Baltimore Bag Law: Clearing up some misconceptions

Gwynns Falls / Photo: Blue Water Baltimore

The Baltimore City Council may be voting on the 10-cent disposable bag surcharge this afternoon. Several letters from residents have run in the Baltimore Sun, and some of them reflect common misunderstandings.

Why a fee, not a ban?

Both approaches tackle bag litter by significantly reducing the number of disposable bags taken from stores. A fee allows people to decide: do I want to buy bags 10 cents at a time, or spend a dollar for one I can reuse for years?

Two advantages to the fee come from the fact that some people will continue to choose to use disposable bags. These funds provide both a safety net for disadvantaged residents, allowing the City to buy reusable bags and distribute them for free to those who need them, and the funds are available for broader environmental restoration efforts, expanding the impact of the law to more environmental needs.

Funds from the surcharge will also be available to pay for an education campaign to tell people about the law and the hazards of litter. Without these funds, such a campaign will require funds from another area in the City's budget.

A ban would only address the bags themselves, and the City would have to figure out ways to get reusable bags into the hands of people who can't afford them. Also, most bans around the nation still don't capture every disposable bag, because they don't apply at all stores.

How do we know the money will be used for these purposes?

The bill has been amended to clarify that the revenues will go to a sustainability fund. This dedicated fund requires a charter amendment, which will be on the ballot in November. Residents can also be confident that advocates will be aggressive in their oversight of this fund--we want this program not just to pass, but to work.

Why plastic bags? I see lots of other litter too.

We can educate people about the problems of litter generally, but to create significant behavior change, we have to target specific behaviors. Each component of litter is associated with different specific behaviors, so each component requires a specific approach. With bags, we can significantly reduce litter by encouraging reusable bag use. With beverage containers, we reduce littering and increase cleanup by making the bottles and cans worth something--a refundable deposit has been proven for decades to work. For cigarette butts, we need disposal devices that people don't fear will catch fire--and we need people to realize those filters are not biodegradable. The list goes on. Addressing disposable bags is just one piece of the puzzle.

Isn't this a tax on the poor?

Everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, can make the choice about whether to bring a reusable bag or not. The bag law will only affect your shopping bill if you choose to use disposable bags. Period.

Won't it hurt small businesses?

In DC and Montgomery County, no business has reported declining sales because of bag laws. Instead, most report significant savings because they don't have to buy as many bags. Only 8% of businesses surveyed in DC in 2012 oppose the bag law--and their reasons are because they feel their customers misunderstand it.

Baltimore, we can do this. We can change the perception that the city is dirty. We can get bags out of the trees, out of the storm drains, and out of our waterways. Please call your council member today and ask them to vote YES on Bill #13-0241.

The modern-day tumbleweed

The modern day tumbleweed – the plastic bag – blowing in the wind, and right into our waterways…

We have all seen them, every day of the week, whether on your way into work or out walking around, there they are: brown, white, blue, black . . . plastic bags fluttering through the air, stuck in tree branches, floating on the surface of the water, clogging up the storm drains. I know you are committed to reducing trash in Baltimore’s streets and waterways and are sick of seeing this eyesore – so let’s speak up today and let our City Council members know that we want policies in place to reduce the use of disposable bags (and polystyrene containers and to increase recycling while we are at it!)

Did you know that last year Travel + Leisure magazine ranked Baltimore the third dirtiest city in America?! Now, more than ever is the time for all of us to support efforts like Councilman Brandon Scott’s bill (13-0241), which would set a nominal fee on disposable plastic and paper bags; a proven and effective measure for reducing disposable bag use and litter.

Your City Council representatives are holding a bill hearing on January 21st at 9:45 am. Look up which district you live in, if you don’t already know, and please call or email your member of City Council today and let him or her know that you support this measure – you care about clean water, stronger neighborhoods, and the health of our City!

As Councilman Scott has been quoted, “We have more plastic bags in the streams than fish. If you go to a park in my district, all you see is plastic bags." This is unacceptable and it is time we stand up and make a difference!

Disposable bag fees are not even a new idea – check out this great article about Hawaii’s recent move to ban plastic bags, making it the first state in the country to eliminate this nuisance.

Don’t think your voice matters? Think again! As the article points out, Hawaii’s success came from local, grassroots efforts. The ban did not come from the state legislature but instead from the four County Councils. The article also notes that the plastic bag ban is only just a first step; if they were to enact a fee for paper bags as well, they would further reduce the use of disposable products.

We can do it Baltimore!!

- by Kristen Weiss, Blue Water Baltimore

Victory in Montgomery! For now.

The Montgomery County Council has put a hold on a proposal to reduce the number of stores required to charge five cents for disposable plastic and paper checkout bags.

