A plastic bag can be quite sturdy, it can be transparent so you can easily see what's inside, it's light, it folds well, is resistant to humidity, etc.

If you'd give a plastic bag to someone from the 18th century they'd cherish it.

We need to make it so the average person actually cares about buying a bag.

Something like €2 with a return value of €1. Or anything that makes you treat it like you'd treat, say, a good tennis ball. You wouldn't just throw those away willy-nilly.

And we need to ban the low grade ones completely.

Something very similar is happening in north korea.

http://koreabizwire.com/bottled-water-a-symbol-of-wealth-in-...

I would be more amenable to the idea if they made a bag that does not get torn (e.g. armor the paper with cotton or bamboo thread), and is leak-resistant (e.g. waxed), but that somehow takes the back seat.

You do know that we're creating country sized plastic patches in the middle of the Pacific, microplastics are everywhere and we're eating them, they're slowly changing us in ways we don't even understand, etc, etc?