Paying for Plastic (and Paper too!)

by Lea Tyrrell

Anytime we're asked to start paying for something we now get for free, expect sparks to fly.  You might be thinking that I'm talking about the MTA proposal to start collecting tolls on the East River crossings to close a humongous budget gap, but I'm not. I'm talking about the proposal introduced in the Suffolk legislature to have shoppers start paying for disposable grocery bags. If it's approved, you'll be charged 5 cents for every plastic or paper bag you use in the supermarket.

I remember when the idea of paying for TV was first proposed.  I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.  Who would pay to watch television when we can do that for free??  Turns out, pretty much everybody!  Who can live now without cable??  I know I couldn't.  Perish the thought of having to give up the Discovery Channel, TLC, the History Channel and HGTV.  Not to mention News 12 Long Island and my job!.  And these days a lot of us are also paying for something else we can get for free - radio!

Still, having to pay for a bag for your groceries struck a nerve.  When we discussed the topic on Long Island Talks, some viewers didn't think now was the right time because we're paying more for everything else thanks to the tanking economy. 

One viewer commented:

"I just saw your segment about the legislator who wants to charge a fee for the plastic bags. I understand her point about the environment...however like someone had said on your show NOW is not the time, lady. Instead of trying to take money from the taxpayers why doesn't she try to think of a way to help the taxpayers.

But another viewer made a great observation.  We're really paying for the bags already.

"So what makes the consumers so negative about the charge system?  The answer is that people want convenience without being made aware that they are paying for it.  People want the “give away” bags because they are convenient (they don’t have to lug their own or keep them clean) and they are “free”. The truth is however, the bags are not free. The stores have to buy those bags and train their staff to pack them properly. They add those costs to the cost of the food. But because the bag costs don’t appear separately on the bill, consumers think the bags are free."

But shoppers who are already devotees of the "bring your own bags" practice think the idea is long overdue.  And with good reason.  The United States is behind the pack on this issue.  In 2002, Ireland instituted a levy on plastic shopping bags.  They call it a "plastax."  And it's been hailed a huge success.   The 15 cents per bag charge has cut their use by 90% and raised millions of euros in revenue.

Earlier this year, the government of China, where they use about 3-billion plastic bags a day, banned the use of free plastic bags and ordered that customers be charged for them.  Uganda, South Africa, and Bangladesh have also banned the bags.  Here in the U-S only San Francisco has gone forward with a plastic bag ban requiring all large grocery stores, and soon pharmacies, to only offer biodegradable bags typically made from corn byproducts. 

It's all an effort to prevent THIS:

Landfills full of plastic bags.  The group, Worldwatch Institute, estimates Americans throw away 100 billion polyethylene (crude oil or petrochemical based) plastic bags each year.  The group says only 0.6% of bags are recycled.  But a group that represents the supermarket industry, the Food Industry Alliance, wants Suffolk to give the county a chance to improve those numbers.

Next month, a Suffolk law goes into effect promoting the recycling of plastic bags.  It calls for retailers to set up in-store bag collection sites, such as a bin, for customer to deposit bags after using them.  It also requires retailers over 20,000 square feet to make reusable, cloth bags available for shoppers to buy.

Will it make a difference keeping more plastic bags out of the waste stream?  We'll have to wait and see.  But, in the meantime, many environmentalists are just glad the issue's being debated.  Maybe enough to get more people to remember to keep those reusable, cloth bags in the trunk.

 

 

Comments

[John]

Hm. Let me get this straight.

Behind the first curtain, I have the luxury of buying my own personal bags. I walk to my local supermarket, so this means I need to know what food I'm buying ahead of time (I can't just throw a bunch of sacks in my trunk) and wander the streets with said bags.

Not only do I get to look like a crazy person (or burglar in training, after dark), since I'm bringing the bags, I doubt the clerk will pack them for me. So, for the same price (or more), the market does less for me while I'm inconvenienced.

Behind the second curtain, I can continue with the "evil" bags and fill the county coffers. And with this new revenue stream, they'll...what, exactly? I don't remember the world changing when we started paying deposits on soda bottles.

Not to mention that, in both cases, people living near the poverty line (not me, thankfully) are going to need to cut back on food to budget for bags.

Maybe next year, we can bring our own boxes when we buy appliances or face hefty fines!

The problem isn't whether we're paying for the bags or the convenience; it's WHO we're paying. I don't mind paying the semi-hidden cost to a company that's providing a valuable service. I do, however, object to paying yet another tax to a county government that wants to legislate my lifestyle choices.

If Suffolk really wanted to help, they'd find biodegradable replacement bags (they exist, after all) and mandate their use in place of the plastic.