U.S. Rep. Jim Moran has introduced a measure that would put a 5-cent tax on plastic and paper bags given out at all retail locations, including convenience stores.
Fee revenue would be earmarked for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. “Small steps, like replacing plastic bags with reusable ones, yield large returns in reducing the amount of trash we create,” said Moran in a statement. “The results of this waste can be found in our oceans, now home to floating landfills 10 times the size of Virginia.”
Moran’s bill is modeled on the District of Columbia’s tax on plastic bags, which was enacted in 2009, and is the first bill that would impose such a fee on bags in all states and the District of Columbia. Several states and cities are considering banning the bags. (www.nacsonline.com)
