In the past, Seattle voters have taxed themselves to pay for parks, affordable housing, libraries, and other causes. However, this past Tuesday, Aug. 18, the voters decided against establishing a 20-cent paper and plastic bag fee. The Seattle Times reported that 58 percent of voters opposed the bag fee.
The purpose of the fee was to encourage more people to use reusable bags. Stores with annual revenues of less than $1 million would have kept the bag fee while stores grossing more would have kept only 25 percent, giving the rest to the city for recycling and other green efforts. The city council approved the fee last year, but the plastic bag industry fronted a petition, which put the fee to a vote.
So why would a city that the National Resources Defense Council just named the smartest large city turn down a green effort to rid the city of plastic bags?
Seattle’s not the only place rejecting bag fees; they have been met with a similar disdain around the country ever since they first appeared in San Francisco. A bag manufacturing company in California even successfully sued cities that banned plastic bags.
Supporters claim that Referendum 1 did not pass because the opposition had much more money to invest in its ad campaign. In fact, the anti-fee campaign cost $1.4 million, outspending the supporters’ 15-1.
