"By charging a nominal 5-cent fee for each paper and plastic bag, customers become incentivized to either forego a bag or bring a reusable bag rather than pay the 5-cent fee, " said Keith Anderson, interim director of the district's Department of the Environment, who came to Trenton to testify about the bill.

MSN: Reusable shopping bag measure advances

It takes four times as much energy to produce a paper bag than it does plastic, and when they're dumped away in landfills, paper bags don't biodegrade any better than plastic.

FORBES: Magazine Article

They even came with a plastic bag for easy transportation and tissue paper to wrap them.

WSJ: An Enduring Tradition