Grocery Bag Taxes and Bans - An Effective Means To Reduce Waste

[sandynva]

I use a paper shopping bag inside a plastic one to line my kitchen trash bin. The plastic keeps the wet garbage from soaking and ripping the paper bag. I also use plastic shopping bags for animal waste cleanup from my dog and cat and for lining small wastebaskets and...and...and. I will just have to buy other plastic bags to replace the ones that I already recycle, if I no longer get them at the store with my groceries.

i bet your friends would be delighted to give you their extras. i use my plastic bags for trash too, but i had so many extra (i guess i don't have that much trash!) i've been delighted to give them to my friend with multiple dogs. i've been trying to carry bags around/just put things in my purse w/o a bag when i get one or two things from cvs, so i'm not accumulating the bags as fast as I used to, but i bet i'll still have way more than i can use, and many of your friends will be in the same boat.

[synaesthesia]

At the old corner store I used to go to, they insisted beer or wine had to be put into a bag and couldn't go directly into a backpack. They said it was DC law that it had to be put in an opaque bag by a store employee at the time of purchase. Whether that really was the case or the law has changed, I don't know. (The store has changed ownership and I rarely go there any more anyway.) Does anyone know if that is the law in DC?

I haven't had that issue. Whenever I go to Rodman's they let me carry out my sixers. Then again maybe they also think that I drove there?

[Pat]

I haven't had that issue. Whenever I go to Rodman's they let me carry out my sixers. Then again maybe they also think that I drove there?

I haven't had employees at any other stores tell me that, which is why I was wondering. At other places I would just have them put it in a bag and then put it in my backpack, since I thought that was the law. Over time, though, I just started saying I could put it straight into my backpack and haven't had any problem. I'm wondering now if the people at that store were especially careful because it was owned by an ex-cop.

[Tweaked]

I was buying a sixer of beer at a corner store on the Hill, two blocks from my apartment, so usually I just walk it home sans bag. Then one purchase they insisted that they bag it and when I said no need the store owner responded that it was the law. Apparently the day before someone had walked out of their store carrying a bagless sixer and a cop saw it. The cop went into the store to inform them that alcohol needs to be bagged. Then again I have also thrown sixer or bottles of wine into my backpack and no one cares.

[Pool Boy]

I use a paper shopping bag inside a plastic one to line my kitchen trash bin. The plastic keeps the wet garbage from soaking and ripping the paper bag. I also use plastic shopping bags for animal waste cleanup from my dog and cat and for lining small wastebaskets and...and...and. I will just have to buy other plastic bags to replace the ones that I already recycle, if I no longer get them at the store with my groceries.

I do use the bags for cat litter cleaning duties, too. But, if a tax were imposed of 5 cents, 10 cents whatever, it'd probably be cheaper for me to purchase small bags for this purpose (or find some other way to deal with it -- maybe get a sturdy closeable plastic bin I can take to dump in the trash can?).

If anyone really has a problem with this tax, use reusable bags. Simple.

[Pat]

I was buying a sixer of beer at a corner store on the Hill, two blocks from my apartment, so usually I just walk it home sans bag. Then one purchase they insisted that they bag it and when I said no need the store owner responded that it was the law. Apparently the day before someone had walked out of their store carrying a bagless sixer and a cop saw it. The cop went into the store to inform them that alcohol needs to be bagged. Then again I have also thrown sixer or bottles of wine into my backpack and no one cares.

This is making me think this store was so strict because it was owned by a retired cop and other cops (retired and otherwise) worked and hung out there. Interesting. Even if I had said I was putting it straight into my backpack, it could have caused a problem for them if I removed my purchase as soon as I went outside, was spotted by a cop, and there was no bag from the store. Presumably, stores will be accepting of people putting alcohol into their own bags if there's a law on the books to discourage people from getting bags from stores.

[goodeats]

Starting January 1, 2010, you will be charged 5 cents for each every paper or plastic bag used in the District.

WTOP reports that a number of stores will be giving away reusable bag on Friday - recommend people go, I guess.

More info on this new tax, urm, green incentive here.**

**Although some of the funds goes to the Anacostia river protection, I feel like this is a bit of a penalty for forgetful people like me. Guess it's time to keep some bags in the car....

[Waitman]

I've already weighed in on this particular bit of self-righteous posturing.

[mame11]

**Although some of the funds goes to the Anacostia river protection, I feel like this is a bit of a penalty for forgetful people like me. Guess it's time to keep some bags in the car....

Thanks for the reminder GE... I saw on my twitter feed that Bread for the City is collecting reusuable bags to give to their clients. To me, the penalty is a regressive tax on poor people who may not have extra bags available, or may not have a car to leave them in. A more equitable way to implement the rule would have been the way WF does it.... have a bag? save $.05

Just my $.02

[Poivrot Farci]

the penalty is a regressive tax on poor people who may not have extra bags available....

