Environmental champions and enemies of the disposable plastic bag rejoiced on the steps of city hall over a newly proposed bill last Tuesday.
Councilman Brad Lander (D-Park Slope-Cobble Hill), flanked by Margaret Chin (D- Lower Manhattan) and Gale Brewer (D- Upper West Side), introduced the bill that places a 10¢ charge on paper and plastic bags.
Unlike Bloomberg’s failed 2008 proposal to put a 6¢ tax on plastic bags that would generate revenue for the city, this bill’s charge actually goes to the merchants handing out the bags. “We want to achieve dramatic reductions but don’t want any impacts on small retailers,” Lander said, by attacking the problem with a “common sense approach.” A 60% reduction in plastic bag waste is expected.
The charge, of course, has its exceptions. Transactions using food stamps are exempt, and restaurants delivering food and street vendors are also allowed to waive the fee. Paper bags are subject to this charge as well out of fear that a charge only on plastic would cause the entire city to turn to paper, thus shifting the damage to another sect of the environment.
With over 100 tons per year of plastic waste being transported from New York City to landfills and $10 million being spent to do so, something has to give.
Advertised as an “urban solution,” this bill would bring a far less dramatic change for New Yorkers than a ban on plastic bags, as instituted in cities like Seattle and Los Angeles. The bill is a thoughtful compromise, as Lander explains, “by not banning [plastic bags], it means if you’re coming home in the rain and you’ve forgotten to bring a bag, you’ll have something to carry with. People will start using a lot less bags they don’t need and bring their reusable bags with this charge.”
Chin and Brewer emphasized the role of youth in the creation and future success of this initiative. Chin acknowledged the Green Schools Alliance, saying that young people are “aware we haven’t been doing a very good job and they’ve been at the forefront of pushing for action for change.” Hewitt’s smash Ban the Bag Conference in March was given a special shout-out. Brewer anticipates this bill will not only save the environment, but also change culture; she looks forward to a time when, “the younger generation will think it’s perfectly normal not to waste energy at the grocery store,” by needlessly picking up a plastic bag.
The councilmembers were followed by a slew of activists and supporters of the bill. Jennie Romer, founder of plasticbaglaws.org and a supporter of Hewitt’s Earth Committee, gave the initiative her support, saying “the council members have chose the right approach for NYC.” Dan Hendrick of the New York League of Conservation voters said, “We have done our homework… what we’ve come up with a creative, protective, effective solution [with a] market based incentive.” President of the Citizens Committee for New York City Peter Kostmayer enthusiastically stated, “New York needs to move ahead; we need 34 votes!”
Attendees of the press conference also had much to say about the proposed bill. Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely, Community Mayor of Harlem and Ambassador for Goodwill to Africa, said, “This is a world problem… Plastic is choking the oceans. This is a real environmental issue that we must address coming out of Rio+20…I am pleased they have brought it onto the steps of city hall and New York where the world gathers.”
Sharon Rowe, who kick started the reusable bag movement in 1989 by introducing reusable bags for grocery shopping and produce with her company ECOBAGS, said, “I’m thrilled to hear about the bill… It’s a step and repeat sort of thing; New York does it and so follows the suburbs…it’s going to echo out.” Rowe spoke about the value of this bill as “a gateway to the environmental movement” that will “get people to stop for a minute and think” allowing them to “consider all the damage and all of the cost that’s involved in the waste cleanup and the fact that it’s not necessary.” Her husband, Blake Rowe, added, “When you bring along your reusable bag, you start looking at what’s inside the bag, then you start thinking ‘gosh, what could I do instead that I wouldn’t have to get that packaging in the first place?’ It all leads back to the kitchen.”
Nothing is stopping New Yorkers from refusing plastic bags at the checkout counter right now. As we wait for this bill to be passed, now is the time to practice toting a reusable bag and to utter that classically stubborn New York response, “Nah, I’m good.”