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| | | Plastic bag bill gains traction in council | | May 15, 2009 | | | | The Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009 had an initial victory yesterday as two D.C. Council committees — Finance and Revenue and Government Operations and the Environment — voted unanimously to approve the bill.
The bill would place a 5-cent fee on disposable carryout bags, and the bulk of the money collected would be deposited into the newly created Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund. Before the fee takes effect, the legislation requires the city to conduct a public education campaign and provide free reusable bags to D.C. residents.
“I’ve heard from supporters that run the gamut from schoolchildren to seniors, from environmentalists to developers, from clergy to boating enthusiasts, from grocers to food pantries,” Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells said in a release. “Many support this bill because they see it as a way to change our behavior and take greater responsibility for our environment.”
But the bill has its opponents. The DC Republican Committee immediately distributed its own release, stating that the “bag tax” would not solve the problem of pollution. Instead, in testimony before the council at a public hearing on April 1, the DC Republican Committee suggested that the city promote recycling.
“The bag tax is nothing more than a gimmick to fund a pet project that could otherwise be paid for by our bloated District budget,” committee chairman Robert J. Kabel said in the release. | | | | | Log in to comment on this article |
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