The poorest of the poor often have a formidable collection of bags and given the premium, necessity and resourcefulness will ensure that the disenfranchised will be more aware of such a potentially debilitating commodity than those who don't give it a second thought.

[hm212]

The poorest of the poor often have a formidable collection of bags and given the premium, necessity and resourcefulness will ensure that the disenfranchised will be more aware of such a potentially debilitating commodity than those who don't give it a second thought.

That is probably true - I know many times I just run in for a couple of things and don't even think about carrying in a bag. Most of us will probably just roll our eyes at the extra quarter or so.

[Pat]

The more I read about this, the more confused I get. Apparently, it applies to every place that sells food at all. I had thought it was grocery stores/corner stores/liquor stores, but it also applies to carryout restaurant food and even to purchases in department stores.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/green/DC-Bag-Fee-Basics-80996917.html

[leleboo]

It's definitely not completely straightforward, particularly to those who don't have the resources to be fully informed and/or to bring their own bags.

Harris Teeter has been giving out free (branded) reusable totes with any $20 purchase. I don't know if that promotion is still on, but it's a good way to stock up on grocery totes if you need them.

[Rhone1998]

The more I read about this, the more confused I get. Apparently, it applies to every place that sells food at all. I had thought it was grocery stores/corner stores/liquor stores, but it also applies to carryout restaurant food and even to purchases in department stores.

Harris Teeter has been giving out free (branded) reusable totes with any $20 purchase. I don't know if that promotion is still on, but it's a good way to stock up on grocery totes if you need them.

In the last hour I've been to Harris Teeter and have gotten carry out restaurant food. HT is still offering the totes, and interestingly enough the restaurant did not charge me any tax on the plastic bag they gave me with my food.

[Mark Slater]

Trader Joe's is still giving away free re-cycled bags. I also got a 5¢ "bag credit" off my receipt.

[Anna Blume]

Trader Joe's is still giving away free re-cycled bags. I also got a 5¢ "bag credit" off my receipt.

This is pretty new, right?

Whole Foods was the first to use this particular incentive, as far as I recall, followed by Giant.

Trader Joe's used to invite bag-bearing shoppers to fill out a form for a weekly drawing; the winner got either a free bag of groceries, or more recently, something like $25's worth (??).

Safeway is stingiest. Brand-new policy: if you bring your own bag, you start to accumulate points towards a discount on store-brand "green" products.

Montgomery County is moving toward the 5-cent charge, too. My only gripe is that I rely on give-away bags to line the trash can in the kitchen which I need to empty on daily basis. ( Won't the lower use of free plastic bags increase the purchase of plastic garbage bags? Ergo keep landfills full of plastic?)

I don't see the point of spending money on small trash bags and as green as I like to think I am, I am reluctant to spend even more on biodegradable garbage bags made from the inedible parts of corn, especially since these probably come from Monsanto's seeds or at any rate, federally subsidized fields in North Dakota whose farmers then use the profits to open environmentally-friendly restaurants in Washington, D.C. as self-promoting, lobbying efforts to keep those subsidies intact.

[Pool Boy]

One of the things that taxes on things plastic will help (like plastic bags...) is helping keep the plastic soup in the Pacific Ocean from getting larger. Linky

I do think it is strange that the DC tax does not affect *all* plastic bags and just those where one can purchase food in any form...

[Pat]

I do think it is strange that the DC tax does not affect *all* plastic bags and just those where one can purchase food in any form...

I've read explanations, but I still don't quite get why they're charging the fee on paper bags too (except for restaurant doggy bags).

[dcs]

I've read explanations, but I still don't quite get why they're charging the fee on paper bags too (except for restaurant doggy bags).

click

•In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans.

•Only 10 to 15 percent of paper bags and 1 to 3 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

•Paper bags take up more than twice the landfill space than plastic varietals do. Also, their greater weight and volume requires more trucks and gasoline for hauling than plastic.

•Tree regrowth cannot keep up with the current logging rate.

•It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.

•Paper sacks generate 70% more air pollutants than plastic bags.

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more

[Pat]

As I said, I've read number of explanations, but the ostensible reason for this legislation was to keep the waterways clear of plastic. I realize that they don't want to push people from plastic to sole use of paper bags for a variety of reasons, but it's not paper bags clogging the river.

I am one of the apparent minority percentage of people who reuses my bags, paper and plastic, and this is going to (as AB said), require me to buy paper and plastic bags to compensate for not getting them with purchases at the grocery store. Paper has been largely phased out already, so those are harder to get anyway, but that's what I keep recycling in until it goes out for pickup. They get reused until the bottoms fall out. What do people scoop the daily contents of the litter box into if not old plastic Safeway bags?

