Posted Jan 20, 2011
Connecticut residents could be paying 5 cents for every plastic or paper bag they get when they go shopping, under a proposal from the Senate chairman of the state Legislature’s Environment Committee.
“The bill is consistent with a drive in the U.S. that recognizes plastic bags have a life of over 100 years and are really hostile to a good environment,” said Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford. “We’re trying get people to convert to reusable cloth bags, and this gives them an incentive.”
Under the measure, the revenue produced by the 5-cent tax would go into a conservation fund overseen by the state Department of Environmental Protection, Meyer said. The department would have discretion over how to spend it.
People on food stamps would be exempt from the tax.
A similar bill was proposed in 2009 by then-House Majority Leader Denise Merrill. That measure failed, in part because a citizens coalition in Westport campaigned against it, calling instead for an all-out ban on plastic bags.
That opposition is likely to surface again.
“Five cents doesn’t mean a hell of a lot to anybody these days,” said Gene Seidman, a member of Westport’s Representative Town Meeting, who was a key player in getting the plastic bag ban passed in town. “If you want to affect things, you have to charge a hefty price, like a dollar.”
Seidman said Connecticut should enact a statewide ban on plastic bags, which would encourage a similar national ban. He also advocated educational programs that would push people to use more reusable bags.
Meyer considered proposing a ban on the bags, but concluded it wouldn’t have a realistic chance of passing. He called the 5-cent tax a “middle road,” and said he was confident Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would sign it into law if it passed the full Legislature.
The non-profit Center for Consumer Freedom criticized the legislation, saying reusable bags could contain lead or bacteria and that the bags have 28 times the carbon footprint of plastic bags.
Meyer dismissed the nonprofit as a group funded by the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries that sponsor campaigns to oppose the efforts of scientists and environmentalists.
“Everything’s got bacteria and we’ve gotten no indication from the Department of Public Health or environmental groups that there are any lead problems with these bags,” Meyer said.
State House Environment Committee Chairman Richard Roy, D-Milford, said he supported the bill.
“We’re hoping we’ll pick up a few more bucks for the budget, and we hope if people have to pay, they’ll switch to reusable bags,” Roy said.
Contact Vinti Singh at vsingh@ctpost.com or 203-330-6285. Follow at twitter.com/vintisingh.
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