Plastics Industry Weighing In On Grocery Bag Tax
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:25 pm
Battle in eco-friendly Seattle may foretell feasibility for rest of country
SEATTLE - Leaders of this famously green city last year passed America's first grocery bag fee, and other cities around the U.S. quickly followed.
But the plastics industry has been fighting back, bringing lawsuits, aggressively lobbying lawmakers and bankrolling a referendum in Seattle to overturn the 20-cent charge. The measure goes before voters Tuesday, and polls show marginal support after the industry spent $1.4 million, outspending supporters about 15-to-1.
If the bag fee fails in an eco-conscious city like Seattle, observers say, it will be a tough sell elsewhere.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32421448/ns ... vironment/
SEATTLE - Leaders of this famously green city last year passed America's first grocery bag fee, and other cities around the U.S. quickly followed.
But the plastics industry has been fighting back, bringing lawsuits, aggressively lobbying lawmakers and bankrolling a referendum in Seattle to overturn the 20-cent charge. The measure goes before voters Tuesday, and polls show marginal support after the industry spent $1.4 million, outspending supporters about 15-to-1.
If the bag fee fails in an eco-conscious city like Seattle, observers say, it will be a tough sell elsewhere.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32421448/ns ... vironment/