And what of plastic bags used for newspaper delivery? When will they be eliminated? Most of the time, they are unnecessary. Since they don't usually keep our paper from getting wet, it probably doesn't matter if they use them or not.

Since I do most of my grocery shopping in Virginia anyway, I guess I will continue, though they're likely going to do the same thing. I'll just start stockpiling bags. At least they don't take up much room.

[dcs]

As I said, I've read number of explanations, but the ostensible reason for this legislation was to keep the waterways clear of plastic. I realize that they don't want to push people from plastic to sole use of paper bags for a variety of reasons, but it's not paper bags clogging the river.

Actually, further digging reveals a financial motivation by environmentalists and shop owners to increase the base upon which the tax is applied.

The end result was the "Anacostia River Cleanup & Protection Act." Environmentalists are happy because 4 cents of every nickel charged goes to buy reuseable bags and clean the Anacostia, a nasty brown soup of pollution and neglect separating some of the city's poorest neighborhoods from tourist hot spots. Businesses went along because the council agreed to tax both plastic and paper -- more eco-friendly yet two to three times more expensive -- and give them that last 1 cent per bag to help cover administrative costs.

[laniloa]

I've carried my own bags for years and have managed enough coastal cleanups to believe that the potential benefit is worth it. Where I think it will run into problems is with takeout food. I accept the risk of having to wash my bag after carrying takeout because sauces may leak but I'm not keen on the possibility of transfer to clothing or Metro seats. However, I am more than willing to pay the 5 cents for a bag when purchasing takeout - one way or another I'm going to have to deal with the true cost of using the plastic bag. Might as well spread out the payment.

[Pool Boy]

click

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more

Thanks for sharing the links. All of this points to the fact that everyone ought to be using re-usable bags as much as is practical.

[Pool Boy]

...I am one of the apparent minority percentage of people who reuses my bags, paper and plastic, and this is going to (as AB said), require me to buy paper and plastic bags to compensate for not getting them with purchases at the grocery store. Paper has been largely phased out already, so those are harder to get anyway, but that's what I keep recycling in until it goes out for pickup. They get reused until the bottoms fall out. What do people scoop the daily contents of the litter box into if not old plastic Safeway bags?

And what of plastic bags used for newspaper delivery? When will they be eliminated? Most of the time, they are unnecessary. Since they don't usually keep our paper from getting wet, it probably doesn't matter if they use them or not....

I reuse my bags as well, the grocery store variety. Most I used them for collecting recycling and cat litter. But I no longer need to 'bag' my recycling as collection in PG County does single stream processing whee it is best if everything is *not* bagged. So I have been slowly curtailing this. I am also considering getting a plastic tub or bin to scoop cat little in to that I can then carry out to my 'main' trash can in the garage, eliminating the need for the plastic baggie go-between. And newspaper bags, if not used, would still require something to 'bundel-ize' them in to something the delivery personnel can toss out of a car at a high rate of speed with at least some vague accuracy. So rubber band or plastic bag...

[Pat]

I reuse my bags as well, the grocery store variety. Most I used them for collecting recycling and cat litter. But I no longer need to 'bag' my recycling as collection in PG County does single stream processing whee it is best if everything is *not* bagged. So I have been slowly curtailing this. I am also considering getting a plastic tub or bin to scoop cat little in to that I can then carry out to my 'main' trash can in the garage, eliminating the need for the plastic baggie go-between. And newspaper bags, if not used, would still require something to 'bundel-ize' them in to something the delivery personnel can toss out of a car at a high rate of speed with at least some vague accuracy. So rubber band or plastic bag...

Our recycling goes directly into the recycling trash can, but I keep it in paper inside because, if it goes directly into the plastic trash can we have to hold recyclables inside, the bin needs to be cleaned rather frequently. I also find it harder to carry a full plastic trash receptacle outside to the recycling can than a paper bag with handles. Once the paper bag is pretty well demolished from re-use, it can also go into the recycle can.

The newspaper thing I imagine will be resolved soon enough by the disappearance of print newspapers, but those plastic bags are the ones we have the least use for in terms of reuse, so they usually go straight into recycling every day. On the other hand, I can always use rubber bands

If I weren't so sensitive to the campaign shaming people out of getting bags at the store, it might not be such a problem. My husband, who rarely does any of the grocery shopping, just shrugs his shoulders and says, so what, I'll pay 5 cents for a bag. But I've been using the reusable bags for quite a while now and feel like I'm doing something wrong if I don't have my own bags at the store. The last time I got to a grocery store and realized I'd left them in the car, I opted not to go back out for them in the freezing weather. Then I felt self-conscious for using store bags. That was in VA, though, so it just meant I didn't get my 5 cents per bag discount, rather than having to pay out 5 cents. I periodically get store bags just to make sure I have a supply for other purposes, but then I feel bad for doing that.

