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Plastic Bags: Still Controversial
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 18, 2008
Modified Nov 18, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 18, 2008
Modified Nov 18, 2008
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Will the plastic bag controversy ever end? With the recent news of Bloomberg pushing a plastic bag tax, The NY Times is the latest to take a look into the sordid grocery packaging habits of New Yorkers. Perhaps as some believe cigarettes should be, instead of a tax, they just need to be made illegal; even reusable grocery bag users are finding they accept a plastic bag here and there.
“I’d pick up 50 bags a week instead of 2 or 3 if I wasn’t conscious of it,” said Mr. Thrasher, 31, a freelance writer from Fort Greene, Brooklyn. “You’re always having a plastic bag put in your hand.”
The bags generally find a final resting spot in a "balled-up pile under his kitchen sink" (warning: this attracts cockroaches!). Still, many do use them, and wonder how one might hide an open beer in public or clean up after their dog without the disposable bags.
The paper (which could be used for one of the aforementioned tasks) reminds that "plastic bags, particularly the flimsy ones that float over windy streets, are widely considered an environmental nuisance that use up petroleum, litter the landscape, clog storm drains and recycling equipment and linger for centuries in landfills." On that note, several countries have already imposed taxes (up to 33 cents per bag), so is it time for us to play catch up? Maybe American Beauty really set us back (video!).
Tagged
environment
plastic bag tax
plastic bags
reusable
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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