Posted by ListenToLeon on
January 6, 2010

For those unaware, Washington DC has begun taxing shoppers $.05 per bag for every paper or plastic bag they get from a store. It’s meant to reduce pollution and waste, but as with anything else in this city, I suspect it’s also lining someone’s pocket somewhere. I mean, you already saw how I feel about meter maids. They say that the money is going to fund the cleanup of the Anacostia River, but until I see otherwise, I’m assuming some of the proceeds are going to Adrian Fenty’s fedora fund, or Marion Barry’s legal defense team.
The goal of this is to get consumers to bring reusable bags with them, and Giant in Columbia Heights is taking advantage of this in a major way. Giant is giving customers reusable grocery bags with their purchase, until January 7. It’s brilliant because it got me to buy some stuff from there last night, plus, I’ll be walking around giving them free advertising next time I go shopping since they provided the reusable bags.
There are only 2 days left to get your reusable bags from Giant for the price of nothing, so I suggest you get yourself over there and buy some groceries. That is, unless you’re cool with donating at least $.05 to the “Buy Jim Graham Some New Tangerine Spectacles” foundation every time you shop.
I also wonder if this will lead to an increase in shoplifting. When you encourage everyone in the city to start bringing bags into stores, it’s only a matter of time before the more sticky-fingered residents of DC begin to take advantage of it. I wonder if the city took that into consideration at all. I guess only time will tell as far as that goes.