New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg is helping to place the city at the forefront of urban green thinking. The newest initiative is a proposed 6 cent tax on the use of plastic bags. Other cities in the U.S. and throughout the world (particularly Europe and Australia) have already taken steps to address the vast amount of waste pollution created by plastic bags. An estimated one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Instead of opting for an out-right ban of plastic bags, as other cities have chosen to do (most notably San Francisco), NYC is hoping a tax can dissuade people from using bags and generate added revenue for the city. As David W. Chen points out in his piece in the NY Times, “city officials estimate that the fee could generate $16 million a year, a figure that Mr. Bloomberg would no doubt appreciate, given the lingering and concussive effects of the global economic crisis on the city’s economy.” The 6 cent tax is considerably lower than the 33 cent tax introduced in Ireland in 2002, where use of plastic bags dropped 94% within two weeks. more…
Archive for November 10th, 2008
Monday, November 10th, 2008 | Author: Rich
Category: Green Initiatives, Places, Waste
| One Comment
