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San Francisco might put 17 cent tax on all grocery bags

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  • San Francisco might put 17 cent tax on all grocery bags

    San Francisco is expected to take a step closer today to becoming the first city in the nation to charge shoppers for grocery bags with the idea of reducing waste.

    The San Francisco Commission on the Environment is likely to approve a resolution urging Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors to impose a 17-cent fee on both plastic and paper bags, said Mark Westlund, spokesman for the Department of the Environment.


    The resolution also calls for an independent study -- requested by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi along with the mayor -- of just how much the use of disposable checkout bags, including their disposal, costs the city.

    The 17-cent fee could be adjusted depending on the results of the study, Mirkarimi said.

    Newsom joined Mirkarimi in requesting the study, but a spokesman for the mayor said Newsom hadn't taken a position on imposing the fee.

    Even if the commission approves the resolution today, it will be months before it comes before the supervisors for a vote -- and it's likely that it would be amended by then.

    "Where the meat of this is going to work out is at the board level, and it's going to be based on the analysis," Westlund said.

    Mirkarimi said that the American Plastics Council, which is among the groups that have successfully lobbied to keep such a fee from passing at the state Legislature, also was beginning to work against the local proposal.

    "This hype is being generated by the Plastics Council to scare people away from something that hasn't been built yet," he said.

    The American Plastics Council and the California Grocers Association oppose the fee.

    Tim Shestek, spokesman for the Plastics Council, says that plastic bags - - which make up 90 percent of bags at groceries -- are a valuable commodity used in the production of goods, including composite lumber. Instead of imposing a fee, municipalities should create recovery programs to keep the bags out of the waste stream, he says.

    "Whatever happens (today), we're very eager to have a dialogue with the supervisors and mayor's office on different approaches," Shestek said.

    Although the fee would be levied on grocery stores -- and perhaps down the road on other businesses including drug stores, newspapers and dry cleaners -- the cost would be passed on to the consumer.

    Half of the revenue generated would go to the city for use by the Department of the Environment. Supermarkets would be able to keep up to half of the fee for programs such as providing discounted reusable checkout bags to low-income residents and bags in the produce and bulk aisles that can be composted.

    The commission will meet at 5 p.m. in room 416 of City Hall.

    Last edited by babypurin; 2005-01-25, 22:19.
    - The baby will be back -

  • #2
    The grocery store chain ALDI already does this in their stores, so you have the choice of bringing in your own bags or buying theirs, which are a few cents apiece.

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    • #3
      Aah ... this is definately some of the dumbest bullshit ever proposed.
      www.acairport.com

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      • #4
        Originally posted by srbmod
        The grocery store chain ALDI already does this in their stores, so you have the choice of bringing in your own bags or buying theirs, which are a few cents apiece.
        You have ALDI in the US?!?
        Anyway, this is common practice here in Germany to charge 10 cent per bag, and it is a good thing. Speaking from experience, after a two-week vacation in the US we were usually stuck with at least 12 bags, while here in Germany we always use the same. I wouldn't mind seeing that system introduced in the US.

        -Colin

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        • #5
          this is just for SF right? not the entire bay area?


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          • #6
            Originally posted by DAL767-400ER
            You have ALDI in the US?!?

            -Colin
            Yup, we even have one in the little town of Galesburg. Come to think of it, there are several in some small cities around here. Galesburg, Pekin, etc. Great place for discount stuff!
            It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand.

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            • #7
              Theres alot of chains here that do that. Mostly the stores with cheaper prices. It's 5 to 10 cents a bag. Some stores charge 10 cents for a crap bag that will break of you put a 2 liter bottle of pop in it. They could atleast give a GOOD bag.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by kaddyuk
                Try paying 17.5% tax on EVERYTHING...
                And I thought the 15% I pay is alot.

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                • #9
                  only in california

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by kaddyuk
                    Try paying 17.5% tax on EVERYTHING... not just grocery bags, god, some of you americans whinge about everything. You need to realise that you do better than most when it comes to tax paying and stuff like that...
                    Well the 25% tax in Scandanavia shocked me.
                    - The baby will be back -

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by srbmod
                      The grocery store chain ALDI already does this in their stores, so you have the choice of bringing in your own bags or buying theirs, which are a few cents apiece.
                      In the Netherlands you can get only the small flimsy bags for free, in those you can cary only 4 tomatoes or so. But these are not even available everywhere. The usefull , larger ones cost some 20 eurocent in every grocery store. If you don't want to bay a bag, and didn't bring one of your own, you can use an empty cardboard box that is supplied by the store (ones that were used to carry bananas or boxes of cereals).

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                      • #12
                        the UK has like a 12% tax or something like that as I recall....but everything I bought was tax free.....was it just because I put most everything on my credit card....or was it something special?

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                        • #13
                          Yea, it seems a lot of European countries (and Canada, for that matter) have a Value Added Tax...

                          I actually prefer bringing my own bags to the grocery anyway. It wouldn't bother me too much if Aldi, Sainsbury, Bi-Lo, Shaws, or Kroger stopped making their own bags. The cloth bag that I have suffices.

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                          • #14
                            This is ridiculous.... whats next.... oxygen tax?

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                            • #15
                              Well grocery stores aren't too bad around here, but Wal-Mart wastes their bags big time. They put like one item in each bag.
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