In a committee work session last Monday, Councilmember Roger Berliner said his amendment aimed to "strengthen" the law by exempting some businesses from it. The bill passed 2-1, with sponsors seeking to rush it to a full Council vote before the end of the year. On Wednesday, following a phone conversation with County Executive Ike Leggett, Berliner changed course, agreeing to wait on further action until the County can conduct surveys and collect more data. He asked the Department of Environmental Protection to provide a report by Summer 2014.

The current law, in effect since January 2012, requires all retailers in the county to charge a five-cent fee for disposable plastic and paper checkout bags. Bill 10-13 would carve out retailers that primarily sell goods other than food, as well as plastic bags used for takeout restaurant food. Only stores that earn more than 2% of their gross sales from food would continue to collect the fee.

At a hearing in June, environmental and citizen groups, and the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, largely opposed the proposed amendment, while small chambers endorsed it. Opponents argued that the bill language was unclear and that non-food store bags also pollute county streams and neighborhoods. One question was the definition of "food." Under the state sales tax code, "food" does not include alcohol, soda, or candy. This definition would exempt liquor stores and potentially many convenience stores from the law.

The lack of clarity on what stores would be exempted also troubled advocates--retailers do not currently report the breakdown of their sales to the County government, and even the Council attorney could only offer his best guess on whether stores like Target and CVS would be exempted. Advocates argued that the Council needed to provide a detailed list of the stores that would be exempted before taking action.

Hearing these comments, the committee did amend the bill to include alcohol in the definition of "food," but delayed making a decision on soft drinks and candy.

In addition to collecting bag sales and public opinion data, the delay also affords DEP the opportunity to conduct more outreach, including distributing free reusable bags in low-income communities and educating county residents and businesses on the positive aspects of the law--significantly fewer bags being littered, revenue for pollution prevention projects, and cost savings for retailers.

Bag fees: Where does the money go?

I've been terrible at updating this summer. Plus I get asked this question a lot, so it seems like I should document it for posterity.

So you are shopping in DC or Montgomery County, and you forgot your reusable bag and opt to buy a disposable one. You pay your nickel to the cashier, and you're on your way. But where does the nickel go?

In DC, the store keeps 1 or 2 cents. The remainder is collected by the Office of Tax and Revenue and managed by the District Department of the Environment in the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund. This fund is used for the following:

- administration and enforcement of the law
- public and business outreach and education about the law (including distribution of reusable bags)
- restoration activities on the Anacostia River (including trash traps, stream restoration, and an anti-litter public education campaign)

How funds from the DC bag bill were spent in Fiscal Year 2012

DC collects about $1.8 million each year this way.

In Montgomery County, the store keeps 1 cent. The remainder is collected by the Department of Finance and managed by the Department of Environmental Protection in the Water Quality Improvement Fund. The WQIF is primarily funded by the stormwater utility--bag fee revenues are an offset to that charge (i.e., utility charges go down if the bag revenues are higher than expected). The Fund is used for a variety of stormwater mitigation programs, including retention swales that collect stormwater as well as trash. This fund also pays for reusable bags for distribution to the public.

Montgomery County collected about $2.3 million last year.

The way the Maryland statewide bag bill is written, the store would keep 1 cent. The remainder would be collected by the Comptroller. Small portions would go to the Department of Human Resources for distribution of reusable bags, the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation for enforcement, and stay with the Comptroller for administration. The remainder would be split, with half going to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for grantmaking to local organizations and jurisdictions, and half being returned to counties (apportioned based on population size) for use in water quality improvements.

In other ordinances around the country, the store retains the entire fee (in which case it usually ends up being called a "charge" instead of a "fee").

Montgomery County Council considers changing a policy that works

As the 25th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup wraps up, we reflect back on the last couple of months of citizen action against litter. 14,238 volunteers at 616 sites, removed 574,000 lbs of trash including 193,800 beverage containers and 27,200 plastic bags from our Watershed in April. I attended several cleanup sites in Virginia this year, excited to check out places in my Watershed that I had not been to before. As I was sorting my beverage containers and collecting candy bar wrappers, I was also paying close attention to the plastic bags.

You see, over on the Maryland side of the river we have a five-cent disposable bag fee in Montgomery County that works to tackle one of our common sources of litter -- single use plastic bags. However, County Council Members have proposed an amendment to this policy that would exempt restaurants and all businesses where food is less than 2% of the gross sales. This proposed amendment to the bag fee policy will be difficult to enforce and has the potential to exempt some critical businesses. As I was tracking the plastic bags in Virginia, I found, just as I suspected, that all types of plastic bags are littered -- department stores, electronics store, hardware store, and boutiques. We must prevent this amendment from moving forward so we do not reverse the County’s efforts to end litter.

