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Bill would require fee for grocery bags Date published: 2/6/2010
By Chelyen Davis RICHMOND --In an effort to get you to answer the "paper or plastic?" question with "I brought my own reusable bags," a delegate has put in a bill to charge a 5-cent fee for each disposable bag used at grocery and other stores.Del. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said discarded plastic bags clog waterways, where they are unsightly and can harm fish and wildlife. The bags are the third most commonly found item in streams during cleanup operations. "They're found in the thousands," Ebbin said at a news conference. He hopes his bill can help clean up waterways, protect wildlife and encourage people to use more environmentally friendly reusable bags. The revenue created by the fee would go to the state Water Quality Improvement Fund. Extrapolating from projections by the city of Washington, D.C., which instituted a bag fee recently, the state estimates Ebbin's bill could generate $48 million in its first year, although that would be expected to drop off if the fee reduces consumer usage of disposable bags. It would also cost the tax department several thousand dollars a year to administer the program. Retailers would keep one cent of the 5 cents, but could face fines if they don't properly charge or remit the fee. Ebbin's bill would apply to both plastic and paper disposable bags. It will be heard next week by a House subcommittee. Another disposable-bag bill has already died: Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, had a bill to ban plastic bags altogether. It failed earlier this week. Morrissey said he lived in Ireland when that country instituted a fee of 20 pence per disposable bag. He said it changed people's behavior, and that use of plastic bags dropped 96 percent. Many other European and Asian countries have banned plastic bags, he said. "I'm slightly disappointed that Virginia is not leading the way," Morrissey said. Morrissey said the average Virginian uses 300 bags per year, but only one or two percent of them get recycled. "The benefits to the environment are overwhelming" Morrissey said of reduced bag usage. Chelyen Davis: 804/343-2245
The pathetically funny aspect of all this is that plastic bags were created because the environmentalist wackjobs objected to people using paper goods made from trees, and demanded another solution. Now they protest and want to tax the very solution that they themselves created.
Paper will decompose. Remember when that was the only option? I hate the tax them to change their behavior mentality. Use that as a carrot, not a stick. Give me 5 cents a bag for using paper and that will clean your streams, but then you couldn't brag about the $48M. Those reusable bags always look disgusting when I shop at Wegman's. Who knows if they have been cleaned yet they are thrown onto the belt with my veggies, etc.
is important; just as there are many, many concerns that merit consideration. However, right at the moment the Commonwealth budet should be occupying the full time and attention of those we elect to tend to our business in Richmond. IMHO, they have been...shirking...that responsibility for some time now, Things like doing away with BPOL and worrying plastic bags do not measure up in immediate importance. These things represent convenient diversions from the 400 pound gorilla.
I don't have a problem with the 5 cent fee, but this article
makes me wonder about 2 things. 1st, what are the top 2
items clogging streams..maybe they need 5 cent fees as
well. Also if recycling plastic bags is so important, why can't
you do so when taking all your other recyclables to places
like Stafford Landfill. They have a big collection container
for them, but for trash, not for recycling. I often find that the
recycling container at the grocery store is overflowing....
Some of you think this is a 'democratic only ' thing. I consider myself a mainstream moderate republican. "Conserve" is in our name. With the overall goal of reducing our footprint on the environment including conserving resources for use in later generations, plastic bag reduction/reuse of bags is the step in the right direction. Plus, It's an eyesore and disgrace to see the highways and waterways littered with all these bags.
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