Wednesday - December 19, 2012

A use-tax by any other name

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A bill that takes an incentive-based approach to reducing the use of throw-away plastic and paper bags advanced in the New Jersey Legislature on Monday.

The measure approved by the Senate Environmental Committee requires retailers to give customers a 5-cent rebate for each reusable shopping bag they use and charge them 5 cents for each single-use bag they take. A similar law adopted Washington, D.C. nearly three years ago reduced the number ofplastic bags ending up in the nearby Anacostia River by 60 percent and caused three-quarters of residents to cut their use of disposable bags, according to a follow-up survey.

“By charging a nominal 5-cent fee for each paper and plastic bag, customers become incentivized to either forego a bag or bring a reusable bag rather than pay the 5-cent fee,” said Keith Anderson, interim director of the district’s Department of the Environment, who came to Trenton to testify about the bill.

Anderson said D.C.’s 2009 bag law requires 4,300 food and liquor stores to charge customers 5 cents per disposable plastic or paper bag, generating $2.1 million a year for river cleanup. Merchants keep up to 2 cents if they offer an environmentally friendly alternative. Random inspections are conducted by secret shoppers, he said, and violators can be reported via a tip line. Warnings are issued for first offenses but fines for continued noncompliance can reach $500. Most businesses are not troubled by the law, he said, because it’s enabled them to order fewer bags, thereby reducing their bottom lines.

Sen. Bob Smith of Piscataway, who chairs the environmental panel and is sponsoring the bill, said New Jersey could look forward to $28 million in revenue from the law, which could be dedicated to helping regenerate Barnegat Bay. The bay, which has deteriorated because of overdevelopment and storm water runoff, was battered further by Hurricane Sandy.

There ya go. They’ve got the spending of the money this fiat will generate already figured out. A nickel here, a nickel there, and pretty soon it adds up to tens of millions to spend on sandbags, dredging, and barrels of baby fish for one of the most congested recreational waterways in the country.

Guess we’ve run out kids to spend money on in New Jersey. This is now the second law I’ve run across in as many days that’s “for the fishies” instead. And until we all get sick from bag bacteria, or figure out how to bring back more bags than we use, the state will use the retailers as their agents to suck and extra dollar out of every one of us each week. You know, for the privilege of buying our food and booze here in NJ.




Damn shame about all those throw away bags too. Until the cost of doing business in NJ got too high, for 50 years they were made right here in Flemington, just down the road. Heck, I almost took a job there once, but said no when I found out everyone worked on rotating shifts. A month on morning shift, then a month on afternoon shift, followed by a month on overnight shift. Fug that. I worked nights for 4 years when I was a young man. Never again.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/19/2012 at 03:22 PM   
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