The hearing on this amendment is June 18. I urge you to please send letters and make phone calls to Council Members as well as send out Action Alerts to your friends, family, members, and volunteers. Every voice will be needed to prevent the amendment from passing. If you have any photos of littered plastic bags where you can clearly see the name of the business -- please send to lchamberlin@fergusonfoundation.org. Focus on stores that might be exempt with the amendment such as hardware stores, gas stations, department stores, and dollar stores.

To help you craft your message to Council Members here are a few talking points:

• Thank you for passing the bag fee legislation, ensuring that Montgomery County continues to lead the way for environmental change.
• The bag fee has been very helpful in reminding me to bring reusable bags to all the stores that I shop in, including department stores (hardware store, boutiques, etc).
• Even when I forget my bag and I choose to buy one, I don’t mind because I know that the money will go to support environmental projects.
• Many of the department stores I shop in even sell reusable bags, showing that they support their customers changing their behavior and using less disposable bags.
• I’m also thrilled to see my friends and neighbors refusing the unnecessary disposable bags at the store. (This is a great place to share personal anecdotes from your shopping experiences)
• And the intent of the legislation, to reduce litter, has been successful. We are seeing less plastic bags in our communities and waterways.

- by Laura Chamberlin, Alice Ferguson Foundation
Cross-posted from AFF's blog

Bag bill moving through House

This morning the Environmental Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates passed HB1086, the Community Cleanup and Greening Act. It was amended from the original bill and now will enable all counties in the state to pass a disposable bag fee in order to reduce bag litter in their neighborhoods and streams.

Under current law, only Montgomery County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City can establish this type of program. This proposal will allow all counties to establish a fee like Montgomery County has, where revenue is used for environmental purposes and to establish a program to assist low-income and elderly residents. Montgomery County residents have reduced their use of disposable bags by 60-70% since the fee took effect a year ago.

The committee voted 17-4 for a favorable report on the bill. Economic Matters must now also give it a favorable report before the bill reaches the House floor.

We love this video

An excellent video parodying the DC bag fee has been making the rounds. Enjoy!

The DC bag fee is cleaning up the Anacostia River

Nash Run is one of the dirtiest streams in the Anacostia River watershed. However, thanks to D.C’s 5-cent disposable bag fee, one major source of pollution is finally on the decline.

“Astronomical levels of trash” and “dirtiest of all streams” -- these are phrases used to describe the humble little Nash Run, a small tributary of the Anacostia River. Nash Run starts in Fairmount Heights, MD, and runs through the Deanwood neighborhood of DC before emptying into the Anacostia near the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. It is one of the biggest contributors of the litter pollution impairing the Anacostia River. But a study on this stream over the past 4 years offers hope that the litter problem can be reversed.

Before the bag fee, and for a short time after, the number of bags in the Anacostia seems to have actually been increasing. Data from a 2007-2008 yearlong survey by the District Department of the Environment show that the total number of bags found in eight tributary streams doubled in a single year. Of course, the absolute numbers of bags (and all litter) varies a lot depending on the weather, but this survey showed an increasing trend:

Chart from Anacostia River Trash Reduction Plan, referring to monitoring study results from Summer 2007 to Spring 2008, before the bag fee. “Number” is the total # of plastic bags found during surveys of 8 stream tributaries of the Anacostia River.

In 2009, the Anacostia Watershed Society installed a trash trap on Nash Run and began collecting data on the types of trash it collected. The trash trap is a special device placed in the stream that allows water to pass through, but catches litter. Once a month for the past four years, volunteers have cleaned out the trap and counted the number of bottles, styrofoam, bags, and other debris.

The amount of trash collected depends on how much rain has fallen during the month -- heavy rainfall carries more trash to the stream and thus the trap. So in order to have a more objective measure of the change in plastic bag use, we use the number of bags found compared to the total amount of trash collected -- expressed as bags per kilogram of trash.

As you can see, similar to the DDOE chart above, this chart also shows an increasing trend in plastic bag litter from March 2009 to June 2010. However, the overall trend is a decrease in plastic bags polluting the stream over the 3-year period after the bag fee was implemented, from January 2010 to November 2012. Why didn’t decline didn’t start immediately after the bag went into effect? We can see several reasons why this might be the case: First, about one third of the Nash Run watershed is actually in Prince George’s County, MD, where there is no bag fee. So, the number of bags entering the stream from Maryland was presumably still increasing according to that 2007-2009 trend. Secondly, it takes time for litter to make its way from neighborhood streets to local streams. Third, compliance and understanding of the bag fee was not 100% right away. So, it’s not too surprising that the number of bags in the stream didn’t drop immediately.

What is clear is that the number of bags is declining, and that this decreasing trend matches the experience of other stream cleanup groups in the DC region. The Alice Ferguson Foundation, which runs cleanup events throughout the Potomac watershed, reported a 50% decline in plastic bags in Montgomery County in the first year after the the Montgomery bag fee went live. The faster decrease may be due to a faster adoption rate in Montgomery County and streams that are fully within the county, unlike Nash Run.

