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New York Mayor Proposes Charge on Plastic Bags

inhabitat.com — Recently New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed that NYC begin charging shoppers 6 cents for each plastic bag issued at the register. The policy is the latest attempt by the city to go green and reduce its environmental footprint, and it comes several months after Ireland introduced a similar tax that cut the use of plastic bags by 94%.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 11, 2008

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  • trendygamer, on 11/11/2008, -5/+39For all those unfamiliar with NYC's current financial state, here's the truth: This is an attempt to open up a new source of revenue for the city, masked under the banner of environmentalism. The city is having budgetary problems and this is a conveniently politically correct way to try to raise funds. Expect to see more governments doing money grabs masked as environmentalism in the coming years - it's just too easy.
  • Testiculese, on 11/11/2008, -1/+20These bags are really handy. I use these bags for emptying the litterbox and for trash bags in the bathroom trashcans.
  • Fhwqhgads, on 11/11/2008, -5/+24The environment always makes a good excuse to cover up blatant money grabbing and greed.
  • starcasm, on 11/11/2008, -15/+30Fabulous idea. Plastic bags at the store are a psychological and behavioral issue, and imposing a fee is a great what to break the habit. Thankfully, plastic bags aren't as hard to quit as cigarettes.
  • RNEMESiS42, on 11/11/2008, -1/+15I always feel like an ass when I have to stop the clerk at Target from putting my two items in a plastic bag, or if they didn't hear me, take them out myself and leave the bag. Really, they don't have to give me all those damn plastic bags, I have arms!
  • KingHarvest00, on 11/11/2008, -4/+16Yeah, alot of grocery stores in Canada already do this. People end up bringing their own reusable bags. It's a good thing.
  • michaelpinto, on 11/11/2008, -4/+16If people bring their own bags that's great, but there's a false notion that paper bags are some how better — which isn't the case as the paper process process pumps out dioxin as a byproduct. I think Bloomberg could do more in a real way by making mass transit more affordable...
  • Tenareth, on 11/11/2008, -4/+16That won't change the behavior.

    The problem is on the demand side, not the supply side.
  • xrisnothing, on 11/11/2008, -5/+13two birds, one stone
  • G001, on 11/11/2008, -0/+8I do too, but the amount I actually use for that is small compared to the amount I end up bringing home. They end up in the trash when my stockpile is full, and it usually is.
  • jgopp, on 11/11/2008, -0/+8MORE affordable? I think traveling on the NYC subways and buses is a great deal for the money. The unlimited monthly ride pass is a damn good deal considering it's what 80 dollars for one month? I fill my fusion up with at LEAST 100 dollars of gas a month, plus insurance, washing, oil changes, tire changes, etc. If I could use public transit at the pricing NYC has I'd be able to cut a lot of bloat out of having private transportation.
  • RNEMESiS42, on 11/11/2008, -2/+10BYOB. Bring your own bag. And beer.
  • gobbleplex, on 11/11/2008, -3/+10Ever hear of canvas bags?
  • G001, on 11/11/2008, -0/+7New York City is now one of the safest big cities there is. That's a relative measure of course, but I wouldn't worry about it unless it's very late at night and/or in a particularly bad area.

    It's $81 for a 30 day unlimited pass, which covers the subways and local buses. The system is very extensive and can get you anywhere you need to go. It really is a good deal, and I can buy it pre-tax so it actually works out to even less than that.
  • lekahe, on 11/11/2008, -4/+11The concept has been used in Finland as far as I can remember, over 10 years at least and the price is 0.15 €. Works fine!
  • starslinger72, on 11/11/2008, -0/+610 * 1.50 = 11.50??
  • BarneyF, on 11/11/2008, -0/+6The Germans have been doing it since the late seventies.
  • flip2trip, on 11/11/2008, -3/+9Non-sense, this is a NYC money grab from the public. Cutting down on plastic bag usage is like putting a band aid on a bullet hole.
  • jtrost, on 11/11/2008, -3/+9They already do this in Italy. They charge three euro cents per bag. After a few trips to the store I got into the habit of carrying my backpack and putting all of my groceries in there. I saved both money and the environment.
  • nonpareil, on 11/11/2008, -0/+6Actually, it can. That's how broad the commerce clause is.
  • Cyrus042, on 11/11/2008, -2/+8Canvas bags cost about a dollar from some stores, and are free from some places. (I got a free canvas bag from yahoo). Plus, there's always paper bags which consist of a lot of post-consumer content and are easily recyclable.
  • ducksauce001, on 11/11/2008, -0/+6I can actually fit more stuff in my 'green bags'.

