Bag tax in MoCo may not have had intended effect, figures show

Following in the reportedly successful footsteps of Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, MD instituted a 5-cent bag tax in 2012. The tax is intended to discourage use of plastic grocery bags many of which end up in trees, streams, and other natural ecosystems, while promoting environmentally friendly reusable bags. Officials for the county had estimated that the bag tax would generate about $1million in revenue, but in the year since it was implemented almost double that amount has been raised–prompting the question of whether the tax had its intended effect or not.