Ikea Puts a Price on Throwaway Plastic

Ajax Joe Drayton, a founder of Joe's Movement Emporium, a performance group in Mount Rainier, said the actors were happy to take part as a way to encourage people to think about the waste they generate. The group provided its services as a thank-you for donated furniture.

"We live in the time of disposable everything: disposable razors, disposable bags, disposable dishes," Drayton said. "We use things and then we just throw them away and put them out of mind because it is faster that way."

No one seemed to mind paying for the plastic bags.

"We are very wasteful as a nation and that includes me," said Mildred Talbott of Baltimore, who was shopping with her daughter-in-law, Regina Ali of Laurel. "We don't have enough people speaking out like this and encouraging the rest of us to do the right thing."

Sharlene Cooper of Temple Hills purchased the reusable shopping bag. "I didn't mind paying for the bag since the money would be used for something good," she said.

Claudia Farrell of Capitol Heights chose not to buy a bag at all. "I decided just to bring my things out on the cart," she said. "It wasn't that much trouble, and it makes me feel good that the bag won't be around damaging the environment for many years."

Maria Loretta of Bethesda brought her own bag -- from Trader Joe's.

"I hate all of the waste in this country," said Loretta, a chef who was born in Colombia. "I think our children are not going to have a planet if we keep it up this way. This was a good idea because it makes people aware."