There’s also tons of explanation in the links in our post from last night.

https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=9357

The exact terminology from the proposed ordinance:

E. City revenue generated from the Green Fee on disposable shopping bags shall be deposited in the Solid Waste Fund and used to

support solid waste prevention and recycling programs.

We’ll be monitoring the council discussion and vote after 2 pm, and you also can watch live online (or on cable TV) at the Seattle Channel

http://seattlechannel.org

–TR

I think reducing is an important first step as well.

The method in the article sounds great but I do not believe it works with plastic bags only on degradable material.

Our problems need a multipronged approach as there is no one stop solution or magic silver bullet.

Personally I hate styrofoam, because it takes up a lot of space in the trash and apparently is not recyclable, but when it comes to the bags I’m confused. Is reducing production and trashing of plastic bags really the best bang for buck? I have trouble imagining it having large impact. Has anyone seen any charts/statements on this subject?

This strikes me as very silly. Yes, it is a good habit to get into, but why force a mandate?

If Safeway, or Met Market or whoever can decide within their business model that providing complimentary carriers for customers is cost effective, why shouldn’t they be able to provide that service to customers? They all have the option of charging, and explaining to customers the value of not reinforcing the habit.

When I look at all the packaging used at a grocery store, much of it unneccassary, it seems unfair. Should we charge add’l taxes on individually wrapped packages versus things packaged in larger serving sizes? What about the bag I use for the grapes, if I were to insert something other then grapes in there and use it as a carrier to get home, should that have a city mandated tax assessed?

walfredo..

carrying your own sack makes you think about packaging… and i buy a lot less with that kind of packaging now.

the only veggies i put in a bag are things like grapes and cherries… too hard to group together otherwise:)

I like the idea of choice. If I shop with safeway or one of the other online grocery stores, the store that they bring the groceries from is in Renton, how does that work? Plus I don’t have a choice to use my own bag and it doesn’t come from Seattle, but I live in Seattle…who is going to enforce that? If the bag breaks, do I still have to pay for it? What about the heavy stuff that needs double bagging? More questions than answers it looks like.

I take the bus and use my own bags to go grocery shopping for what I can carry and am constantly giving the merchant their bags back (I have a couple of envirosax in my purse at all times and they are washable).

My question is this, why just groceries? What about retailers and shopping malls, Nordstrom, Macy’s, etc? It seems like a punitive thing to me as aren’t all plastic bags equal?

And just an fyi…there are a lot of recyclable forks, etc for take out. The corn ones (that Cedar grove can take) melt at about room temperature and the tater ware ones that Whole Foods uses, can’t be recycled without a high temperature…hopefully, the technology will get better or we can all go to REI and get a camping set of silverware to put in our envirosax.

RainyDay, My confusion is that the benefit is not compared to other benefits. The numbers you mention sounds great? but are nebulous until compared to other products/problems. I’m wondering if there is a comprehensive source of comparisons or something with a bigger picture view.

It seems to me like the bag thing is like trying to reduce co2 emissions by switching from a charcoal grill to a gas one, when the person flys even once. Its like we’re making the easy and insignificant change rather than the hard and effective ones.

Don’t get me wrong (I’m not trying to be a troll), I’m mostly onboard for the environmental thing, but I also think there are bigger fish to fry.

I agree with Full Tilt.

It may well be true that plastic bags are bad for the environment & bringing your own reusable is better overall. But it’s ALSO true that this fee is pure nanny-statism.

Listen, dear liberal Seattlites, life is NOT a simple either-or proposition: It’s NOT a choice between being forced/socially engineered to do what’s right vs. having the freedom & liberty that befits being a human being. Really. I know this is a hard thing for a lot of Seattlites to wrap their minds around, but it’s true: The marketplace evolves organically to adjust to changing consumer concerns as well as changing tastes. Make reusable bags the new status symbol and stores will start producing designer reusable bags.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/business/16bags.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bloomingdale%20shopping%20bags&st=cse&oref=slogin

Jan, you’re bad! ;)

You know, this entire month I think there’s been only one time in any store that I needed to take a bag for my purchases – otherwise I could either hold it in my hand or had my own bag. On Monday in the Junction I was carrying around a few things that easily fit in my hand, and every time I went to the next store they kept asking me if I wanted a plastic bag for “all that stuff” (asking more than once when I said no thanks) – it wasn’t like it was falling out of my hands, either. I found it funny how people were encouraging me to take plastic bags when the city is trying to discourage it!

Jiggers, try reading the entire thread before commenting. The low income thing was addressed above.