June Cotte | Walmart bets on Canadian customers accepting 5-cent fee for plastic bags

In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills, Walmart Canada customers will soon have to pay five cents for each disposable plastic bag used for their purchases.

Asking consumers to alter the way they shop is a big undertaking, but Associate Professor June Cotte said she is confident consumers will gladly accept this change.

"I do think that a lot of consumers understand that charging for things that are bad makes people use less of them," said Cotte in an interview with CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive.

Walmart’s critics will come from customers concerned that only a portion of the money made from the plastic bags will go towards the company’s recycling initiatives, said Cotte.