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Do New Yorkers Use Nearly 3 Billion Plastic Bags Per Year?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 2, 2009
Modified Feb 2, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 2, 2009
Modified Feb 2, 2009
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It's been months since we last heard about Bloomberg's plastic bag tax plan, which was officially proposed last week—and since November the fee has gone down one cent (from 6 to 5 pennies). As the mayor seeks approval from Albany, CityRoom takes a closer look at some questionable figures estimating just how many plastic bags we use in the city.
Bloomberg's 59-page financial summary plan (PDF) states the projected revenue from the fees is $84 million—an estimated 2.88 billion (out of the 500 billion to 1 trillion used worldwide annually) new plastic bags used by New Yorkers per year, or as CityRoom further breaks it down "one bag for every man, woman and child in New York City every single day of the year." The site notes that's "a sharp increase from the last figure floated, just $16 million." While the mayor's office says that "certainly could be [wrong]," they say the figure has gone up because the fee would now also apply beyond bodegas, hitting department stores, restaurants and any other retailer doling out new plastic bags. The sweeping move was allegedly made when the Department of Sanitation “went back and looked at the waste stream more closely and found that there are far more plastic bags used in the city than we first thought.”
Tagged
bloomberg
environment
fee
plastic bags
tax
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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