The Anacostia Watershed Society will continue to tally monthly data from the trash trap on Nash Run. Based on these initial results, we expect to see the decline in plastic bags continue, especially if Prince George’s County and/or the state of Maryland implement their own 5-cent bag fees.

One day in Annapolis

The process of our governments, whether it be at the federal or local level, is a mystery to many. I included myself in that group until very recently when I had the opportunity to spend the day in Annapolis shadowing Julie Lawson, of the Public Affairs team at the Anacostia Watershed Society and also the lead organizer for Trash Free Maryland.

We lucked out with a gorgeous, sunny day in Annapolis which was the perfect backdrop to my first glimpse of the grand, Georgian architecture placed purposefully around the two circles that defined the area. Historic buildings were abound and it all felt appropriately stately and important.

We started out in the House of Delegates visiting delegates with the purpose of building support for the statewide bag fee and, hopefully, gaining a few cosponsors along the way. We later went over to the Senate to do the same. Each office we entered had many of the same features and I was completely turned around by the time we reached our fifth, but one thing was consistent throughout our meetings -- the cordial staff. They all took a second away from their busy mornings to inform us of their bosses’ whereabouts. If they could help us efficiently they did. If not, they let us know when to return. I’m not sure if it was just early enough in the morning that folks were still pleasant or if they maintain that demeanor all day, but kudos to all.

As I was whisked along the finely appointed halls there were a few things that surprised me:

- The age range of the delegates/senators. Many were much younger than I expected (early 30s?) and others had been around much longer than I thought would be possible.

- How much running around occurred. In this day and age ruled by electronic communication there is something to be said for waiting an extra 15 minutes to get a face-to-face. It seemed to be the norm, though, and I appreciate that that is still the best means to getting things accomplished.

- The ambiguity of speech by all parties. I think I learned the true meaning of political correctness. It involves being able to talk around a subject so completely that one either forgets what was originally being said or are so assuaged by whatever was stated that it all begins to become abstract and lose meaning. It was a tough job listening intently and trying to get to the root of a delegate’s refusal to cosponsor when it sounded like he/she was just politely saying maybe.

Would I recommend a day in Annapolis? Absolutely. I felt like I was part of the action in getting things done and was learning at every turn. I can’t imagine doing it everyday but, as a break from the routine or to give your support to a bill whose cause you support, it’s a fantastic way to see the inner workings of the political system. And it can’t be beat in terms of feeling like a citizen. Onward, to Annapolis!

-By Ann DeSanctis, Anacostia Watershed Society

Prince George's bag bill support reaches far beyond the traditional

Crossposted from Clean Prince George's

Many people think of the Prince George’s bag bill as an environmental bill, and it does enjoy a broad base of support from environmental groups. But the coalition supporting the bag fee is much, much broader than the environmental community. It includes town and city governments, including the Prince George's County Council, as well as business, labor, faith, youth, and cultural groups. Supporters range from the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400. The Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association, representing the construction and development industry, has endorsed the bill. County Executive Rushern Baker supports the bill, as do the mayors of Forest Heights and Capitol Heights.

Reading their letters of support, it’s easy to see why there is such wide reaching enthusiasm for the bill: Cleaner, more attractive streets and streams. Taxpayer savings from reduced litter cleanup costs. Reduced landfill tipping and garbage hauling fees. A dedicated funding source to clean up our communities. These are concerns shared by all citizens, and they will benefit everyone. And with the overwhelming success of the bag fees in DC and Montgomery County, these aren’t just ideas -- we know they are proven to work.

Of course, there is also a strong coalition of environmental groups that have endorsed the bag bill. These organizations have been working for years to restore the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, and they know first-hand how much of a difference this bill will make. From Indian Creek, to the Anacostia River, the Potomac, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean -- the bag bill will improve water quality all the way down the line. The diversity of supporting environmental groups is testament to the wide ranging environmental impact of the bill: from the tiny Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek to the nationwide Clean Water Action.

Several endorsing organizations have requested amendments to the bill, which will be incorporated to help make the transition easier for our senior and lower income residents. Those who choose to purchase disposable bags will be funding the distribution of reusable bags to those in need. Remaining funds will be dedicated to environmental cleanup projects in our neighborhoods, including public education, water quality, and litter cleanup.

A clean Prince George’s County is something we can all get behind. A more beautiful landscape, and more beautiful rivers, make our county an attractive place to live and work, inviting investment and instilling a sense of civic pride in our citizens.

Click here to see the full list of government and community organizations that support the Prince George’s bag bill.

Join the coalition! Email us if your business, government, faith, youth, environment, or other community organization would like to be added to this list.

