3 ms·
Instead of a ban, wouldn't it be better to tax the heck out of single-use bags? That' what we do in Fairfax County. At the end of check-out, you have to enter
by alistairSH 4y ago
Instead of a ban, wouldn't it be better to tax the heck out of single-use bags?
That' what we do in Fairfax County. At the end of check-out, you have to enter how many bags you used, and get charged a small fee for each. I wish the fee was a bit larger, to try an dissuade more people from simply paying it, but it seems better than an outright ban.
- LordKeren 4y agoI would be interested to see if these taxes have any meaningful effect on consumer behavior The core issue is that any tax on bags like this is a regressive tax. A tax that is big enough to make changes in how upper middle class households operate would have a highly disproportionate effect on lower middle class and those in poverty. The result is areas like the DC metro doing things like a $0.05 bag tax. A number probably too small to change any behaviors at a relevant scale. I don’t have a nice solution to these topics either— it’s just that these bag taxes feel like the poster child for middle of the road policies that fail to have a meaningful impact on the issue they’re seeking to address
- alistairSH 4y agoThat's definitely a concern. And of course, as was noted in the link, the heavy cotton bags have their own environmental impact. It certainly feels like part of the problem is the way we've built our neighborhoods. It's inconvenient to shop regularly, so we all go weekly and buy a trunk full of food. Lots of bags. Lots of packaging. Etc.