MoCo plastic bag ban and tax increase on paper bags

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Montgomery County Council is considering legislation to ban single use plastic bags and to increase the tax on paper bags to 10 cents per bag. This is Bill 24-24, the "Bring Your Own Bag" bill. There is an excellent article in MoCo360 that explains in detail the incoherence of this policy. https://moco360.media/2024/11/29/opinion-toss-mocos-proposed-plastic-bag-ban-in-the-bin/.

Please consider contacting the Montgomery County Council or testifying at the public hearing set for January 14th to express your views.

Contact the Council here: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/CCL_ContactForms/ContactCouncil.aspx.

Consider testifying on January 14th by signing up here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html.

Canadian here. We haven't had plastic bags for a few years. Our city banned them a few years ago. It's a pain but we got used to it. People either take reusable bags, bins, or pay 5 cents for a reusable bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

If you still put plastic bags by the register, of course people will keep using them. It's only when there are no bags at the register that people change their behavior. As a PP mentioned, somehow the world moves on at Aldi without the store providing any bags.

[Anonymous]

It's actually 10 cents already in places in California and Colorado.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

Has population increased? What about other contributing factors?

IG Report explicitly found that the contention from the Department of Environmental Protection that bag tax was effective was without evidence and bag use has increased significantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

Has population increased? What about other contributing factors?

IG Report explicitly found that the contention from the Department of Environmental Protection that bag tax was effective was without evidence and bag use has increased significantly.

Link please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'll contact the council and let them know I support this. I've traveled to various countries that don't supply any plastic (or even paper) bags at their grocery stores. Costco and Aldi also seem to be doing fine without supplying bags.

How about a $2 per box charge for using boxes at Costco?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

If you still put plastic bags by the register, of course people will keep using them. It's only when there are no bags at the register that people change their behavior. As a PP mentioned, somehow the world moves on at Aldi without the store providing any bags.

wow we could eliminate STDs by closing bars and bathhouses sex clubs etc. you want a nanny state so why would you object?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

If you still put plastic bags by the register, of course people will keep using them. It's only when there are no bags at the register that people change their behavior. As a PP mentioned, somehow the world moves on at Aldi without the store providing any bags.

wow we could eliminate STDs by closing bars and bathhouses sex clubs etc. you want a nanny state so why would you object?

are you posting from 1973?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'll contact the council and let them know I support this. I've traveled to various countries that don't supply any plastic (or even paper) bags at their grocery stores. Costco and Aldi also seem to be doing fine without supplying bags.

How about a $2 per box charge for using boxes at Costco?

It actually saves costco money to use those boxes. Less employee labor breaking them down and paying to recycle them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to see the Montgomery County Council have a moratorium on doing anything for twelve months but passing a balanced budget without tax increases.

here, here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'll contact the council and let them know I support this. I've traveled to various countries that don't supply any plastic (or even paper) bags at their grocery stores. Costco and Aldi also seem to be doing fine without supplying bags.

How about a $2 per box charge for using boxes at Costco?

It actually saves costco money to use those boxes. Less employee labor breaking them down and paying to recycle them.

Doesn’t mean that the county shouldn’t tax you for them too.

[Anonymous]

How did the Democratic Party get so drunk on being a coercive nanny state?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

Has population increased? What about other contributing factors?

IG Report explicitly found that the contention from the Department of Environmental Protection that bag tax was effective was without evidence and bag use has increased significantly.

DP here. It took some digging, but here is a link to the report:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2023/OIG23-15.pdf

It lists the usual administrative failures you'd expect when it comes to the County and implementation (no list of retailers who _should_ be paying the fee; no enforcement, etc). Then in terms of the benefit to the environment:

page 14 of PDF (can't copy-paste, so summarizing here)
"the county has not undertaken a comprehensive effort to regularly assess the amount of litter in the county waterways..[...] without such studies, it's impossible to know the true impact of the law. In fact, the data shows an increase in the number of bags purchase from FY18 to FY22"

[Anonymous]

I like the bags Macys has. I use them for kitchen trash can liners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County hasn’t met a tax idea it won’t pass.

This. Why tax paper bags 10 cents? They are usually made from recycled paper, and can easily be recycled or composted.

Because it’s not about the environment. It’s not about reducing amount of bags.

Montgomery County sees its citizens as cash cows. They were find everything and anything, (including the rain!) to tax. And the citizens keep voting in the same people. Montgomery County will present this tax as a virtuous and necessary tax to “protect the environment” and obviously if you’re against it, then you are against the environment therefore a terrible human being.

This new tax will be used to fund unnecessary pet projects.

And before you accuse me of being Maga and a right winger, I’m not. I bring my own bags and when I do get a plastic bag, it’s always reused that’s a trash bag.

It actually is about reducing the amount of bags.

Also, nobody is taxing rain. The state tax was about stormwater runoff from your property, which has to be dealt with somehow; who do you think should pay for dealing with stormwater runoff from your property, if not you?

The Office of the Inspector General's report on this issue has shown that the bag tax has not been effective and plastic bag use has actually increased since the bag tax took effect.

Has population increased? What about other contributing factors?

IG Report explicitly found that the contention from the Department of Environmental Protection that bag tax was effective was without evidence and bag use has increased significantly.

DP here. It took some digging, but here is a link to the report:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2023/OIG23-15.pdf

It lists the usual administrative failures you'd expect when it comes to the County and implementation (no list of retailers who _should_ be paying the fee; no enforcement, etc). Then in terms of the benefit to the environment:

page 14 of PDF (can't copy-paste, so summarizing here)
"the county has not undertaken a comprehensive effort to regularly assess the amount of litter in the county waterways..[...] without such studies, it's impossible to know the true impact of the law. In fact, the data shows an increase in the number of bags purchase from FY18 to FY22"

Thank you. This clearly shows that the Council is acting prematurely on this bill. This has not been assessed as it should.