Academic

If you are planning to buy something from the grocery store, pharmacy, or other food-service provider in Washington, DC, you better remember to bring your own bag.  That?s because as of January 1, 2010, DC?s new bag tax law took effect.  Under the law, you are charged five cents for every paper or plastic carry-out bag you use at businesses that sell food or liquor.   The law is aimed at discouraging the use of plastic and paper bags and thereby promoting the use of reusable shopping bags.  The law is also aimed at limiting pollution at DC?s Anacostia River and its tributaries, since plastic bags apparently are the largest single source of trash in the river tributaries and one of the three largest sources in the entire river.  Under the law, businesses keep a penny for each bag sold, while the remainder goes into a fund to clean up the Anacostia River.  If businesses offer discounts to consumers who use reusable bags, such businesses keep two cents for each bag sold. 

On the one hand, I wonder if the law will have its desired impact.  In that regard, my observations to date provide some anecdotal evidence that the law may be working.  First, I have noticed that, when shoppers are reminded of the cost involved with getting a paper or plastic bag, some simply forego bags all together.  And I have seen this occur both at delis and at grocery stores.  Second, I have noticed that more people appear to have reusable bags with them when shopping.  That is, it seems that there has been an increase in the number of people grocery shopping with several reusable bags under their arm or in the cart.  Third, more and more people?who either have forgotten their bags or forgotten about the law?appear to be buying the reusable bags offered at the check-out stand.  Indeed, I found myself doing that just yesterday?along with the person in front of me.  In this regard, the law already seems to be altering people?s behavior, prompting more people to forego paper and plastic bags, and hence potentially improving the environment and the waste clogging the Anacostia river. 

On the other hand, I worry that the law may have unintended negative consequences.  For example, in San Francisco, where plastic bags have been banned altogether, there has been an increase in the use of paper bags.  However, at least one story suggests that such an increase is not a good thing because paper bags can pose similar, if not more, problems for the environment.  Then too, because many people work in DC, but live in Maryland or Virginia, it could be that the law simply encourages people to avoid shopping in DC, and hence the law could have a negative impact on DC businesses and its economy.  Finally, for people who do not use reusable bags, such a law serves to increase their grocery bill in the midst of a recession.  Granted, DC?s five cent tax is significantly less than the 25 cent tax contemplated by some other cities.  Then too, DC?s law includes a provision for working with companies in order to provide free reusable bags to low income residents.   Yet while that may prove helpful, it doesn?t protect against those times when one forgets to bring bags or otherwise may not have enough.  In this regard, the law seems like a good way to use the tax system to provide some economic incentive for engaging in more responsible behavior, but the law has some pitfalls of which we need to keep track. 

Of course, regardless of your thoughts on the subject, as of now, the law means you have to remember to bring your own bag, or pay the consequences.