Materials Management: D.C.'s plastic bag tax continues to reduce usuage of plastic bags

Shan Arora ● September 20, 2010, 09:13 PM UTC

Earlier this year, SCI posted a Buzz About on D.C.'s Plastic Bag Tax, which went into effect on January 1, 2010. The first report regarding the law's impact showed a dramatic drop in disposable bag usage during the month of January 2010. It seems that ten months into the five-cent plastic bag tax, D.C.'s plastic bag usage is still lower than before the law went into effect. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that based on a store survey, retailers are now giving out 60% fewer plastic shopping bags.

Reading the entire WSJ article requires an online subscription. You can, however, read a blurb at:
http://www.good.is/post/more-evidence-that-d-c-s-bag-tax-had-a-big-effect/
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Shan Arora ● October 05, 2010, 06:55 PM UTC
The flip side of the D.C. plastic bag tax working really well is reduced revenue from the tax. According to CNNMoney.com, D.C. collected about $1.3M in plastic bag tax revenue through September, which is much less than the projected $3.6M that would, per the law, go towards D.C.'s Anacostia River clean-up efforts. Despite the reduced funds available for the clean-up efforts, it seems that the Anacostia River is in better shape because fewer plastic bags find their way into the river.

As D.C. collects more data on both the plastic bag tax revenue (which is a proxy for plastic bag usage) and the plastic bag debris found in the Anacostia River, we will have a better idea regarding the linkage between reduced plastic bag usage and Anacostia River pollution.
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