I Approve My Tax Dollars to do That: Tax Plastic Bags

In my previous post, I proposed that the United States tax plastic bags.

Such a tax has been extremely successful in Ireland. Currently, the tax is set at thirty-cents (in US dollars) per bag.  All of the money procured from the tax goes directly to the environmental ministry for enforcement and clean-up projects. Shopkeepers initially thought consumers would not accept it, fearing for the well being of their businesses.

At this point however, ten years after the tax was introduced, the tax is no longer really about the money. It has become “socially unacceptable” to carry plastic bags, addressing a “very bad habit” that people can easily change by investing in reusable bags. People are actually enthusiastic about it and proud of what Ireland has done to eradicate plastic bags. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/world/europe/31iht-bags.4.9650382.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)

Since it was introduced ten years ago, the tax has generated 166 million euro for Ireland. (http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/plastic-bag-levy-nets-166m-in-10-years-185605.html)

 As the map illustrates, very few parts of the world have enacted taxes or bans on plastic bags. In the US, each person uses 1267 plastic bags per year. Compare that number to Germany, which has one of the longest standing taxes on plastic bags, clocks in at less than a single plastic bag per person per YEAR. Time for the United States to step up its game. 

Photo credit: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/maps_and_graphs/2009/07/15/Plastic_bags940.gif

Individual US cities have taken similar measures to ban plastic bags. Washington DC now charges five cents for every disposable grocery bag. (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/us-cities-ban-plastic-bags/1#.UH4AhI4ZdSo) During its first year in effect, DC collected an additional $2 million in tax revenue. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/plastic-bag-bans-fees_n_1123439.html) Imagine having such an effect on a national level. If one of America’s cities generated that much additional revenue, how much would expanding the tax to ten other big cities generate?

Seattle made the switch, banning plastic shopping bags entirely rather than taxing them. Paper bags, however, are taxed, addressing another environmental concern. Paper bags are often viewed as a more eco-friendly alternative to plastic when in reality, they are just as bad for the environment with the amount of water and the number of trees used to produce them.

Photo credit: http://westseattleblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/bagbanflyer.jpg

One alternative proposed by plastic manufacturer retailers is to promote recycling of the bags by installing recycling centers in stores. (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/us-cities-ban-plastic-bags/1#.UH4AhI4ZdSo)

In all seriousness, how many of us actually recycle our plastic bags?

My hometown transfer station recycles every type of plastic…except bags.

The switch is not a hard one. But most will only do it if forced to with a tax. Hey, in my opinion, it’s not money out my pocket. I already made the switch. 

I approve my tax dollars to do that: tax plastic bags.