reduce bag use."

The five-cent charge will help Loblaw meet its goal of diverting one billion plastic shopping bags from landfills by the end of 2009, the company said in a press release.

Loblaw ran a pilot program in Toronto and found 75 per cent fewer bags were distributed for every $1,000 in sales when there was a bag fee.

Partial proceeds of the five-cent fee will be donated to World Wildlife Fund Canada, totalling $3 million over three years, the company said. The funds will be used to promote environmental practices among Canadians.

The rest of the money will be invested in the company's shopping bag reduction program and to keep prices low, the company said.

The new fee drew mixed reviews from shoppers at Yellowknife's downtown Extra Foods.

"I don't think it's right," said Gertie Rozon, on her way into the store yesterday. "I think it's pretty stupid, myself. It's going to be really hard on the people with young children."

"Some people don't even have a nickel to spare," added Sherry Gordan. "Not after you spend all kinds of money on groceries."

Yves Lavellee thinks the five-cent fee is a money-grab.

"It's a rip-off," he said. "They should give you the cloth bags for free."

He said five cents is too much to charge for a flimsy plastic bag, even if they do pollute the environment.

Grace Martin said she already has six cloth bags.

"I think it's good," she said of the bag fee. "It's not that expensive."

It's something small she can do to help the environment, she added.

The charge will also reduce needless waste, said Rachael Gray, another customer.

"You'll just buy one bag, instead of 15 bags you don't really need," she said.

The Yellowknife Direct Co-op, which isn't charging for plastic or paper bags just yet, is subsidizing the cost of their re-usable bags, said Ben Walker, general manager.

This week they're promoting a buy-one-get-one free sale for the bags.

"We're doing a number of promotions like that until the fall," he said. "We're encouraging everybody to switch over."

By the time the NWT's 25-cent fee comes into effect, the Co-op likely won't even carry plastic bags, he said.

Since they started running promotions on re-usable bags, the Co-op has noticed a 20 per cent drop in plastic bag distribution, he added.

Gary Tonge, manager of Extra Foods, referred Yellowknifer to a corporate Loblaw official for comment, who did not return phone calls by press time.