A large part of the discussion about a proposed plastic bag tax is behavior modification and how people—regardless of whether they support the tax—should take reusable bags to the store.

Martha Ainsworth of Bowie, a member of the executive committee of the Prince George’s Sierra Club, recently organized a survey to study shoppers' use of bags at local grocery stores.

The results showed that of 7,897 shoppers surveyed, only 7 percent used reusable grocery bags and 93 percent used disposable bags—virtually all of them plastic, according to a release from the Prince George's Sierra Club. The survey was conducted over four weekends from Jan. 28 to Feb. 18.

“This survey provides evidence that more needs to be done to reduce the use of single-use disposable bags,” Ainsworth said in a release.

According to the survey:

The highest reusable bag use was found in the northern part of the county – Greenbelt (15%) and Hyattsville/College Park (14%) – while the lowest rates were in the southern county – Accokeek, Brandywine, Ft. Washington, Oxon Hill, and Upper Marlboro (collectively 2.5%). Bowie and Clinton were in the middle, with 8.6% and 7.2% of shoppers, respectively, exiting with a reusable bag.

Do you use reusable bags when shopping at the grocery store? If not, leave us a comment to tell us why you don't use them.