Proposal to Levy 10-Cent Fee on All Shopping Bags
The choice between paper or plastic bags could soon come with a new burden in New York City: a 10-cent fee.
Under legislation set to be introduced by City Council members Wednesday, stores would be required to charge a dime for every paper or plastic bag customers use to haul goods home.
The eco-friendly bill has the support of 19 council members, who have signed on as sponsors, seven short of the 26 needed to pass it.
Public Advocate Letitia James, too, has signed on.
A similar measure introduced in August 2013 had only eight sponsors, and never got a hearing.
“New Yorkers use 1 billion disposable, single-use plastic bags every year. It costs the city a lot of money, winds up in trees, clogs up storm drains, and messes up the recycling plants,” said Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), a prime sponsor along with Councilwoman Margaret Chin (D- Manhattan).
Lander said banning plastic bags alone would lead consumers to simply switch to paper bags, which are only marginally less harmful to the environment.
“Cities across the country have shown that by using a very modest incentive, the vast majority of people will bring a reusable bag when shopping,” he said.
Similar measures in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC, have cut down bag waste in those cities, advocates say.
The 10-cent fee would go to store owners rather than to city coffers. But the city expects to save money by reducing harm caused by plastic bags clogging storm drains and jamming machinery at recycling plants.
Lander said the council and a coalition called Bag It NYC would seek to raise private funds for a reusable-bag giveaway, primarily for low-income neighborhoods.
“People can choose to not pay [the fee] at all by bringing a reusable bag to the grocery story,” he said.
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who has not signed on as a sponsor, is still reviewing it, a spokesman said.
Mayor de Blasio’s campaign had proposed a goal of zero waste for the city with, in part, “bans on plastic bags.”
“This administration is committed to reducing waste, and looks forward to reviewing the City Council legislation,” a spokesman said.
Nobody
Bacteria from reusable bags have killed more people that Metzizah BePeh, but New York has its liberal priorities in order.
Anonymous
how the heck did ur small brain associate mbp and a 10c bag? … HUH? …
Nobody
Anonymous: Reused bags carry diseases and have killed children in California where this experiment was already tried.
Sorry if your ignorance gives you brain size envy.
Milhouse
“Nobody” is exactly correct. In San Francisco, a similar law has resulted in a measurable increase in e-coli infections. And “Nobody” is correct to compare this risk to that of MBP, and to point out that, while both risks are very small, this one is far greater.
let's be careful not harmful
this is the ONLY good proposal coming from City Council that I remember. You want to waste -pay for it. Well 40 or 30 yrs back in Russia every small plastic bag you get in a store – 5 kopecs, which may be 10% of the cost of the food in it. Glass bottle – 15 kopecs, could be %30 of 50 kopecs cost of drink, refundable when you bring back empty glass. Was much less waste and broken glass on a street.
Milhouse
The bags belong to the shopkeeper, and if he chooses to give them away that is his business. What gives the city the right to forbid him from giving away his own property?
tiredtaxpayer
If the libs do this, just get a box of 1000 from ebay for about $23 including shipping (about 2 cents each) and keep it in the back of your car. Done.
av
it won’t cost 10 cents a bag if u reuse what u have. The 10 cent bags are much sturdier that what you get now without charge.
To "let's be careful not harmful:"
When you become sick form E-Coli bacteria in a year old bag where your food’s in, don’t come crying to me. You’ll get what you asked for.
To "let's be careful"
Enjoy your E. Coli, and if you want to live in Russia you can go there, but don’t drag us into your quaint, old-fashioned and bacteria filled lifestyle.
To "let's be careful not..."
Go live in the Soviet Union, enjoy your germs, pay 100 Rubel for every bag, and leave the rest of us alone to live a normal healthy life. Okay?
gevalt
what’s next? a tax on napkins?
Cajun Chosid
they got this stupidity from cities in California.
Long Beach has this fee.
finally
half of the developed world already does this. about time the US caught on.
To "Finally"
If the founding fathers would have said “half of the developed world…” and tried to follow it, there would be no U.S.A. get it? America’s different, and by that I mean we’re supposed to have common sense, not be blind groupie followers of “Half of the developed world”. Should we also pay higher taxes like them?
Not finally
Should we follow their socialized medicine too? Oops forgot, we already did.
Might as well get the E. Coli in our bags as well, so that we’ll need some of that medicine. Brilliant Mr. “Finally”. Where’d you go to school? They should shut down.