• Alice Ferguson Foundation
• Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Council
• Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership
• Anacostia Watershed Society
• Citizens to Conserve and Restore Indian Creek
• Clean Water Action
• Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek
• Friends of Quincy Run Watershed
• Indian Head Highway Area Action Council
• Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake
• Keep Prince George’s Beautiful
• Latino Civic Association
• Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association
• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
• Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce
• Prince George’s Civic Association
• Sierra Club – Maryland Chapter
• Trash Free Maryland Alliance
• United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400
• University of Maryland Student Government Association

Governmental:

• Prince George’s County Council (position statement – PDF)
• Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker
• City of Greenbelt
• City of College Park
• City of Mount Rainier
• Town of Bladensburg
• Mayor Jacqueline Goodall, Town of Forest Heights
• Mayor Kito James, Town of Capitol Heights
• Gary Allen, Former Mayor of Bowie

- by Bradley Kennedy, Trash Free Maryland Alliance

Montgomery County underestimated plastic bag use

Last week brought a wave of news stories looking back at the first year of the Montgomery County bag fee. Some of them (particularly the Washington Post) concluded the bag fee is ineffective at changing behavior, as shoppers did not appear to be switching from disposable bags to reusable ones as intended.

This conclusion is incorrect. And it’s all because of one number.

Montgomery County appears to have vastly underestimated disposable bag use before the fee took effect and has not provided information on its methodology in developing pre-bag fee estimates on usage. The County says 82.9 million plastic bags were used annually before the fee. In fact, it was likely closer to 300 million.

According to a 2009 report by the US International Trade Commission, Americans used 102,105,637,000 plastic bags in 2008. That works out to about 335 bags per person. This number is used by jurisdictions all over the country in estimating the impact of bag ordinances.

If the pre-fee bag usage was in fact closer to 300 million, then the post-fee numbers actually indicate significant behavior change, in the neighborhood of a 60-70% reduction, which is similar to what DC has observed since putting its bag fee into effect.

The County also reports that it has collected just over $2 million in revenue through November 2012. Some councilmembers have raised concerns that the revenues are too high. But DC collects $1.8 to 2 million per year from its bag fee, and is only two-thirds the size of Montgomery County (and with fewer businesses subject to the bag fee). Thus Montgomery’s revenue numbers seem to be on track.

In fact, Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle says in the Capital Gazette, “In Montgomery County, Safeway saw a 70 percent drop in plastic bag use at the checkouts from 2011 to 2012. There could be other factors, but I am pretty sure the bag fee has a lot to do with it. We saw similar results from the bag fee in the District.”

Likewise, stream protection organizations are seeing fewer bags in cleanups of their waterways. These results are even being reported by Montgomery County Department of Parks and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

Montgomery County is a leader for Maryland and has been effective at reducing plastic litter through its disposable bag fee. It’s a shame that one bad number is calling into question all that good work.

---

UPDATE (2/4/13, 10 pm): The County has issued a response:

"Montgomery County is committed to reducing litter and is committed to the County's Bag Law as one of the primary ways of accomplishing this goal," said Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection Director Bob Hoyt. "I believe from my own observations when I am shopping, from anecdotal information from others, reports from environmental groups engaged in litter clean ups and reports from retailers about reduced bag use that the Law is working. The Bag Law is changing consumer behavior much in the same way recycling did 20 years ago. We are committed to gathering the appropriate data but are convinced that it will confirm the positive impact the Law is having on Montgomery County's environment."

Update from Annapolis

Trash Free Maryland is very busy in Annapolis right now, working the General Assembly to pass three bills to reduce trash in neighborhoods and waterways across the state.

The three bills are

- disposable bag fee for Maryland. This is the same bill we've been working for three years; it would enact the same 5-cent fee in DC and Montgomery County for the whole state.
- enabling legislation to allow Prince George's County to create its own bag fee. Again, this is the same as the last two years. See www.CleanPrinceGeorges.com for info.
- a statewide bottle deposit. To learn what a bottle deposit is, see our recent article. Learn more about the campaign at Recycle for Real.

Together these bills will dramatically reduce trash in our neighborhoods, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. All three bills have significantly stronger support in the Assembly this year than they have in the past. However, we still have a lot of work to do.

Prince George's:
A subcommittee vote could happen as soon as next week. We need to generate lots of calls and show citizen support to the delegates. Here's what you and your members can do:

1. Go to www.CleanPrinceGeorges.com to learn more and sign up for updates.
2. Go to www.mdelect.net and look up your state legislators. Call them and say you support the bag fee (both county and statewide) and you hope they do too.
3. Help us phone bank. The first event will be Monday, January 21 from 5 to 7 pm. You may be able to contribute from home. We need 5 volunteers for this.
4. Help us collect signatures from county residents. These events are every Saturday morning.
5. Meet with your legislator. I can help you set this up. You can also come to the Environmental Summit on January 29 from 4:30-6, in Annapolis. More info here.

