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Let's Tax Plastic Bags

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Started 3 years ago by veracity
Latest reply from alexs

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veracity
Clintonville
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Parking meters came out of the Depression. Curb parking is a limited public good. Charging for it helps meter the use of it. It gets that jerk out of that prime spot he's been parked in all day long, etc.

Oklahoma City realized it would also be good for their general fund.

New York City is trying to take its cue from some European nations that have instituted a tax/fee on all plastic shopping bags. Whereas San Francisco banned these bags outright--recognizing their negative impacts--a tax/fee discourages their overuse. NYC is aiming for $0.05 fee--well short of the $0.33 Ireland has in place.

Despite the fact that it would take an act of the Ohio General Assembly to allow Columbus and/or Franklin County to tax plastic bags, wouldn't this be a shrewd move?

And if you want to avoid the tax, just bring your own bags.

Posted 3 years ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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veracity wrote >>

Despite the fact that it would take an act of the Ohio General Assembly to allow Columbus and/or Franklin County to tax plastic bags, wouldn't this be a shrewd move?
And if you want to avoid the tax, just bring your own bags.

Aldi does it already, charges you for bags

Posted 3 years ago #
pixlfarmer
Dublin
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So does Clintonville Community Market. It would be nice to see an actual tax that would help with the budget crunch. Maybe with an exemption for someone showing a Franklin county dog tag? ;)

Posted 3 years ago #
Anne
King Lincoln
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I wouldn't mind. But I did mind that last night at the German Village Giant Eagle the employees were giving me a hard time about having my own bags. It was annoying. I don't think they wanted to work at all.

Posted 3 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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What Aldi's and CCM charge is not a tax, you're paying the store to purchase the bag. A tax with revenue devoted to reducing plastic bag consumption and diverting bags to a recycling center would be good.

Posted 3 years ago #
veracity
Clintonville
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I forgot to post a link:

New York Times coverage

I think the state legislature could work this taxing authority into the biennial budget bill this year. I'm interested in any feedback.

Posted 3 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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I wouldn't mind taxing plastic bags. We use our own canvass bags a lot already.

The only problem is that if it's done for city/county revenue, but incentivises both customers and stores to use something else, then it can't really be counted on as a solid or sustainable source of income.

BTW, GE (and maybe Kroger) are supposed to give you 5 cents off your bill for every bag you're not using, although you typically have to remind the cashier of that fact.

Posted 3 years ago #
veracity
Clintonville
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Walker wrote >>
The only problem is that if it's done for city/county revenue, but incentivises both customers and stores to use something else, then it can't really be counted on as a solid or sustainable source of income.

This is where economists start geeking out over price elasticities. Maybe me as well. Ireland's $0.33 tax reduced bag usage by 94%. A $0.05 tax wouldn't have the same effect. There would still be thousands of local transactions a day applying this fee.

I'll throw out a really conservative guess that there would still be 10,000 transactions a day at $0.05 a pop. That's still $182,500/year. It could be 10x that amount. I should do some more research. We've already got the infrastructure to collect sales tax at the register, so there's little additional cost for retailers/grocers. Plus, they're more likely to save their own money on bags--much to the checkout clerk's chagrin, corporate should love it.

For the city, there's less to haul to the landfill. Even with recycling stations at grocery stores and elsewhere, there's still got to be a significant amount of these bags that end up in the trash...and the Olentangy.

Posted 3 years ago #
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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Walker wrote >>

The only problem is that if it's done for city/county revenue, but incentivises both customers and stores to use something else, then it can't really be counted on as a solid or sustainable source of income.

That's exactly the problem with use taxes, they work. Then you count on that money being in the fund and have to find something less reasonable to tax.

Posted 3 years ago #
veracity
Clintonville
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Tigertree wrote >>
That's exactly the problem with use taxes, they work. Then you count on that money being in the fund and have to find something less reasonable to tax.

Like TP?

Would eagle-eye Hugh Dorrian let us count on those revenues?

Posted 3 years ago #
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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I am not sure I get your point.

