On June 2 the City Council voted unanimously to approve the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009.
Councilmember Wells said, “This landmark legislation brings the District of Columbia to the forefront addressing pollution caused by disposable bags and takes much needed action to clean the Anacostia River.”
If passed at the June 16 council meeting, the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009 will place a 5-cent fee on disposable carryout bags, with the bulk of the fee deposited into newly created Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund to target environmental cleanup, reclamation, and restoration efforts on the Anacostia River. The legislation also requires that the city must conduct a public education campaign and provide free reusable bags to DC residents, particularly to elderly and low-income residents.
“This is an extremely important and hopeful step toward reclaiming the Anacostia River as a place — just minutes from our doorsteps — where residents can get out into nature to relax, play and learn about our local environment,” said Jane Osborne, Executive Director of The Saturday Environmental Academy. The Academy, based on 8th Street, SE, provides 7th and 8th graders from DCPS outdoor educational opportunities to encourage river and environmental stewardship among DC’s youth population.
High school participants in the Saturday Academy experience conditions on the Anacostia River first hand. Photo by Jane Osborne.
What do you think? Will consumers make the shift, and will it really affect the Anacostia River?
The legislation, introduced on February 17th, was the subject of a public hearing on April 1st. Since then, thousands of residents have sent letters, postcards, called, and signed petitions supporting the bill and the Anacostia River.
Wells commented, “I’ve heard from supporters that run the gamut from schoolchildren to seniors, from environmentalists to developers, from clergy to boating enthusiasts, from grocers to food pantries. Many residents on both sides of the River supported this bill because they see it as a way to change our behavior to take greater responsibility for our environment.”
The legislation was amended by Councilmember Kwame Brown to allow the District to offer specialized Anacostia River vehicle license plates and an income tax donation option, with proceeds deposited into the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund. Councilmember Yvette Alexander also amended the bill to place a higher priority on using the Fund to prevent trash from entering the city’s street storm drains that lead to the Anacostia River.
According to a recent report by the DC Department of the Environment, plastic bags, bottles, wrappers and Styrofoam make up 85% of the trash in the Anacostia River. In the river’s tributaries, such as Watts Branch, nearly 50% of the trash is plastic bags. According to the report, placing a small fee on “free” bags could eliminate up to 47% of the trash in the tributaries and 21% from the river’s main stem.
What do you think? Will consumers make the shift, and will it really affect the Anacostia River?
I hate to say it, but I suspect this isn’t going to change my habits. I have a dog, and I use the bags to clean up after her (since the bags used at supermarkets here aren’t of the same quality as those in Europe, where people have been paying for their plastic for years – I miss my Meinl’s bags!). I’m also not a planner. In theory I could keep bags in my car for when I happen to decide to make a grocery run, but then you bring said groceries back inside, and do those bags ever make it back out to the car? I have to be honest and say “probably not.” The good thing for the river is that it’s going to get my .05/bag and I throw my trash where it belongs.
One question: How does this affect Peapod (one of my favorite conveniences)? They bring everything in (high quality) plastic bags, and there isn’t really an option of using your own bags; will we be charged for each bag, or will Giant figure out a new delivery method?
This legislation has me completely baffled for two reasons.
1) Not only does it leave retail operations completely blameless, it actually creates revenue for them which did not exist (1 cent per bag to the businesses)
2) It suggests that all shoppers are to blame for the littering and imposes a new tax on them. I would believe that, if the legislation is completely successful in forcing those who care away from the use of disposable bags, there would be little, if any, impact on the river’s condition. Littering is the result of a few. Those same few will probably litter even with the new tax. When the only ones still using bags are those who litter, we have no revenue for the river’s clean-up with the same problems.