Statewide bag fee and bottle deposit:
These bills haven't been introduced yet but we still need to show strong citizen support. Here's how you and your members can help:

1. Go to Recycle for Real to learn more about the bottle bill and sign up for updates.
2. Go to www.mdelect.net and look up your state legislators. Call them and say you support the bag fee and bottle deposit and you hope they do too.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Describe how litter affects you. I have a tip sheet ready if you need it.
4. Meet with your legislator. I can help you set this up. You can also come to the Environmental Summit on January 29 from 4:30-6, in Annapolis. More info here.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information. I have fact sheets and petitions ready to go and can print copies for you. I am also available to present at community meetings.

Also, please let me know if your group is interested in joining the Trash Free Maryland Alliance and/or signing on to the Clean Prince George's coalition. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for your great work improving our communities!

A Clean Prince George's Is in the Bag

Riding my bike to work last week I was struck by the huge volume of trash scattered on the banks of the Northwest Branch near the West Hyattsville Metro station. As usual, it was mostly plastic--bags, takeout containers, foam cups. A 2008 study of trash in the Anacostia River found that three-quarters of it was related to food convenience, all the stuff that we use once and throw away because we are eating on the run.

Of course this trash (generally) isn't thrown directly into the water. It gets tossed out of a car window, or dropped on the sidewalk, or even just blows out of an overflowing trash can. We know a fair amount now about why some people litter but the real answer to cleaning up our community is to motivate people to use less to begin with.

Washington, DC, and Montgomery County have had great success in reducing litter by charging 5 cents on disposable bags. Just that little nickel reminds people to get their reusable bags out of their car before shopping, or to refuse a bag for a small purchase. Businesses save a lot of money when we all use fewer "free" bags. At the same time, people who do use disposable bags are putting their money toward litter cleanup and stream restoration, creating jobs and beautifying our neighborhoods.

Prince George's County deserves the same benefits. The Maryland General Assembly will be considering PG 401-13 this winter, to give the County Council the authority to create a disposable bag reduction program. Your delegates in Annapolis need to hear from you!

Click here to find your delegates' phone numbers, and then take two minutes and call of each of them to tell them you support PG 401-13.

Crossposted from Clean Prince George's.

Logic as flimsy as a cheap plastic bag

Right-wing think tank Beacon Hill Institute is out with an update to their 2011 report on the DC bag fee. Last year I opted not to respond to their "study" because it seemed so flawed that surely no one would take it seriously. Unfortunately it came up several times during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions, so we need to go on record this time about the new misinformation they are circulating.

Patrick Gleason of Americans for Tax Reform, the organization that funded the BHI study, published an op-ed on National Review Online yesterday that takes BHI's already flawed study and adds a whole new layer of bad logic. DCist posted an excellent rebuttal to Gleason's op-ed, so rather than be redundant here, I'm just going to add a few additional points.

Gleason contends that the fee failed because it both didn't raise the revenue projected nor has it reduced bag use as much as it could. Of course if disposable bag use dropped 80 to 90 percent or more, almost no one would be paying the fee and thus almost no money would go toward the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund. And that was the design all along! While the CFO initially projected the bag fee would raise $3.6 million in 2010, that projection assumed that people would be slow to adopt the practice of refusing disposable bags. They weren't. Bag use reductions of 60 percent or more were reported by stores within two weeks of the fee taking effect. That's reason to celebrate.

Ultimately we don't want anyone using disposable bags. That means the fund would be empty--which is why the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act also established a speciality license plate and a donation option on income tax forms, so that there would still be revenue streams to fund restoration projects. But the real impact of the fee isn't the Cleanup Fund at all--it's the lack of bags escaping into the environment and polluting our rivers, streams, and neighborhoods. These bags cost the District millions of dollars a year in cleanup and disposal cost--far more than the $2 million the bag fee generates. They also create blight and contribute to the Broken Window Theory--litter begets more litter, neglect, and even crime.

As far as BHI's claim that the bag fee is killing jobs, it's actually creating them. To see more about how the Cleanup Fund is being used, watch this video from the District Department of the Environment:

Is installing trash traps and rain barrels, planting trees, and teaching kids about how littering is wrong, "corrupt" and "a cash grab"?

Gleason laments that bag use has only declined 67 percent. Honestly, that's higher than the number I use, 60 percent, which comes from a combination of anecdotal reports, cleanup data from the Alice Ferguson Foundation (AFF) and Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS), and a 2010 business survey conducted by AFF. He refers to an "80 percent drop expected by bag-tax proponents." We never set expectations; the legislation's fiscal impact statement suggested a 50-percent drop by the end of 2010 and a 90-percent drop by the end of 2014. The sometimes-reported 80-percent drop comes from the fees collected in January 2010, $150,000, which implies that District shoppers went from using 22.5 million bags per month based on 2009 usage estimates to 3 million bags per month. But the numbers don't really work that way, since not all businesses report their tax and fee collections monthly, they are actually remitting only 3-4 cents per bag distributed, and certainly compliance wasn't great in the early weeks. Hopefully we will get to 80 percent as businesses better understand the law and comply with it more broadly.