Posted 3 years ago #
veracity
Clintonville
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Tigertree wrote >>
I am not sure I get your point.

I forgot to add a wink.

I totally agree that this is the problem with use taxes. I was throwing out toilet paper as an example of something much less reasonable to tax the use of. Sometimes use taxes have the potential to be quite regressive.

City Auditor Hugh Dorrian seems to have a good handle on city revenues. He's been in the job since 1969. I don't think he'd be overly generous in a forecast of the potential revenues a bag tax could generate.

Posted 3 years ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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veracity wrote
Even with recycling stations at grocery stores and elsewhere, there's still got to be a significant amount of these bags that end up in the trash...and the Olentangy.

Yep, I've talked to some Friends of Alum Creek people about this, and I've seen it myself on some of our FOSR cleanup events. This "Before" shot was below Greenlawn Dam in April 2007; the large item in the foreground is a tent but the branches all the way down the bank are loaded with plastic (bags, sheeting, etc.) left by high water.

And if you want to look more closely, the full-sized image is here:

http://sciotoriverfriends.org/albums/album10/DSCF3428.jpg

The other thing is, the bags get filled with sand and silt and they basically become incorporated into the riverbank like open-ended sandbags. They never rot away, they just shred into smaller and smaller pieces. I'd bet money you'd find those shreds in wildlife turds, or the stomachs of animals, birds, and fish.

Posted 3 years ago #
frozen twinkies

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An ecological choice is tough between paper and plastic bags.
Paper takes up more room in land fills
Plastic does not decompose.

I think the people who want to ban plastic bags are missing the point.
If plastic bag litter is a problem. Prohibit littering, don't ban the bag.

Why not just have plastic bags that biodegrade in one years time?
That is faster than paper and takes up less room.

The real key is recycling, like Walker does. But I disagree with forcing something on people. Or, by the same token, taking away their choice.

Posted 3 years ago #
irresistiblue
Victorian Village
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Anne wrote >>
I wouldn't mind. But I did mind that last night at the German Village Giant Eagle the employees were giving me a hard time about having my own bags. It was annoying. I don't think they wanted to work at all.

I always feel guilty imposing that the cashier use the bags I bring in, even though I know it's the right thing to do. Last time I bought groceries, however, I was surprised that the cashier using my bags said she actually likes them better because they hold a lot more groceries. She complained that the plastic bags can't hold much weight and fall apart.

So I guess it just depends on which cashier you get! :)

Posted 3 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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A tax on an item that funds its own demise isn't really a bad idea. The idea is that as less of the taxed item is used, less resources will be necessary to try to change the behavior of those holdouts still using the item.

Posted 3 years ago #
misskitty
Columbus
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When I was in a store buying some reusableÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the cashier was bagging my bags in plastic bags and I nicely noted that that was not necessary.

Posted 3 years ago #
Manatee
The eternal present
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misskitty wrote >>
When I was in a store buying some reusableÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the cashier was bagging my bags in plastic bags and I nicely noted that that was not necessary.

Hahaha how funny.

I think the bag tax is a swell idea.

Posted 3 years ago #
laChewla
Victorian Village, The Heart Of It All
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pixlfarmer wrote >>
So does Clintonville Community Market. It would be nice to see an actual tax that would help with the budget crunch. Maybe with an exemption for someone showing a Franklin county dog tag? ;)

There are all sorts of ways to dispose of dog shit without putting a crap-filled plastic bag into a landfill. Zach suggests using one's mouth for easy shit-disposal. SHIT-EATING-GRIN!

Even if there was a tax on plastic bags - they would still be everywhere. In your trunk, under your kitchen sink, in trees, floating in the river, at the bottom of your bookbag, wrapped around some abandoned NEXT bike on campus - and let's not forget the uber stylish "American Beauty" bag.

Posted 3 years ago #
Manatee
The eternal present
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Wait-- Chewla, I think some of these folks are suggesting that a high enough tax would severely curb their use. And I think it would.

Taxing things that externalize most of their costs seems okey-dokey to me, especially when everyone is really tightening their budgets.

Posted 3 years ago #