The Washington DC disposable bag fee we told you about has been in effect for two months now, and we thought we’d write a quick follow up. As people adjust to the new five-cent fee, shoppers are assembling a wardrobe of bags that are functional, fashionable or both. They are getting used to bringing their own, even if they have to rush back to their cars to retrieve them. Many are buying reusable bags at store registers.
For many shoppers in the District of Columbia, the nickel fee has been an impetus to cut back on previously free store bags that all too often wind up in the trash - or littering nearby streams and trees. As we discussed a few weeks ago, the law is also making Baltimore residents more aware of their bagging habits. Many retailers gave out reusable bags last month. The Bethesda Trader Joe's has signs outside to remind customers to bring in bags from their cars. Judy Philactos, owner of the Periwinkle gift shop in Chevy Chase, D.C., recently had to reorder all of her lines of reusable bags because of brisk sales. Food retailers say they're selling roughly 50 percent fewer plastic and paper bags than they used to give away before the fee took effect Jan. 1.
Government fees or restrictions on disposable bags have had a tough time taking hold. The District of Columbia, however, appears to have overcome the traditional resistance with a relatively small fee that is earmarked for a popular environmental cause—cleanup of the Anacostia River—plus a concerted public education campaign that includes merchants giving away free reusable bags and offering discounts to customers who use them.
Lawmakers in Baltimore are considering two bills aimed at heading off the proliferation of plastic bag litter around the city. One bill would ban grocery stores, convenience stores, and fast-food chains from giving customers their merchandise in plastic bags. Violators would be fined $250 for a first offense up to $1,000 for three or more offenses in a six-month period. The other bill would require merchants to levy a 25-cent fee on every plastic bag dispensed at carryout. Exceptions would be granted for bagging up fresh fish and meat, candy, cooked foods, dairy products, fruits and nuts and ice.
This isn't the council's first attempt to cut down on plastic bag litter, but supporters note the city is facing a state and federal mandate to do something about the trash littering Baltimore’s harbor, and plastic grocery and take-out bags are a big part of the mess.
The fee would cost the city about $85,000 to implement and could generate from $1.6 to $6.4 million in revenues for the city, according to the City's finance department. A committee vote on the issue was postponed until March 16 because several retailers' lobbyists were unable to attend yesterday's session.
What do you think? Let us know!
--Should cities be able to charge a fee for using disposable shopping bags?
--Would it hurt businesses?
--Would it help cut down on the litter?
Celebrate Mother Earth With Green Giveaways and Promotions
The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is Thursday, April 22, 2010. Demonstrate your organization’s environmental commitment with products that promote your company’s message while helping to keep Mother Earth clean. Need some ideas?
Offer a special Earth Day 2010 limited edition reusable tote bag and give them away free to customers on that day when they spend a certain dollar amount.
Give away free reusable grocery bags to the first 100 customers (or more!) that come through the door on Earth Day. Better yet, team up with a complementary business for a cross-promotion with punch—and more name recognition through greater distribution.
Offer an assortment of environmentally friendly tee shirts, reusable shopping bags, water bottles, and other green gear for sale. Take it one step further and donate a percentage of sales to a local Earth-friendly organization.
In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each but only recycled an average of 23 percent. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills. Host a plastic bottle drive. Invite others to trade in empty plastic bottles in exchange for a free (or discounted) reusable water bottle.
The key to a successful Earth Day is to start planning now! As with any promotion, you ideally want enough time to receive product samples, ensure your choices are in stock, and avoid last-minute rush charges. Our sister company, Funman Promotions offers a wide selection of eco friendly products like organic cotton tee shirts, gardening aprons and cloth shopping bags, stainless steel reusable water bottles, ceramic mugs, and much more—perfect for customers, employees, or resale.
Bob Cappadona manages the fifth-largest recycling facility in the United States: Casella Waste’s materials recovery facility in Charlestown, Massachusetts. That’s where more than 30 area municipalities bring their curbside recycling for processing.
Cappadonna says the biggest issue he has to deal at his facility is what he calls “plastic bag contamination. Single-use plastic grocery bags can clog the automatic sorting machines used to make recycling financially feasible. The bags are such a problem that sometimes Cappadonna has to shut down his 700-ton a day process so employees wielding knives can climb in to the huge machines to cut errant bags out—a delay that can take hours.
Wal-Mart’s greening up three of its Northern California stores. According to The Sacramento Bee, the move is part of an experiment to ease customers into the bring-your-own-bag habit as the huge retailer attempts to reduce its global waste. If they forget bags, they can buy reusable bags from Wal-Mart in two sizes, for 15 cents and 50 cents. The company is also training checkers on how to fill reusable bags to capacity.
The effort is part of the company’s Plastic Bag Initiative, which aims to reduce plastic bag waste at its stores worldwide 33% by 2013. The company says the effort would help it avoid producing 290,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases and prevent the consumption of 678,000 barrels of oil every year.
Before the ban took effect, the stores posted signs encouraging customers to provide their own bags and also began selling reusable bags. The store discontinued free bags altogether on January 16 at the three stores. The stores were chosen because the customers in those communities had already signaled an interest in environmental issues. Beginning January 22, the reusable bags will be on sale at another 52 stores throughout Northern California.
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The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is Thursday, April 22, 2010. Demonstrate your organization’s environmental commitment with products that promote your company’s message while helping to keep Mother Earth clean. Need some ideas?
Bob Cappadona manages the fifth-largest recycling facility in the United States: Casella Waste’s materials recovery facility in Charlestown, Massachusetts. That’s where more than 30 area municipalities bring their curbside recycling for processing.
