October 3, 2014
Mariah Timms
News Writer
Wash DC News
The D.C. plastic bag tax has led to a 60 percent decrease in the amount of bags found in river cleanups, reports WTOP. The 5-cent tax law was implemented in 2010 by the D.C. Department of the Environment, making it the first of its kind in the country. A DDOE employee told WTOP that 80 percent of residents are regularly using fewer disposable bags, and that 79 percent of businesses are providing fewer bags. Each year, more than 50 million disposable bags are used in D.C. annually. The revenue from the tax is intended for projects to clean up the Anacostia waterway, earning about $2 million a year. The state of California banned single use plastic bags a grocery and convenience stores, to be phased out by July 2015.
