Paper Or Plastic ... 20 Cents Each Please
Grocery bag fee headed to full council 20-cent charges for paper or plastic set to come up for vote next week
Are people in Seattle even aware that the city wants to get rid of plastic and paper bags and other containers? And in the process charge 20 cents per bag… paper of plastic?
Seattle city officials, moved a step closer Tuesday toward becoming one of the few major cities to discourage paper and plastic bags in favor of reusable bags, and to ban polystyrene food and drink containers.
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Seattle mayor calls for fee on disposable grocery bags
Forget the canvas sacks at home? Shoppers at grocery, convenience and drug stores will pay the price starting Jan. 1, if the City Council approves. A family buying six bags of groceries a week would spend $62.40 a year in bag fees. The city will issue one free reusable shopping bag to each household.
“The answer to the question ‘Paper or plastic?’ should be ‘Neither,’ ” Nickels said at a news conference. “Both harm the environment. Every piece of plastic ever made is still with us in the environment, and the best way to handle waste is not to create it in the first place.”
The proposed fee, the first of its kind in the nation, is the latest green legislation from a mayor intent on making environmental stewardship his legacy.
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Personally, I use all my plastic shopping bags for a variety uses. I rarely throw bags away except with the cat liter.
What gripes me about this is ... what gives the council the right to decide what a retailer wants to offer their customers as part of their service to them?
What’s next? Turn the lights off and charge for each candle the customer uses while shopping there?
