In the grand scheme of things, the new rule that kicked in July 1 is not really that big a deal — or is it?

When Batavia began charging a 10-cent fee for every plastic bag that goes out the door of its supermarkets, convenience stores and gas stations, it certainly got lots of folks chattering on neighborhood social media platforms.

Comments ranged from those grousing about the already skyrocketing cost of groceries to those applauding the city for its efforts to help save our planet.

And yes, there were plenty of comments about “Batavia going woke,” and tying this new ordinance to tyranny or taxation without representation or the million artillery shells sent to Ukraine.

Such is the state of our toxic environment — political and ecological — these days.

I am conflicted about this green initiative that seems to have taken root.

There are a handful of Illinois municipalities, including Woodstock, that followed Chicago’s lead and began charging for single-use bags in the last couple of years. But the latest addition definitely hits closer to home as I personally frequent the Jewel on Randall Road on a regular basis and rarely get out of there without enough plastic hanging from both arms to fill a back seat.

From time to time I’ve taken cloth bags into stores, but old habits die hard. Like everything that’s good for you — exercise, prayer, flossing, avoiding the candy aisle — it takes consistency and practice.

Hence, a large bottom drawer in my kitchen is stuffed to the gills with plastic bags. Free ones, I might add.

One person “proud of Batavia for doing this” is Kane County Board member Mavis Bates, who hopes her hometown of “Aurora will follow.”

She makes that last comment as the founder of the city’s GreenFest and a member of the Sustainable Aurora Advisory Board, which was created under the late Mayor Tom Weisner, a strong advocate for environmental issues.

Bates describes Batavia as “definitely more progressive” when it comes to environmental issues. Then again, “it’s easier to move a 25,000-person ship than a 200,000-person ship,” she quickly adds, referring to Aurora’s far larger population, as well as Elgin, where City Council members discussed the topic at a March meeting and, according to reports, “were as divided as those in the audience.”

Bates says Batavia’s bag ordinance “has been on our radar for quite a while.” And although “we have not tried to do it yet” in Aurora, she adds, this so-called single-use fee is “definitely” on the to-do list.

“Now that Batavia has done it,” she says, in six months or so “we can try to follow in their footsteps.”

Translated that could mean this smaller neighbor will take the hits, many of which were expressed online. Criticisms included the fact those “single-use” bags can be reused for many practical purposes - dog poop, small waste basket liners - and that many of our grocery products, from milk and water to salads and meats, also come wrapped in plastic.

Unfortunately, Bates insists, those “plastic film bags” we haul away our groceries in are the worst of the worst. Not only do they show up in our rivers and fields, “because they are so thin, they are hard to recycle,” she points out, and if they get into municipal recycling facilities “can gum up the machines.” That, in turn, requires workers to take on the “dangerous task of climbing onto the blades and hooks” to detangle them from the equipment, she said.

The good news is that Bates is seeing more people using cloth sacks. And one way to get an even higher number to buy into the practice is to literally “make them pay for it,” she says.

Those, of course, are fighting words for some folks, who declare “green is for money, not the environment” or that this is yet another example of “confiscatory taxation.”

There’s no question people are crabby. They don’t trust the government at any level and insist this is all part of a “conditioning” process that will eventually lead to the loss of our gas stoves, water heaters and freedom as we know it, one step at a time.

If this was “on a referendum, it would lose,” insisted one local resident.

On the other hand, there are those who adamantly believe even baby steps are necessary to save our planet. “It’s a ridiculous thing to get worked up about,” wrote another, noting you might have to pay an extra $2 for $200 worth of groceries.

Or, as yet another declared: “Buy a reusable bag and get over it.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com