And it is in businesses' best interest to comply. That 2010 AFF survey showed that 78 percent of businesses--of all sizes--experienced either no impact or a positive impact since the fee took effect. Only 12 percent expressed any negative feeling toward it. What do businesses like about it? Mostly, they save a whole lot of money. Shoppers may think of those bags as "free," but the stores have to buy them. They are one of the largest expenses in the retailer's overhead, behind rent, payroll, and utilities. If 75 percent of shoppers are using fewer of them, that's a lot of money the stores can put back into employee salaries and benefits.

(Remember that you can report a business for violating the disposable bag law on DDOE's website or by calling 202-407-1277! First they receive a warning and education about the law; they are only fined on the second offense.)

As to the BHI claim that District residents are leaving the city to shop to avoid the fee, Safeway is on record as saying that they have seen no evidence of that. No business reported lower sales in the 2010 survey, either. And if people are willing to pay for gas or transit fare only to go to Prince George's County or Virginia--which charges sales tax on groceries--then I question their logic and math skills.

Gleason himself says in his author's note that he avoids the bag fee at all costs. That's exactly what we were going for. Don't pay it--don't use disposable bags! Or as DDOE so succinctly says, Skip the Bag, Save the River.

Maryland General Assembly Trash Roundup

By now you've probably heard that the Community Cleanup & Greening Act did not pass in the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly. We fought hard and had some successes along the way, but given the heavy load of challenging legislation in this session, we couldn't quite float to the top. Thanks so much to all the activists and organizations that spoke out in support and contributed to the effort, and tremendous thanks to our dedicated sponsors, Delegate Mary Washington and Senator Brian Frosh.

But there were several bills related to litter, and of interest to our members, in this session. How did we do there?

- Prince George's County bag fee: Unfortunately, after successfully getting through the County delegation, the bill to give Prince George's County the power to establish its own bag fee failed in the House Environmental Matters Committee. I examined the path that proposal took on Greater Greater Washington back in March. The County now faces the choice of trying a third time in the General Assembly, taking the five-cent fee to the ballot, or looking at other methods to reduce bag use and litter. We're in those conversations and will keep you posted.

- Bottle bill: HB1115/SB875 sought to require the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to produce a concept for a container deposit system and present it to the General Assembly and the Governor for consideration. This would be a first step in creating a "bottle bill" as exists in 10 US states and Guam (as well as numerous countries). These systems increase container recycling rates from a typical 25 percent to 75 percent or more, dramatically reducing litter. Unfortunately this bill failed to receive a vote in committee in either the House or Senate.

- Plastic bag recycling: Delegate Stephen Lafferty and Senator Joan Carter Conway sponsored industry-supported bills to push for a recycling solution to bag litter, by requiring bag manufacturers to register with MDE and implement a recycling program (extended producer responsibility), as well as require retailers to offer bag take-back recycling programs for shoppers. While the proposals passed the Senate, they did not receive a committee vote in the House. I wrote about these proposals during session, and how they were a poor substitute for real, impactful litter-reduction legislation, so this failure is good news for trash-free advocates!

Early numbers are in from Montgomery County

Montgomery County's bag fee earned $154,000 for the county's Water Quality Improvement Fund in January. This figure is based on tax receipts from many county retailers, and is the remainder after the retailers kept their portion (one cent from every five).

But what does this number really mean? At this point, not much. One month is nowhere near enough time to measure behavior change; there is a learning curve for shoppers and businesses. Not all businesses have even submitted tax receipts yet because their collections haven't reached the required threshold. It's just too early. Washington, DC, never intended to scientifically measure the before-and-after until two years in--that study will occur later this year.

In the meantime, we can compare it to early results in DC and make some hypotheses, as the laws are quite similar. In January 2010, the DC bag fee generated $150,000 for the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund--approximately the same amount. But Montgomery County's population is more than 50% larger than DC's, approximately 970,000 residents to DC's 600,000. Granted, the daytime (employee) population is higher than the resident population in DC, but generally speaking we can interpolate that fewer plastic bags were used per capita in Montgomery County in January 2012 than were used in DC in January 2010.

We know in DC that 75% of residents ultimately say they have changed their behavior and use fewer plastic bags. The quick adoption of reusable bags meant that the fee did not generate as much revenue as was originally expected--less than $2 million the first year compared to the expected $3.5 million. This is a success, because it meant more people used reusable bags, having a greater impact on litter reduction and waste.

