Earlier this month Seattle mayor Greg Nickels proposed slapping a 20-cent tax on disposable plastic shopping bags as a way to encourage retailers and shoppers to switch to reusable alternatives. Meanwhile, Chicago’s approach to plastic bag problems is alternately being characterized as a great first step and a missed opportunity.
Governments around the world have been working to reduce litter, cleanup costs, resource waste, and ecosystem damage caused by plastic bags, in most cases by implementing bans or heavy taxes on them. In Chicago, 39th Ward alderman Margaret Laurino has convened meetings with environmental advocates and business leaders to try to come up with a city ordinance mandating that they be recycled.
Read More of The sort-of-getting-tougher approach to plastic bags off-site...
Greg Nickels says:
Mick --
The twenty-cent fee I have proposed would cover both plastic and paper bags (turns out the paper bags are four times worse for the environment). The money raised would be used to make sure every household has at least one reusable bag as well as other environmental investments. In Seattle alone we use 360,000,000 disposable bags each year (600 per person). Our goal is to reduce that number by at least 70%. Here are the details:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/issues/b...
It's part of a change from a culture of conspicuous consumption to one of conspicuous conservation.
Best wishes --
Greg Nickels
Mayor of Seattle