April 2, 2008
Seattle Considers Imposing "Green Fee"
This morning, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced a proposed ban on foam food containers and a fee for disposable bags at grocery stores. The ban on polystyrene foam products would outlaw common items like plates, meat trays, eggshell containers, and cups from both restaurants and grocery stores. The so-called "green fee" would apply to both paper and plastic bags at your local grocery store. The fee would impose a 20-cent charge for each disposable bag.
According to Seattle Public Utilities, local stores hand out 360 million disposable bags a year. Most of those are plastic and the vast majority end up in area landfills after a single use. Close to 75% come from grocery, convenience, and drug stores.
Seattle's approach to the problem is unique, because the city has decided not to ban the plastic bags outright. San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags in December and is beginning to enforce the rule on pharmacies. It is hoped the fee will encourage people to reuse their plastic and paper grocery bags. Officials estimate that the state would make $10 million dollars from the green fees. The money collected will be used to promote recycling programs, environmental education, and re-usable grocery bags. If approved by city council, the ban on foam containers and the green fee would go into effect on January 1st, 2009.
Plastic Bag in a Tree by Flickr User, Weird Spooky Things in Trees
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I love when our city leads in green-excellence.
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I love the fact that Seattle constantly finds more ways to pick the pockets of its sucker citizens than any other city in living memory.
Pay up, suckers.
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vanderleun -- I laughed out loud and cried internally at your comment. I for one, am just impressed for once it's not an increase on property taxes!
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Great. Now Ill be buying garbage bags instead of reusing grocery bags for it.
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Pay up is right! Finally, costs are being applied where they belong. Unlike SF, rather than an outright ban on plastic bans, Seattle is using economic forces to effect a change.
Do you think those bags are FREE, vanderleun? You already pay for them, you just don't see the cost. Now, you have the option of saving a little money by not using them. Sounds like greater freedom of choice to me.
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Well, I'm sure that every little imposition on your personal freedom in the name of saving the Earth seems like more freedom to you. Do I think the bags are Free? No. Do you think?
Here's the bottom line, greenude, you do not give more money to government. Ever.
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Yarek, my guess is that fee is going to be barely noticeable to most people. It's not going to stop people from using plastic bags, it's just an extra tax. Green my ass. But then again, the money will go to recycling programs, so I guess it could be worse.
I'd rather a plastic bag ban, though, and maybe a tax on paper bags. Now THAT would piss people off enough to actually bring (and remember to bring) their own bags.
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Ah yes, let's get government to FORCE people to do things we think is HOLY!
i wonder how thick the merde sandwich of Seattle will have to get to have all the little dictators that live here to choke on it.
Probably has a way to go.
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"Paper, plastic, or punishment?" So says the radio jockey at this moment.
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I love to get paper bags so I can use them as garbage bags. Mostly because I'm too cheap to buy a can.
And honestly Vanderleun, don't buy a plastic bag if you're panties are so ruffled by giving "the man" 20 cents.
You live among millions of fellow citizens. That is why you are subject to the government. You don't like it? Vote, volunteer on campaigns and when the majority of your fellow citizens disagree with your efforts and you just hate-hate-hate being part of "the system"-- move to someplace un-incorporated.
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The foam containers for food are really outdated anyway. I'm actually surprised when I'm offered styrofoam these days.
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I blame Thai food.
My friends and I came up with a kitschy little alternative. We just need some seed money.
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aren't there a lot of very green-friendly ways to make styrofoam? seems like a lot of it i see nowadays is recyclable or compostable. am i wrong about that?
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Can we all agree that this is a well-intentioned initiative?
If so, then please send Nickels a message that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Instead of getting a 5¢ credit for bringing my own bag to the store (PALTRY!!!), increase it to 50¢ or even $1. See, then it is an incentive to bring your own bag, and not a punishment for using plastic/paper. If there is a financial incentive, you coupon-clipper, then you're going to take it, right?
Why, yes, I did go to the school of win-win (thanks for asking).
Tell Nickels how you feel:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/citizen_response.htm
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Really though. I like the idea of this but..but..I just really am bothered about having to *buy* garbage bags for my garbage cans. Seems like the opposite effect that we want here. Actually..20 cents is cheaper, i think... Damn I hate math.
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Bags are sold in most European countries. It's no big deal, and creates an incentive to actually use the bags more than once.
My question is what will replace meat trays? The good thing about the foam trays is that they reduce cross-contamination. If there's no foam tray, the wrapped meat will need to go in a plastic bag. I doubt that the 20 cent fee applies to product bags, so it'll be that many more clear bags used. Maybe this is better, maybe not. But it still needs to be considered.
Sure, full-service butcher counters can use paper. But the counter isn't always open.
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I read about a rep from Whole Foods talking about this in the paper, and I don't really understand why the meat trays are such a big deal. Why not wrap cellophane (which is already wrapping the meat, and nobody is talking about banning) all the way around the meat and put it on a paper tray? And doesn't meat typically sit on a plasticized absorbent pad anyway? Am I missing something about the physics of the situation?
My offhand guess is that the meat-wrapping is somehow automated, and that automation can't handle un-trayed meat, but maybe someone can enlighten me.