Why Local-Option Bag Fee?
About
In Virginia, local municipalities need the State General Assembly’s permission to do things like enact single-use bag fees. Litter Free Virginia informs you about state litter issues and how to let legislators know that you want helpful legislation passed!
Local-Option Bag Fee, in a nutshell: Local governments have the option to establish a fee (typically $0.05-0.10) on disposable bags provided by retail stores. “Disposable bag” means a bag of any material, commonly plastic or kraft paper, which is provided to a consumer at the point of sale to carry purchases. In most cases, funds from said fee would be returned directly to retailers or used to fund programs for litter prevention, reduction and environmental education.
This initiative doesn’t pretend to be the last word on what Virginia legislators will decide to bring forth to their colleagues in the General Assembly come January 2019. But we’ve done our research, both scientifically and politically, and we’ve arrived at a local-option bag fee as a solid starting point for the state. Why is a local-option bag fee a good option for Virginia compared to a statewide bag ban, or something similar? Let’s talk about it.
Research
Virginia is fortunate that many other cities, counties, states and even countries have enacted similar legislation against disposal bags in the past decade. In the United States, there are at least 311 local bag ordinances in 24 states (and Washington DC). California is the sole state with a total ban on disposable bags. Consequently, there is ample research on the consequences of said legislation, which gives us an advantage that they did not have! Without getting too bogged down in the details (if you like details, this incredible literature review by Travis Wagner is for you), let’s briefly discuss this legislation.
Straight-forward bag bans have been around for a while, with mixed results. Cities that pursued these plastic bag bans have encountered unintended consequences. The city of Chicago passed a bag ban in 2016, only to see retailers give away thicker, technically “non-disposable” plastic bags in response. The city wisely repealed that ban in 2017, and put a $0.07 fee in its place. The city of Austin was recently forced to end its bag ban after the law was ruled unconstitutional. Nonetheless, San Francisco’s bag ban has been largely successful.
Bag fees are considered second-generation bag bills, and have had markedly better results because they essentially apply a cost to the damage that disposable bags cause. Washington DC and Montgomery County, MD have both implemented a polystyrene ban as well as a 5-cent fee on plastic bags to address the Anacostia River’s pollution problem. City officials and Alice Ferguson Foundation reported a 50-70% decrease in household plastic bag usage. Revenues from the bag fee ($2+ million annually) are used to implement education, trash capture, and stream restoration projects throughout the Anacostia Watershed. Additionally, funds are used to distribute reusable bags to low-income and aging populations throughout the District.
The most effective bag bills are typically hybrids of the ban/fee methods. Seattle banned disposable plastic bags and established a $0.10 fee on paper bags, resulting in a 50% decrease of plastic bags in residential waste (from 2010-2014) despite a 10% increase in the city’s population. Santa Barbara enacted similar legislation and total consumption of bags decreased by 89.3%. The list goes on and on and on. Why is this approach so effective at changing behavior? It takes the most environmentally harmful option completely off the table (plastic bags), and provides economic disincentives against alternative options (paper bags) that are just strong enough to deter most people.
Politics
Although it would be nice for science to be the main arbiter of how laws are made, this initiative understands that politics play a crucial role in legislation. At this point in Virginia’s political climate, cooperation and compromise are key. Although a statewide plastic bag ban coupled with a paper bag fee seems to be the most effective way to mitigate the damage caused by disposable bags, the possibility of a statewide ban on said products is likely to be a non-starter for Virginians that value small and local government. Furthermore, lawsuits against bag bans have wasted many millions in tax-payer dollars and have at times been successfully overturned. Hence the local-option bag fee!
Ideal Solution
What would be the ideal solution to this problem? It would likely take the form of a hybrid of the ban/fee methods, a la Seattle. There would be a ban on most disposable plastic bags and a fee on paper bags. A generous deposit program for plastic bags that aren’t banned would create incentives towards recycling them. Programs on reuse would educate the public on the value of a zero waste lifestyle, and Share A Bag programs would ensure that reusable bags already in circulation are used as many times as possible.
Resources of Note