    I live in NY and despite that we didn't have a law to charge plastic bags, New Yorkers are quite environmental. I do see a lot of people bringing their own bags to grocery stores prior to Bloomberg's proposal.

    I live so close to supermarkets that I go to supermarkets twice a week, only to pick up what I need. I'm sure many New Yorkers do the same.
  • form3hide, on 11/11/2008, -5/+11Yeah! Lets NOT remove hazardous items!
  • jbmcb, on 11/11/2008, -0/+6Up next in the list of taxes on bad behavior:

    Fatty foods, starchy foods, high-cholesterol foods, sugary foods, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, styrofoam cups, incandescent light bulbs, glossy magazines, video game consoles (they waste electricity!) violent video games, anti-establishment books, home-schooling your children, bicycling (you're just getting around the car/gas taxes!) walking (you're just getting around the bicycle tax!) ...
  • inactive, on 11/11/2008, -0/+5I always recycle the bags for garbage cans and other purposes so charging like this is just another tax on overtaxed NYC citizens
  • tgc1, on 11/11/2008, -0/+5And where does the money collected on these bags go? It's just another tax. Don't we have enough taxes? Besides, most people, including myself, use the bags from the grocery store as garbage bags. Sure is brain dead to have to spend money buying garbage bags for home use.
  • MsArtGeek, on 11/11/2008, -2/+6Wrong. They serve their purpose once and then end up on streets, in trees, and in landfill, where they biodegrade very slowly if at all. They are the ultimate in cheap, disposable convenience. Once they serve their purpose (the 10 minutes to half hour it takes to get your groceries home) they are a blight and a waste.

    I see nothing wrong with a miniscule fee (a nickel a bag or less) that will encourage people to use less of them. The cost to consumers is negligible but once people realize there's a cost associated, they change their habits astonishingly quickly.
  • hitkaiser, on 11/11/2008, -2/+6A small number of supermarket chains in Spain have been charging for plastic bags for a couple of years now which does discourage wasting them as people bring their own bags and trolleys. However, the grand majority of stores still give them out for free, my own business included - we really can't stop giving them out for free as customers will choose to buy from other stores, its a small business so we can't afford to lose customers over such a "trivial cost". It would take legislation (or prohibitive costs) for us to stop.
  • meganmonster, on 11/11/2008, -1/+5Ireland is not a city.
  • ButterLoyalist, on 11/11/2008, -3/+7Another reason to not live in NYC.
  • bowserkid, on 11/11/2008, -6/+10If you've ever lived in NYC or a comparable urban center, you understand that this isn't feasible. While it may be easy for suburbanites to carry their stuff home in a few plastic bags thanks to cars, city residents often have to use twice as many bags just so they can make through the walk home and up however many flights of stairs without everything breaking.
  • MikeFromAmerica, on 11/11/2008, -1/+4I like to fill them with old motor oil and then drop them in the river. Kills two birds with one stone!
  • KSUdesigner, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3"You want to reduce the ecological footprint, hit the manufacturer, not the consumer."

