Shopping Bag Tax for San Francisco?
by on 01.27.05
Has San Fran been reading recent posts ( [1] and [2] ) on Treehugger? Looks like they want to jump aboard the shopping bag reduction bandwagon. And good on them, we say. Eagle-eyed TH reader Matthew spied this story, just yesterday, on CNN. According to the report, San Francisco is thinking about imposing a 17 cent surcharge on plastic and paper grocery bags. They would be the first US city to do so, if the proposal gets the go-ahead. At first it would levied onto stores with greater than $2 mill USD in yearly sales. One study has shown that stores are handing San Franciscans around 50 million bags year. Many of which we know end up in intestines of wildlife and marine animals. Apparently some folk have cried “unfair” and “regressive tax”. What’s the chance, that in their next life, those same people might get to come back as a turtle! Either way, we reckon Jim Rhoads, of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council, qualifies for Quote Of The Day: "As consumers, we need to think outside the bag," Thanks for the heads up, Matthew, (who further reports that the Florence markets in Italy are already charging €0.10-0.20 per grocery bag.) ::CNN online [by WM]
My local supermarket, Tesco, sell reusable carrier bags for the very reasonable price of 10p. They hold probably twice as much, and are a lot stronger than the free bags. Not only that, but when the bag is getting old, they will replace it with a new one it for free. I presume they also recycle your old one, as they also have a free standard carrier bag recycling facility.
So because of this, I've been thinking of suggesting that they charge for the use of (or preferably do away with altogether) their free plastic bags. I wonder if someone at Tree Hugger could help put together a list of good arguments. Points I found on the CNN page at the bottom of this article:
* Plastic bags jam machinery
* Pollute waterways
* Suffocate wildlife
* Often end up as eyesores in trees or bushes
Also, if there are any pictures I could include in a letter to get the point across would be really great. I doubt they'll pay me any attention, but it can't hurt to try!
Rick.
Hi there,
I've noticed a new product out there that is aimed at reducing the number of plastic bags that are being used. The "Turtlebag" is a strong durable shopping bag that folds into a pouch that fits easily into the palm of your hand. You'll never have another excuse for not having a reusable bag with you for shopping.
You can clip them to your bag, belt or keys for a permanent reusable bag.
You can order them online from www.turtlebag.com.au. They are an awesome trendy alternative to the cumbersome green bags offered by most super markets. Although, lets face it, any reusable bag is better than a plastic bag.
Shannon
thanks for the comment spam, shannon.
so my question is this -- the city taxes each bag but still does not have a way to recycle the bags. the bags end up in the landfill or an animal's gullet either way. so what is the point of the tax again??
I most deffinately agree that plastic bags pollute our environment and are destroying our wild life but... as a dog owner, I'm not too thrilled with having to "pay" to pick up after my dog. Any suggestions?
Ron,
The point of the tax is to a) Deter people from using plastic bags by buying their own resusable bags and b) gather funds to support reusable bag programs. I personally think resusable bags are an excellent idea. My girlfriend and I use them everywhere, we even have 100% cotton produce bags. We paid about $60 for 4 big shopping bags plus 10 produce bags. We get $.05 back from Whole Foods by our house everytime we use one, going shopping a couple of times a month, they should pay for themselves in several years.
It would be nice to have a community-based project that charged for plastic bags and then redirected those funds into reusable bags to bring the prices down. Funds from the plastic bag tax will decrease as people start buying thier own bags. Also, in a perfect world the millions companies will save by not having to buy plastic bags would be passed on to the consumer.
For " ". If you order the newspaper you could re-use those bags. Other than that, you shouldn't expect to be able to clean up after your dog for free, especially at the expense of the environment. Expand your mind, your not the only person on this planet.
Ron,
The point of the tax is to a) Deter people from using plastic bags by buying their own resusable bags and b) gather funds to support reusable bag programs. I personally think resusable bags are an excellent idea. My girlfriend and I use them everywhere, we even have 100% cotton produce bags. We paid about $60 for 4 big shopping bags plus 10 produce bags. We get $.05 back from Whole Foods by our house everytime we use one, going shopping a couple of times a month, they should pay for themselves in several years.
It would be nice to have a community-based project that charged for plastic bags and then redirected those funds into reusable bags to bring the prices down. Funds from the plastic bag tax will decrease as people start buying thier own bags. Also, in a perfect world the millions companies will save by not having to buy plastic bags would be passed on to the consumer.
For " ". If you order the newspaper you could re-use those bags. Other than that, you shouldn't expect to be able to clean up after your dog for free, especially at the expense of the environment. Expand your mind, your not the only person on this planet.
to the nameless person who doesn't want to pay to pick up after your dog:
1. paying for your dog is the cost of ownership. they're not free.
2. plastic bags already aren't free; the cost is just included in the price of items you purchase. so, in essence, you're already paying to pick up after your dog.
3. get plastic produce bags and reuse those to pick up after your dog. they work just fine. then, put all your general groceries into the canvas bag.