Plastic bag bans, taxes falter in tough economy
Posted on February 25th, 2009
GreenWire: Despite initiatives from cities to restrict the use of plastic bags, no state has imposed a fee or ban as support has waned during difficult economic times.
San Francisco became the first city to ban plastic bags in 2007, and after several other West Coast cities subsequently pushed similar measures, dozens of legislative proposals popped up in states such as Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia.
But as unemployment rolls have swelled and financial markets tanked, political support eroded as consumers grow wary of anything that lightens their pocketbooks.
“You have to be really tone-deaf to what’s going on to think that the economic climate is not going to affect people,” said Rob Gala, a legislative aide to a Seattle city councilman who sponsored a bill proposing a 20-cent fee on plastic bags.
The Seattle fee was stalled by a petition drive financed by the plastic-bag industry, and its fate will be determined in August by a referendum. Similar measures in New York City, Washington D.C., Connecticut and Maryland are pending, and Portland, Ore., Mayor Sam Adams last month abandoned his proposal for imposing a fee, saying the timing was wrong amid the current economic climate.
Proponents such as Connecticut state Rep. Kim Fawcett (D) say the bans and taxes are not principally intended to raise revenue, but rather to encourage people to adopt sustainable alternatives. The D.C. tax would finance cleanup efforts in the Anacostia River, and the Maryland fee on plastic and paper bags would contribute to Chesapeake Bay restoration.
But opponents say the taxes would hurt consumers and businesses and say the plastic-bag industry is already working to improve recycling rates. They say governments should support those efforts instead of singling out plastic bags (William Yardley, New York Times, Feb. 24). – PR