    And then the manufacturer passes those fines onto the supermarket who purchases the bags, and then the supermarket passes the cost onto you. By placing the fees on the consumer you will get consumers who no longer want to pay for the bags. When demand goes down, supply will follow. If nobody wants the bags, then the manufacturers will quit making them, or at least reduce the quantities they make. You can't tackle the issue just by fining the manufacturers, because they just keep doing what they've been doing and pass the costs on down the line.
  • bowserkid, on 11/11/2008, -3/+6It's hard to anticipate ahead of time how many bags you're going to use, especially if you have a family. Not to mention you're still putting out a fair amount of $$ for canvas bags if you opt for them too. I think there are better ways to go green than this. And the majority of NYC dwellers reuse their plastic bags around the house as trash bags anyway.
  • Averness, on 11/11/2008, -2/+5This is not a green policy. It's a money grab. An unstated tax. Just like the car inspection stickers people are required to buy in some states, or the tollbooths that are built with the promise that they will be removed once a bridge is paid for, then never get removed. The last time I went to NYC I had to pay and admission fee (to the city via any bridge or tunnel) of about $10. By now it's probably double that. Make no mistake, this 6 cent charge for plastic bags has nothing to do with environmentalism and everything to do with greed.
  • G001, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3Because there's no bins like that that I'm aware of. I've only ever seen one in a store once, and said store is now closed.
  • WhoDoneIt, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3Really? You can't think of other things to carry your ***** in? Is your backpack made out of plastic bags?
  • inactive, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3That's cool and it's voluntary.
  • HappyScrappy, on 11/11/2008, -2/+5I already anticipated it from your info. You're gonna need a lot of them. If you take enough bags to carry the stuff you know you need, then the worst that happens is you don't end up buying that extra stuff and you get it next time.

    Canvas bags do cost a fair bit of money, but you reuse them, so the price ends up very low. Hell, get on the train to IKEA in Brooklyn and load up on their reusable bags cheaply.
  • brainworms, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3As stated we've had it a few years now in Ireland and its worked to an extent (94% seems to high), you only find plastic bags in trees in ***** estates, the reduction comes from it being weird to ask for a plastic bag, usually they're automatically handed out. Now when you go to the till, they scan your items and give you a price, you then have to say "oh and add a bag in please", it means people who don't want bags don't get them by default.
    In reality though most shops have just switched back to paper bags, the idea this needs to be a law is ridiculous.
  • Praelior, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3This is pointless. Plastic bags are actually better for the environment than paper bags. Think about it, a plastic bag is easy to manufacture, it uses a minuscule amount of resources, and people generally reuse them. Paper bags, on the other hand, require trees to be cut down and processed, and use alot more resources. The energy needed to create a paper bag far exceeds making a plastic bag. And both always end up in a plastic garbage bag in a landfill.

    HOWEVER, if they truly wanted to be green, they would charge on ALL disposable bags, paper or plastic. I think this is a great idea (its what they do in Germany) It encourages people to bring their own bags.
  • kurtwinter, on 11/11/2008, -1/+4Smoking indoors is great! I love the stale smell of cigarette butts! Gas guzzling Ford taxis are fantastic! So roomy and give the city that lovely pinkish haze! Fast food is great when it clogs your arteries! Only a horrible person would stand against pollution and health hazards!
  • kurtwinter, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3"Car Inspection Stickers" people are "required to buy"? Are you serious? Keeping dangerous, polluting hunks of ***** off of the road keeps the roads safer for everyone. And if you can't afford the toll, you can't afford the city.
  • randumbusername, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3good for new york citay, i guess. better than it being the entire US.
  • adriaanz, on 11/11/2008, -2/+5I agree that the problem is on demand side. American consumers seem to be inherently lazy - I admit to it myself. I own several reusable shopping bags but never really remember to use them. It's already standard to charge for plastic bags in Europe and Asia, where you see almost all shoppers bring their own bags. I think charging 15-25 cents per plastic bag will give consumers the extra kick to make reusable bags a habit.
  • wkrausmann, on 11/11/2008, -2/+4Not only this, but higher prices, higher taxes and even forced compliance is only going to create more trouble. If the people are going to make decisions to 'Go Green!' they are going to have to make the decision themselves. Charging people to receive anything that was once free as a means to stop people from acquiring it is just wrong.
  • dman24752, on 11/11/2008, -1/+3No ones forcing anyone to do anything besides pay a tax. Besides, the bill doesn't tax all bags, it only taxes plastic bags. You can still use paper bags for your $100 worth of groceries.
  • inactive, on 11/11/2008, -1/+3So you're going to spend money in a store to purchase goods (WHICH ARE TAXED) and now they want to tax you more to carry them home in?

    I got news for you people... America sure as hell is not the land of the free.
  • chrismgtis, on 11/11/2008, -2/+4Charging for plastic bags is NOT green. Simply charging for the product doesn't make it green. Stopping the use of the product may or may not. What an idiot Mayor.
  • dman24752, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2Paper bags also work.
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