A plastics manufacturers' trade group has now spent over $180,625 in its attempts to prevent the City Council's $0.20 plastic bag fee from going into effect this January, the P-I reports. Thanks for caring about how much that $0.20 bag tax will impact our debit card balance, American Chemistry Council! We feel like you're really on our side, even though you're over there in Virginia, because you're throwing all this money at the cause. It's especially great to have more sneakily-worded petitions waved in our faces as we leave the grocery store. more ›

Something related to the City Council's recent bag fee and Styrofoam container ban legislation strikes Seattlest as deeply weird and uneven, and actually it's been bugging us since way before the council took action this week. It very odd, to us, that there has been zero movement on the part of diners to deal with Styrofoam containers personally, whereas a lot of shoppers already bring their own bags to the grocery store with or without legislation. more ›

After a committee vote yesterday, the full City Council is set to decide on Monday if Seattle will adopt a 20-cent fee for plastic bags at grocery, drug, and convenience stores, as well as a ban on polystyrene food and drink containers. If passed, the fee and ban will go into effect on January 1, 2009. Stores that use the plastic foam containers to package meat will have a year to figure out an alternative method. (May we suggest butcher paper? We imagine that is how it got its name.) While it might be annoying to get charged a few bucks for plastic bags after a big shopping trip, it will hopefully remind us to always bring a reusable bag, which is a benefit to everyone. more ›