subject: Replace Plastic Bags With Reusable Bags To Help Our Environment [print this page] Implementing a tax on plastic bags is among the various techniques used by governments all over the world to reduce their use. Quite a few countries in the world have actually taken the approach to entirely prohibit use of plastic bags. However those that were not able to, resorted to this measure and made it mandatory for all store and business owners to impose a fee on plastic shopping bags.
A price of $0.20 for every use-and-throw plastic or paper bag might seem little, but multiply that with the number of times you go to the store in a year and the number of bags you may need to purchase each time. That figure may easily be over one hundred bucks. Rather than shelling out that much money on plastic bags retailers can easily offer reusable bags created with recycled and organic materials. Durable recyclable bags don't just last longer than plastic, but they are more stylish and much less bad for the world too. While the decision to impose a fee on plastic bags may not entirely remove them from the environment, the government anticipates to at the least decrease the volume of waste.
Aspen City Council approves the fee on plastic bags, hopes to reduce plastic waste
In accordance with a Aspen Daily News story, the Aspen City Council had fairly recently enacted the "Waste Reduction Fee Ordinance", which implements the 20-cent charge on throw-away plastic or paper shopping bags dispensed in the city. 4 out of the five members in the city council has approved the ordinance, which would be finalized in September. Identical ordinances have also been contemplated by the Basalt and Carbondale town councils in an effort to strongly encourage citizens to bring their own cloth or jute bags for food shopping. The earlier endeavors of the governments to educate the citizens to reduce utilization of plastic bags haven't been very effective leading them to resort to this strategy.
Current plastic bag use
When the median plastic bag usage is taken into account, an individual in the US may end up wasting roughly $80 for plastic grocery bags on an annual basis. By making people spend a certain amount each time they request plastic or paper grocery or shopping bags, the councils intend to improve the use of bags which might be reused plenty of times. This fee is going to be incurred on every single bag that is distributed to the consumers in local markets but not in retail stores or restaurants. The revenue generated with this charge would likely be used to instruct consumers about the dangers of making use of throw-away bags and also for developing programs to reduce noxious waste matter in the region.
In addition, funds could be invested in getting into the city and circulating them among towns for a cost. The regulation also allows grocers to keep five percent of the charge, up to $100, and allows them to use it for implementing the program and managing the costs. The local authorities will also be auditing the local grocers for compliance as well as for making a note of plastic bag utilization reduction in public records. However, should this practice fail, the council could be left with a large amount of unallocated money from the program and very little decline in plastic bag use.
