The District of Columbia Bag Law - a Year of Reducing Paper and Plastic Litter

It's been nearly a year since the District of Columbia Bag Law went into effect. Considering its success, perhaps it's time the rest of the country took a look at implementing a similar program. The D.C. law requires all alcohol and grocery outlets charge a 5 cent fee for customers carrying purchases out of the store in disposable plastic or paper bags.

Restaurants charge 5 cents for each plastic bag used for carry out food and 5 cents for non food items carried out in plastic or paper bags. A Tip Line makes it easy for consumers to turn in businesses suspected of violating the new Bag Law.

D. C. Bag Law - Disincentives to Discourage Litter

Establishing a cash payment for bags sets up a simple system designed to discourage bag use and litter. Customers who don't bring in reusable shopping bags pay 5 cents for paper or plastic bags that will probably end up as waste. Customers who would ordinarily carry out purchases in a bag they may not really need are less likely to take one when there is a fee involved.

Under the D.C. Bag Law, stores were given a choice of how to implement the program. Those offering customers a bag rebate for using their own bag get to keep 2 cents of each 5 cent fee collected. Stores not offering reusable bag rebates keep only 1 cent of each fee collected.

In D.C. the 3 or 4 cent bag fees collected go to the Anacosta River Protection Fund. This year the District's Department of the Environment used the money earned from bag fees to clean up the river and help educate the public. They partnered with CVS Pharmacy to produce and hand out reusable shopping bags. A public awareness campaign, "Skip the bag, save the river," offered residents information on the new Bag Law.

D. C. Bag Law - Look What 5 Cents can do

5 cents is a small amount of money but it has been responsible for big changes in the District of Columbia. According to a recent EPA "Greenversations" Blog, no one can tell whether or not customers are shopping with reusable bags to save the environment or to keep from paying the 5 cent fee. Whatever the reason, the D.C. Bag Law illustrates how one small change in behavior can mean major benefits to local water quality. District data collected indicates the following:

-The District has seen a 50% reduction in bag usage in DC stores.

-Non profits who participated in watershed wide clean up days saw a 60% reduction in plastic bags collected.

-DDOE collected $1,528,195.64 during the first three quarters of the program, primarily from 5 cent bag fees.

-DDOE predicts the need for pubic outreach will fade as residents become more aware of the Bag Law.

The D. C. Bag Law will continue to play a major part in ongoing District environmental success. In the second phase of the program, bag fees will go toward "other infrastructure efforts."

Plastic Bag Laws in Other Area

Plasticbaglaws.org monitors ongoing Bag Law activities nationwide. According to the site's news feed, Brownsville, Texas has a plastic bag ban scheduled to go into effect in January. Long Beach City, California is moving to adopt plastic bag ordinances. San Jose City Council has a hearing scheduled to consider a plastic bag ban.

Bag bans in California have been controversial. Those that came with a fee per bag have been successfully challenged in court. Some of the laws that simply ban plastic bags with no fees attached have remained in force. Despite legal action against the enforcement of plastic bag ordinances, communities continue their efforts.

Heal the Bay, a Los Angeles County organization devoted to cleaning up and maintaining the Santa Monica Bay, recently sponsored their third annual "A Day Without a Bag." Citizens pledged to take a reusable shopping bag wherever they went. The organization began the day by distributing reusable shopping bags at designated locations.

Source:

EPA Greenversations Blog - http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2010/12/16/changing-behaviors/

Green DC: Skip the Bag, Save the River - http://green.dc.gov/green/cwp/view.asp?a=1248&q=463102&PM=1

District Department of Environment - http://ddoe.dc.gov/ddoe/site/default.asp

Heal the Bay - http://www.healthebay.org/event/day-without-bag-giveaways