Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


10

Not-So-Green Seattle Voters Reject Grocery Bag Tax

Share

(Newser) – The $1.4 million the plastics industry spent to defeat a grocery bag tax initiative paid off yesterday when Seattle voters defied their green reputation to reject the tax, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The measure would have charged shoppers 20 cents per plastic or paper bag as an incentive to reduce disposable bag use; 58% of Seattle voters said no. 

Proponents of the ban, which had been passed by the city council but blocked by a petition to put it before voters, spent just $80,000 to support it.

This Aug. 3, 2009 photo shows Donnie McGowan grabbing his plastic sacks of groceries at the M Street Grocery in Seattle.
This Aug. 3, 2009 photo shows Donnie McGowan grabbing his plastic sacks of groceries at the M Street Grocery in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
This Aug. 3, 2009 photo shows Clerk Allison Ure lifting groceries she's bagged in a plastic sack at the M Street Grocery in Seattle.
This Aug. 3, 2009 photo shows Clerk Allison Ure lifting groceries she's bagged in a plastic sack at the M Street Grocery in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
This Aug. 3, 2009 photo shows a clerk bagging groceries in plastic sacks at the M Street Grocery in Seattle.
This Aug. 3, 2009 photo shows a clerk bagging groceries in plastic sacks at the M Street Grocery in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
10 comments
VIEWING:
 
armywife
Aug 19, 09 5:50 AM CDT
how disappointing. when i lived in germany, they had a bag tax, i think it was roughly 10 cents a bag, and it really encouraged people to bring their own bags. it's such a small price to pay to make a very big difference. shame. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+1
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Aug 19, 09 7:29 AM CDT
I have to pay 6 yen (6 cents US) for a plastic bag here in Japan, and they are good bags, not the plastic tissue bags I get at Walmart in the States. I usually take my cloth bags. But 20 cents per bag? That seems waayyyy too expensive. I imagine I would have voted against such a tax too, and I strongly favor environmental regulation . . .
Vote up! Vote down!
-1
IN RESPONSE:
SalParadise
Aug 19, 09 7:55 AM CDT
You'd drop two dimes and not even sweat picking them up. That's really a drop in the water, and not all that much more than the six cents you pay now.
Vote up! Vote down!
-3
Reader65069154
Aug 19, 09 8:17 AM CDT
silent majority: 1 environmental wackos: 0 Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
-4
IN RESPONSE:
Mad
Aug 19, 09 3:10 PM CDT
Yes, that's true, folks who don't want to pay more taxes are a 'silent majority'...... Riiiiiiiiiiight
Vote up! Vote down!
+1

View all 10 comments »

LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

5 Stories

green & green

 Target Will Pay Shoppers
 to Bring Their Own Bags 

Large retailers join smaller niche stores to offer rebates for reusing

Oct 19, 09 2:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Target and CVS will reward customers for using reusable shopping bags, and the efforts could take a billion plastic bags out of circulation. Though some retailers—notably Wal-Mart—have been slow to hop on the eco bandwagon, initiatives at smaller chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have met... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • recycling • plastic bags • pollution • shopping • environmentalism • CVS • Target • retail shopping • pharmacy • drugstore • reusable bags • rebate

 Reusable Bags: 
 A Tricky Shade 
 of Green  

Thicker plastic requires more energy to produce, decomposes slower

Sep 27, 08 5:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Reusable shopping bags are this year's “it” giveaway, but they may not be as green as their feel-good slogans—like “Save the world” and "I used to be a plastic bag"—claim. The problem is that old habits die hard—many people simply forget to reuse... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • Google • plastic bags • environmentalism • Target • green • Wal-Mart • retailers

 Seattle Slaps
 20¢ Fee on All
 Grocery Bags 

Paper or plastic, shoppers must pay up

Jul 29, 08 5:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Seattle has staked out its spot atop the greener-than-thou pecking order by approving a 20-cent-per-bag fee that applies to both paper and plastic, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The move is expected to cut disposable-bag use in half. "The best way to reduce waste is not to create it, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
plastic bags • waste • Seattle

5 Stories


US 
TwitterFollow @NewserUS on Twitter

 
plastic bags • environmentalism • Seattle • lobbying • tax policy • voter referendum

from our news partners