Outrage of the Day: DC Council Considers Grocery Bag Tax

With the economy officially in a recession, and unemployment in the double digits, the brilliant DC Council is set to implement yet another tax.

WASHINGTON - District residents may soon have to start saving up their nickles: the city council is considering a five-cent fee on all grocery bags, paper or plastic.

The fee would apply to all vendors, including grocery stores, street vendors, convenience stores and drug stores.

The move is designed to help consumers go green while helping the city make some green. The move is part of an initiative to help clean up the Anacostia River. The eight-mile river, once considered the jewel of the region, now carries the burden of being one of the most polluted.

The logic behind the idea is that while many shoppers recycle their plastic bags, many others wind up leaving them on top of trashcans or dropping them on the street. The used bags often wind up in storm drains and eventually in the Anacostia River. The fewer shoppers with bags, the council says, the fewer bags in the water.

The majority of the D.C. Council supports the legislation, which will be officially introduced to the D.C. City Council on Tuesday.

Elderly and low-income shoppers would be given durable, reusable shopping bags free of charge; other District residents can buy reusable shopping tote bags at most grocery stores for around a dollar.

Opponents of the plan say everyone is watching their budget these days, and all those nickles will add up. Consumer Christine Williams argued that the bag fees would add up quickly on the end of her already hefty food bill. "Everything is so astronomical, even to think about an extra five cents, doesn't seem like a lot, as often as you go, and you think about it annually -- it's going to add up."

"Five cents each is a lot, I think," added D.C. resident Robert Navotny.

"They need to be going down on the prices, not going up on the prices," complained D.C. resident Meco Hart.

"I just wanted to know how charging five cents a bag is going to prevent them from ending up in the Anacostia River," said Larry Toles, a D.C. employee.