In theory, a “green” ethic isn’t a hard sell in these parts. A sense of environmental stewardship is stamped on the consciousness of people who have lived in the Northwest most of their lives, and it’s part of the draw for more recent arrivals.
In practice, sometimes we need a little nudge. Curbside recycling is a good example — most of us wanted to do the right thing by recycling paper, cardboard, aluminum and glass containers, etc. But until most of us were forced to pay for it, reality didn’t match those good intentions.
So we applaud Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin for last week’s proposal to charge consumers a 20-cent fee on disposable bags at grocery, drug and convenience store checkout stands, and to ban so-called styrofoam containers at food-service establishments. If the City Council goes along, Seattle would be the first U.S. city to adopt a bag fee, and among the first to ban foam food containers. If they prove effective, the rules should be considered statewide.
Disposable grocery bags, plastic and paper, are extremely hard on the environment. Their production, shipping and disposal cause significant air and water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and litter. Plastic bags that aren’t recycled pile up in landfills, along roadways or in local waters, and don’t break down over time. Paper bags carry their own, and in many ways higher, environmental costs. Reusable cloth bags are a viable alternative, and are growing in popularity.
Seattle is estimated to use 360 million disposable bags per year. That’s nearly 600 bags per person. Nickels and Conlin hope the green fee would reduce that use by at least 70 percent. In Ireland, such a fee reduced use by 90 percent, according to Seattle officials. We particularly like that this plan, by encouraging consumers to play an active role in reducing waste, creates a shared responsibility between consumers and retailers. Everyone does their part.
We also appreciate that part of the revenue raised would go to provide reusable bags to low-income households, easing their burden. Stores would keep 25 percent of the fee to cover administrative costs, and smaller operators, whose costs are usually higher, would keep the entire fee.
This is a sensible, fair, balanced solution to a serious and worsening problem. When practical, cost-effective alternatives to plastics are available, we’re confident that consumers will want to make the “green” choice.
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