Montgomery County subsequently scaled back their revenue expectations even further, estimating only $1.2 million in revenue the first year. They expected that behavior would change even more quickly since people are already familiar with the program in DC. Since we also expect monthly revenues to decline over time, this first month's amount is on track with the estimate and shows that Montgomery County consumers are indeed beginning to make the switch from single-use disposable to reusing--or even refusing--bags when shopping.

Prince George's County one big step closer to a bag fee

This morning delegates that represent Prince George's County in the Maryland General Assembly voted 12-9 in support of HB895, which would give the County the authority to enact a five-cent fee on disposable plastic and paper bags. The bill now moves to the Environmental Matters Committee of the House, and then to the floor of the full House of Delegates. In considering local bills like this one, though, those committee and floor votes are for the most part a formality, as the current legislature prefers to support the counties' wishes.

The County's senators must also support the bill, but it passed easily last session and no senators are known to have changed their position.

This vote has been the biggest hurdle in the process so far. Opponents of the bill--namely the manufacturers of plastic bags--have paid a fortune in public affairs and outreach expenses, with thousands of robocalls misleading citizens and flooding delegate offices. The County Affairs subcommittee was unable to reach constitutional majority on either a favorable or unfavorable recommendation (and even on "no recommendation"), but after three such votes it was eligible to move up to the full delegation anyway.

The bill's supporters withstood the pressure and protected home rule, allowing the County Council to now take up the bag fee this fall. The authority will take effect in October. The Council voted 8-0, with one abstention, last month to support this measure. Should the statewide bag fee bill also pass, the Council will have six months to pass the county's program in order to be exempt from the statewide system.

The supporting delegates were sponsor Barbara Frush, Ben Barnes, Dereck Davis, Tawanna Gaines, Anne Healey, James Hubbard, Jolene Ivey, Doyle Neimann, Joseline Pena-Melnyk, Justin Ross, Michael Summers, and Kris Valderrama. Delegate Ivey attended despite being on bereavement leave following the death of her father last week.

Join us for Lobby Night!

Want to get directly involved in educating lawmakers about litter, and how they can help stop it at the source? Join us for the Trash Free Maryland Lobby Night on Monday, February 27! We'll set up meetings for you and give you the training you need to visit your representatives and have your moment in the sun.

We'll convene for training in the Miller Senate Building (11 Bladen Street, Annapolis) from 5 pm until whenever you can stay. To sign up for the event, fill out the form here, and we'll be in touch!

If you can't make it on Monday, you'll have additional chances on March 5 and March 12. Fill out the same form and make a note where appropriate.

Introducing the Community Cleanup and Greening Act of 2012

Last Thursday Delegate Mary Washington (D-District 43, Baltimore City) introduced the Community Cleanup and Greening Act in the House of Delegates of the Maryland General Assembly. Senator Brian Frosh (D-District 16, Montgomery County) introduced the same bill in the Senate on February 2.

The Community Cleanup and Greening Act aims to reduce litter in Maryland's neighborhoods and environment by imposing a five-cent fee on disposable plastic and paper bags. One to two cents stays with the retailer. The remaining proceeds will be split three ways: to purchase and distribute free reusable bags to low-income and elderly residents; for counties to apply to water quality improvement projects; and for the Chesapeake Bay Trust to administer as environmental restoration grants.

"A bag fee can have a substantial impact on litter, because it encourages shoppers to use reusable bags," said Julie Lawson, Organizer of the Trash Free Maryland Alliance. "If the program never collects a nickel, because everyone switches to reusables, we will have achieved our goal."

The legislation is modeled on successful programs in place in Washington, DC and Montgomery County. In the two years since the implementation of the Anacostia River Cleanup & Protection Act, 75 percent of DC residents say they have reduced their use of plastic bags, leading to reduced costs for retailers and fewer bags picked up at river cleanup events. Proceeds of the fee have been used as grants for green businesses and nonprofit organizations working to restore the Anacostia River, as well as for distributing thousands of reusable bags to those in need.

"There is no such thing as a free bag," said Laurie Schwartz, Executive Director of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. "Retailers could see significant cost savings as they will not have to buy as many bags to then give away. Even a small mom-and-pop shop might save over $1,000 a year."

"Litter brings down the quality of life for residents," added Halle Van der Gaag, Executive Director of Blue Water Baltimore. "It is not only visually ugly but contaminates our waterways. Baltimore City spends more than $10 million each year to clean it up, so preventing it in the first place is more sustainable in the long-term."

The Community Cleanup & Greening Act, SB511, will be heard by the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee on February 28. The hearing on HB1247 has not yet been scheduled.

More on the Prince George's campaign

I told you there would be more. Greater Greater Washington ran this article of mine on Friday, laying out the whole scenario. Please read, and leave a comment! If you want to put more skin in the game, and have some time on Monday, please send me an email. We are actively working on outreach to supporters and need your time and energy.