To Finally
Better follow the other non-developed half of the world where there’s no bags at all, so there’s no waste, just human waste.
to 13
“america iz nisht andersh”
declasse' intelectual
Another left wing liberal conspiracy to tax everyone to death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not liking it
Los Angeles has this fee since January 2014.
It’s a pain in the neck. I have a cabinet full of canvas bags and have to remember to bring them with me. Once I use them and bring groceries in the house
I always forget to take them with me for the next round of groceries. I know we have to rewire our brains for this new law. The new 10 cent bags are hard plastic and can’t be used in small garbage cans and other clean up uses…not soft enough to tie handles together. I will go along with comment #4 suggestion and order a box of the old thin plastic bags for multi use in my home.
let's be careful not harmful
to all angry voices:
1. not even my proposal, libs want more spending $$
2. leave the rest of us alone to live a normal healthy life. – YA ? spiritually its healthier – agreed, but not otherwise . May be half of food is gentically modified. Most fish is farm grown has nothing but gormons and antibiotics ETC Chicken is not better
Fruits not better. Even oorganics have no teste
3. for E-Coli bacteria to develop you need a bag to be greesy for a while.
A. most products you buy like cans bottles etc leave no greese
B. if happens just wash it with your laundry
To "Let's..."
Who’s talking about Genetically modified food and “gormons and antibiotics”?
Just shows the state of your mind, when you can’t stick to the issues.
“if happens just wash it with your laundry”
SERIOUSLY!? YOU OK?? WASH BAGS IN THE LAUNDRY FROM NOW ON??
To let's be careful not harmful
You’re defending it, so it became your proposal. Do some research on all the stories in California with people getting sick from E. Coli in their months old bags. But then again you can’t do research as you’ll be too busy washing all your bags. Ha ha!
Milhouse
Not that it’s got anything to do with the topic, but what on earth is wrong with genetically modified food? Why would any sane person object to it? The campagin against it is wicked, evil, anti-human, and based on pagan nature-worship. There’s nothing much wrong with “hormones and antibiotics” either. (We’ll allow you your Russian confusion between G and H). And I should hope “organics” have no testes!
Kop Mentch
Milhouse freaks out over a typo!
“We’ll allow you your Russian confusion between G and H” is a snarky comment.
Milhouse, I don’t know about your keyboard but on normal ones the G and H keys are side by side. Therefore easily explained typo. It has nothing to do with “Russian confusion” or any other McCarthyism paranoia that Milhouse suffers from.
Milhouse
The commenter is clearly Russian, and that is enough to explain “gormons”.
Better idea than Russia
To: “let’s be careful not harmful”
Why follow Russia’s model if we could follow North Korea’s model, no bags, no waste and no food. (And gulags to, but don’t tell anyone, since N.K. is more “Progressive” than Russia, by far).
To "let's be"
Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that you voted for De Blasio?
let's be careful not harmful
i never vote for Dems
really?
are they trying to make people move out of ny? they are literally making it unlivable here. they take away parking spots, give tickets for double parking for 5 minutes to unload groceries, make less lanes, more biking lanes. now they dont want us to shop? I say we should all just move to a place that is more “living friendly”.
let's be careful not harmful
for everyone’s info: Its not plastic, its bags made of strong, lightweight, polyester that can be washed. Or bags made of fabrics. Like you wash your socks. Google “reusable grocery bags”.
And keep your anger down “Moah Sholit al haLeiv”
To: "Let's"
Not everyone’s willing to pay and buy tens of reusable bags instead of getting the disposable ones, and except you no one needs the added headache of washing these things.
“Anei Ksil K’eevaltoi”.
Anger justified
Hey Mr. Let’s:
It’s hard to keep anger down when you have mental patients a.k.a. the City Counsel trying to run our lives for us according to their insane brains, and people like you want us to live the Russian life style of 50 years ago.
To "Let's be..."
Where’s gonna have to start hoarding shopping bags like a treasure, and wash our reusable bags, as if most people have nothing better to worry about and preoccupy their minds with. BTW, not sure if you got the memo, it’s America in the 21st century, not the USSR in the 1930s, let’s take advantage of “Modern” advances available to us such as new clean (E. Coli free) disposable bags for every purchase. Eh whaddya say “Let’s be…” you learned something new today, haven’t you?
In the know
In Australia using a recycled sturdy bag is common practice but not mandetory Except aldi and target who charge the 10 cents
bright idea
Instead of targeting the litterbugs and making fines for them, we punish the community for harboring litterers.
Maybe increase the fines for dropping garbage and alternate side and bags may not be an issue…
liberalism appears to be the most fanatic religion srupassing radical islam
1