Why is the fee 25 cents?

* To effectively deter the use of single-use bags and encourage consumers to switch to reusable bags, the fee must be set high enough to have a real impact on consumer behavior. Ireland’s current bag fee is set at the equivalent of 33 U.S. cents. The policy was so successful that it significantly reduced plastic bag litter by over 90%.

Is this a tax?

* No. This is a regulatory fee under Article XIII A of the California Constitution because the amount and nature of the fee have a fair and reasonable relationship to the environmental, public health, and societal burdens imposed by the use of plastic and paper carryout bags.

This bill could be huge — one of its strongest points is that it doesn’t let paper bags off the hook, curbing the plastic industry’s cries of biased treatment and holding paper plants equally accountable for wasteful production and unsound ecological policies. But this bill needs your help. Do you believe in a less wasteful tomorrow for California? Then send Assemblymember Brownley a letter and let her know you support the cause! It only takes a few minutes, and it’s an uphill battle for these sorts of bills. We already sent ours! Take the time today — the environment will thank you for it.

• Reusable bags: more popular than ever! [Albany Times-Union]
• Eva Longoria-Parker and H-E-B promote reusable bags for Earth Day! [Houston Chronicle]
• Reusable bag sales raise money and awareness for students in Lakeside, MN. [Chisago County Press]
• Plastic bag pollution in Tanzania referred to as “alarming.” [IPP Media]
• Reusable bags an appealing choice in the Silicon Valley. [KLIV]
• Meanwhile, legislative hearings for a California bag tax are going well. [WBIR]
• Earth Day is already underway ahead of schedule in Rhode Island! [Providence Journal]
• New York state law aims to make recycling plastic bags easier. [9-WSYR]
• Find more ways to get active for Earth Day! [My Ozarks Outdoors]

Photo via Flickr!

With the assault on disposable plastic bags in full effect, a common criticism is that we are unfairly picking on the plastic bag industry while other (arguably) bigger and badder bits of refuse get a free pass to landfill heaven. All in good time, my friends — we’re getting to them. The city of Toronto, for example, has now widened their sights to include not just plastic bags and take-out containers, but even the nefariously ubiquitous disposable coffee cup.

As part of Toronto’s plan to be diverting 70 per cent of its garbage from landfill by 2010, the city is examining ways to limit items that have a bad reputation for filling up landfills.

“They may not be very heavy, but they take up a lot of space,” said Geoff Rathbone, general manager of Toronto’s solid waste department.

The aim of all this is to increase the garbage diversion rate from the current 42 per cent – a move that would extend the life of the city’s Green Lane landfill, near London, Ont. Some regions, like Durham and York, are moving toward incineration as a solution to waste that can’t be recycled, but Toronto remains committed to landfills.

The proposals, being pushed by Toronto Councilor Howard Moscoe, include options for an outright ban, a tax or levy on the products in question, or even a deposit-return incentive program. Which will prevail? No one is sure yet, if any, but city waste managers are currently in meetings with successful policy setters from across North America to work on developing some new potential strategies. Whatever the outcome, don’t worry about plastic bag fighters “missing the big picture” by not going after other sources of trash overflow. We’re coming for them, too. All in good time.

Photo via Flickr!

California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine’s Assembly Bill AB 2058 — a bill that, if passed, would demand a 25-cent environment-supporting tariff for each and every disposable plastic bag handed out at grocery stores — has been kicking around for months now, but unfortunately it seems to have stalled somewhere along the committee decision line. Corporations and organizations like the American Chemistry Council are lobbying like mad to send the bill back to the drawing board and beyond, and it’s working. So, what can you do to help? According to our friends-in-ecology over at Heal the Bay, you can do plenty.

Call the three legislators who can move this bill forward letting them know that all Californians want to protect their community from plastic bag pollution. Also, send a letter to your Senator urging them to support AB 2058 when it comes up for a vote!

Can calling legislators really make a difference? Absolutely. The more pressure is put upon them to do the right thing and represent their constituents, the more likely they are to actually follow through. For your added benefit, Heal the Bay even has a handy guide on how to place the most effective persuasive phone call possible:

1) Call one of the Legislative leaders above.

2) Speak loudly and clearly.

3) Say you would like to speak to a staff person about Assembly Bill 2058.

4) State the following points. It should take no longer than 20 seconds.

Hello, my name is _______ and I’m calling upon the leadership of [Senator/Assembly Member] to get AB 2058 out of committee and moving forward to a full vote.
AB 2058 will keep my taxpayer dollars away from being spent on land filling and cleaning up plastic bag blight in my community.
AB 2058 will actually help me save money on my grocery bill because I will bring a reusable bag to the market and not have to pay the hidden cost of single-use bags that is currently embedded in the price of goods.
I urge you to keep this bill moving forward and pass AB 2058 this year.
5) You may be asked you to provide your name, address, and zip code. If you aren’t comfortable with providing your address, you can just leave your name and zip code.

6) Repeat steps 1-5 with the other legislative leaders!

How can you not call, or at the very least send a letter? It’s our state, and it’s our environment — and now, it’s up to us.

Photo via Heal the Bay via Flickr!

As of June 1, all supermarkets, department stores and grocery stores in China are prohibited from providing shoppers with free plastic bags for their purchases. The move, announced at the beginning of this year, is aimed at reducing pollution as well as freeing up oil supplies for other products.

While plastic bags won’t be eradicated entirely (just yet), the ultra-thin 0.025 millimeter grocery bags — often doubled-up and the most common type found caught in trees and drifting in oceans — are now off-limits in favor of a sturdier variety, and even those now come at a price, forcing consumers to rethink their daily routines and hopefully spurring on what Chinese officials are referring to as a “habit revolution.”

From this week onward, consumers in mainland China will be subjected to a fee of three jiao (US$0.04) per plastic bag provided by retailers. The Chinese government is promoting a ‘habit revolution’ in which consumers reduce the number of plastic bags they use when making retail purchases. Shoppers are also being encouraged to bring their own reusable bags to stores when shopping.

Interestingly enough, as the article points out, China has been at the forefront of the plastic bag war for quite some time with positive results, reusable bags reportedly becoming not just a trend but an accustomed way of life — not a bad goal, and one that is making its way out of China and going everywhere in a hurry.