On my flight to Chicago yesterday I picked up an abandoned USA Today and turned right to an article on page 3A entitled "S.F. shoppers might be sacked with 17-cent tax on grocery bags." (
See article.)
Finally, a progressive city in the US is proposing to do what countries like Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, China and Taiwan have already implemented: charging for paper and plastic bags. Some countries have eliminated plastic bags altogether.
See Article. For example, Ireland instituted a 15 cents-per-bag tax in March 2002, which led to a 95-percent reduction in use.
According to the USA Today article:
"The 50 million paper and plastic grocery bags used in San Francisco each year cost the city 17 cents apiece for cleanup and other costs, adding up to $8.5 million."
But Paul Smith of the California Grocers Association says:
"The fee is an incredible amount of money to a consumer."
Come on Paul. If each consumer spent about 20 bucks on 5 or 6 canvas bags they'd stop using bags altogether.
The article also claims that "US bag making demands 14 million trees and 12 million barrels of oil – the main ingredient in many plastics – each year." Of course, the American Plastics Council and the American Forest & Paper Association say those numbers are inaccurate. Go figure.
If the American consumers would just refuse a bag when they buy one item or an item that’s already in a bag (potatoes, for example), I’m guessing we’d save about 10% of the 100 billion plastic bags we use each year.
1 Comments:
Dear Wendy,
I came across your website whilst doing a search online for "recycled paper bags". I have a small, home business and design and manufacture stationery (on 100% post-consumer recycled papers!). I sell from my website and at shows and have been looking for 100% recycled bags for the past two years to use at the shows to package customer's purchases. Such bags are not to be found. I bought one box of gift bags made from the paper used to blot fabric when it is printed (who knew?), so it is reused paper if not recycled. That box is nearly finished and I have been scouring the Web to find a better alternative. I have finally found two places that offer 50% recycled paper bags, but didn't feel great about that and then I found your website.
I am now considering the idea of not offering bags at all and am grateful to you for helping me come to this. It will be tricky, as shoppers at shows often have alot to carry and are grateful for a bag....and stationery is a bit delicate and needs protecting....so I would be grateful if anyone wants to use this opportunity to help me think of alternatives. I do have a 100% recycled tissue paper that I could bundle the purchases in .....sort of like general stores used to do. But then I have to think of an ecologically-friendly way to tie it up!?!
Thanks again for you inspiration!
By Lesley Austin, at 4:17 PM
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