Seattle Will Charge Shoppers for Disposable Bags Next Year
Starting January 2009, shoppers in Seattle will be charged a 20-cent fee for every paper or plastic bag used at a grocery, drug, or convenience stores, becoming the first U.S. city to charge a fee instead of banning disposable bags altogether. Reusable totes are the way of the future!
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9 Comments:
that's fantastic!
ceforrester at 11:46AM on 08/04/08
They have been charging for bags at Canadian 'SuperStore' for years. They also have deposit on the shopping carts in the lot - deposit money to get cart, shop, return the cart (instead of leaving it in the lot like a lazy oaf), and get your money back!
GingerSnap at 12:57PM on 08/04/08
I can't believe it finally the revolution has begun! I have been plastic bag free for a short 5 months (I make and sell my own cloth bags from recycled material)! If feels great to go into a store grocery or otherwise and come out with my goods in a cloth bag! No more plastic clutter under my sink!
threadbeaur at 1:12PM on 08/04/08
Plastic bags ... oh big deal. Most thinking people already use their own non-disposable bags. It's nice of the lame ass city council to put in its two cents on such a small issue. It's designed to make Seattle look soooo progressive "being the first" .... don't be fooled.
Why doesn't Seattle charge a huge fee to the dreaded daily air traffic that assaults everyone's ears and pollutes the skies?
Well??? WHY NOT??!!
Pointy at 1:27PM on 08/04/08
It's a nice step but I agree that it's a tiny one, even within the scope of only grocery stores. Nearly all of grocery items (sans fresh meat, fruit and veg) are completly over-packaged (and sometimes even the fruit and veg gets shrink wrapped).
wthrop at 1:54PM on 08/04/08
I live in Seattle and am glad about the bag fee. It's a small step but it's in the right direction.
@Pointy--"most thinking people"? Sorry, but the ratio of "thinkers" to "ain't wanna do no thinkin'" does not favor the environment .
sailordave at 3:46PM on 08/04/08
@sailordave - lol. i think it's great that seattle is doing that, i wish new york would too! i remember travelling in other countries and going to the grocery store and having to buy bags - thought it was weird at first then realized i saw a lot less plastic bag trash floating around and it made sense. don't know why people would be opposed to it - a reusable bag can be really inexpensive and it's not that difficult to keep one on hand, so i'm sorry but what are the cons?
billyburgwife at 10:37PM on 08/04/08
I live in Seattle too, but I hadn't heard about this yet. I agree, I think it's a step in the right direction. Sure, its a small one compared to the major pollution and deforestation and decimation of the oceans and wildlife that the world as a whole is facing. But, for the amount of people who run to the store everyday and get a few plastic bags to put their already over-packaged food into, just to toss them out and not have another for the next day? This will be a big ol' wakeup call, and a big difference.
@Pointy - I agree that there are big issues out there that need attention, but just because there are big issues, does that mean small changes are worthless or unnecessary? Sometimes baby steps can lead to leaps.
gretchenx5 at 11:22PM on 08/04/08
i have reusable bags but often forget to take them to the store with me. i bet a $0.20/bag fee would serve as a reminder.
_greenbean at 9:54AM on 08/05/08