MassGreen.Org

WORKING TOGETHER FOR JUST AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Even people who agree that plastic bags are terrible might balk at the prospect of charging a nominal fee for a paper bag.  Some retailers in particular may worry that a bag charge will hurt sales. Here are four reasons why a bag surcharge is important.

1.  PAPER BAGS ARE ALSO HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

• Paper bag production in the U.S. consumes 14 billion trees per year.
  
• The manufacture, distribution, transportation, and disposal of paper bags leaves a significant carbon footprint, contributing to global warming.
  

2. A BAG FEE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO CHANGE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR. 

• The goal of bag legislation is not only to cut down on plastic but also to end waste, and encourage the use of reusable bags.
  
• A study in Australia found that 72 percent of customers accepted bags offered for free.  When a nominal fee was charged, usage dropped to 27 percent.
  

3.  A BAG FEE HELPS OFFSET RETAIL COSTS

• Some municipalities (such as Washington, DC, and Santa Fe) treat the bag fee as a tax, with proceeds going to the government as an “environmental fee.”  (Washington DC’s 5 cent tax has raised $2 million a year.)  In Boulder, CO, the government splits the dime with retailers 60/40.  In Williamstown, retailers will keep the change.
  
• When Chicago decided to ban on plastic bags, the Illinois Retailer Merchants Association lobbied the city to IMPOSE a 5 or 10 cent tax on paper bags to change shopping habits and relieve the burden on business.  When the Mayor refused, businesses protested.
  

4.  BUSINESSES ARE NOT ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY BAG FEES

• Washington, D.C., has had a 5 cent bag fee since 2010.  A survey conducted one year later found that:  75 percent of residents reported reducing their bag usage.  85 percent of stores reported a neutral or positive impact from the fee.
  
• A further survey of Washington residents in 2013 found overwhelming reduction in bag use,  significantly cleaner streets, and strong public acceptance.  83 percent of respondents said they supported or were not bothered by the fee.
  
• Several follow-up studies of the bag fees in California cities concluded that the economic impact on businesses was negligible. What impact there was stemmed from the higher cost of paper, not from the loss of customers over bag fees.
  
• San Mateo County, California, imposed a 10 cent fee on disposable bags in 2013.  The number of people bringing their own bags rose by 162 percent, orders for bags from retailers dropped by 84 percent.  In 2015, San Mateo raised the fee for bags to 25 cents.  Shoppers were uniformly supportive of the increase.
  
• When Rwanda banned plastic bags in 2008, its economy was still recovering from a genocidal civil war.  Today its GDP growth rate is 8% per year, and Kigali is one of the greenest, cleanest cities on earth.
  

5.  BAG FEES ARE THE TREND, GLOBALLY AND NATIONALLY

• Denmark has had a bag tax since 1993.  Other European countries where consumers pay for plastic shopping bags include Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
  
• Ireland has had a bag tax for consumers since 2002.  It started at 15 euro cents per bag, and was raised in 2007 to 22 euro cents.  Within five months of the measure’s introduction, bag usage fell by over 90 percent, and litter has been drastically reduced.
  
• In addition to Washington, DC, and Boulder, CO, laws instituting bag fees ranging from 5 cents to $1 have been signed in Cambridge, MA, the entire state of California, and many other cities nationwide.
  
• The 10 cent fee proposed for Williamstown will likely soon be a statewide law in Massachusetts. 
  
• We can embrace the future or be dragged into it.
  

Charging for Paper Bags