20 cent tax on grocery bags enacted (Seattle, Shoreline: house, buy, taxi)

[sean98125]

The Seattle City Council enacted a law yesterday that will put a 20 cent tax on each paper or plastic grocery bag in an attempt to reduce the number of disposable bags used by Seattle shoppers. The law also banned certain types of styrofoam containers used by grocery stores and restaurants. The law goes in to effect on January 1, 2009.

Guess I'll be shopping in Shoreline when I need bags for cleaning cat litter, for lining my bathroom trash can, and a trash bag for the car.

[seattlenextyear]

Won't it cost you more than 20 cents for gas to drive to a suburb?

[sean98125]

Not for me - I live close to the city limits on the north side and there are two Safeways about a mile from me. I have been going to Albertsons at 130th & Aurora, but the Safeway at 155th & Aurora is about the same distance from me.

I usually have reusable bags with me, but I use about 15 disposable bags per month for other things.

[seattlenextyear]

One trip to Target somehow leaves me with about 15 bags. That's another alternative.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by sean98125

I usually have reusable bags with me, but I use about 15 disposable bags per month for other things.

You could buy a roll of those blue dog-do bags at the pet store and use them instead. But they'd give a plastic bag when you bought them and charge you 20 cents.

[tada]

I hardly ever buy enough stuff at once to need a bag, so this doesn't affect me much.

Still, it's hard to believe I could hate Seattle even more than I do now.

[CityGirl72]

I'm happy about the tax, I think it will be eye opening and good way to inforce recycling and lower plastic useage and bring in tax revenues.

We are living in exciting times! Change is good.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

and good way to inforce recycling

How will taxing bags enforce recycling? This is not a deposit program where you get your 20 cents back when you return your bag! This just a straight tax.

[bigtrees]

I'm very dismayed to see the tax put in place. It may make sense for city-dwellers in Seattle that stop by the grocery store on their way home for work everyday and don't buy very much.

But I'm a country man who (my wife actually) who makes the trip to grocery store once every two or three weeks. She'll usually buy enough groceries that about 10 bags are used for each trip. Same goes for the monthly trip to Walmart or Target. One resuable bag will not hold nearly enough groceries for our family.

By far and large, we use the bags around the house and most don't get thrown out. I think this is just another way to tax, tax, tax us to death!

As an engineer, I recognize that the plastic bags don't use much raw material and don't contribute much to the waste stream. Drinking Starbucks coffee - a Seattle favorite - consumes a lot more resources than a simple plastic bag. Going out to lunch and dinner - another Seattle favorite - is incredibly wasteful. Participating in parades, festivals, fairs, and the like uses resources, too.

I've also read that the materials used to make a reusable bag equal that of 1,000 disposable bags. I'll be surprised if I get more than 20 or 30 uses out of the reusable bag (rough 1 years worth). Certainly not 1000 uses.

Fortunately, I live in Auburn where the government is not motivated to change things, so we will not be impacted by the new rules anytime soon.

[cobolt]

Good grief. Go grocery shopping lately? Regardless if you go every week, you're one person or two, you end up with lots of bags with three items in every bag or so. I know I consolidate my goods and put some bags in the recycle before I even leave the store. I am against the tax, for sure. I mean, good grief, what are you to do? Can't do paper because it kills trees, plastic is bad, you can only reuse a bag so many times. And yes, it's a tax and not a "fee" like they're trying to pass off. Good going Seattle. One more reason you're on my cr*p list.