[goodeats]

I just went to Whole Foods DC and noticed on my receipt there is no longer a bag refund. Has anyone else encountered this too? I am just wondering.

[Pat]

Small fee but big impact

[DameEdna]

The rules, by way of Liz Crenshaw, as I understand (misunderstand) them: If a carry-out place has no place to sit down, no bag tax. If they have a dining area,they have to charge for the bag.

I expect to hear that DC has hired two dozen people for the Anacostia Clean-up Office, but the expected money for programs didn't appear, because people changed their shopping habits. Much wailing about how the program was ruined by the meanness of DC consumers.

I want this program to work, really I do. Keep hope alive.

[Pat]

When the bag "fee" first when into effect, I was at Marvelous Market one day buying a loaf of bread and asked if they were charging for bags. The man said that they were not and explained why. This morning, after not having been back to the store since then, I went to buy a loaf of bread. The woman grabbed the bread, put it right into a paper bag, took my money and gave me change. Quick efficient transaction. I dropped the bag into my open backpack. She walked away.

Ah, then I notice that they now have a little sign saying they charge for bags. I wonder if she charged me, as she didn't give me a receipt. I read the upside down register receipt still attached to the register and, sure enough, she charged me for the bag. There I am standing there, with a backpack (with two empty plastic bags inside), and she just auto-charged me the fee without my even having time to react.

If I'm going to be carrying bags around with me everywhere in the event I might be making a purchase, I would at least like to have the option of declining to buy the bag when I go to a store.

I didn't see the manager I usually talk to there, but I will be mentioning this next time I see her. Maybe by then I will be in a better mood.

[Waitman]

I just want to say that, several months into it, I still find this whole bag thing to be an annoying bit of bullshit grandstanding.

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.

[mame11]

To add to your comment, Waitman, let me say this:

in a city that has one of the highest rates of poverty (overshadowed by the relative wealth of many of its residents), the bag tax along with the "slight" increase in metro fares seems particularly regressive.

[Miami Danny]

To add to your comment, Waitman, let me say this:

in a city that has one of the highest rates of poverty (overshadowed by the relative wealth of many of its residents), the bag tax along with the "slight" increase in metro fares seems particularly regressive.

I also wondered about the timing of the bag tax, with the economy in the toilet, etc; and the reasoning behind charging for paper bags as well as plastic bags. I also agree that the reasoning behind the tax, that plastic bags end up in the Anacostia River, seems bizarre-does all my garbage end up in the river? Is that where the big blue truck takes it? But I've found that about half the time I shop with a reusable bag-so I get a five cent credit-and before the bag tax I never used a reusable bag. So not only has my behavior changed over a five-cent tax (weird), but I break even on the whole thing.

[Anna Blume]

I just went to Whole Foods DC and noticed on my receipt there is no longer a bag refund. Has anyone else encountered this too? I am just wondering.

Oversight. After an exchange of greetings, I usually say that I don't need any bags since I have my own. (On rare occasions, I mention the number of my own I will be using.)

On the other hand, I have never received the bag credit that Mark Slater gets at Trader Joe's.

[Anna Blume]

To add to your comment, Waitman, let me say this:

in a city that has one of the highest rates of poverty (overshadowed by the relative wealth of many of its residents), the bag tax along with the "slight" increase in metro fares seems particularly regressive.

Hmmm... Never looked at it this way. I take a whole lot of buses, including those whose destinations are to parts of Montgomery County where there are large immigrant communities. Even though there's no bag fee yet, many families carry groceries in re-used bags, including huge, inexpensive (plaid) plastic bags they purchased themselves. I wonder how much of this is due to habits developed in other countries. (In Italy, small mom & pop stores hand out free, flimsy plastic bags and supermarkets charge less than 50 cents for durable ones.)

For those who live in food deserts, or families who rely on public transportation to make special trips out to warehouse/supermarkets, the loss of paper transfers last year was the hardest blow; if they do not buy weekly bus passes (formerly $11, just increased to $12), trips can cost 500% more than they did with transfers.

[giant shrimp]

To add to your comment, Waitman, let me say this:

in a city that has one of the highest rates of poverty (overshadowed by the relative wealth of many of its residents), the bag tax along with the "slight" increase in metro fares seems particularly regressive.

not if you are shopping in whole foods, where the bag tax is nothing compared to the prices you are paying. a few weeks ago i paid almost $9 for collard greens (the recipe called for 1.5 pounds but i went over a few ounces because they were selling them in bundles, not by the pound. broccoli was in the $3 to $4 pound range. it used to cost $50 for the ingredients of a ham sandwich, now it costs $70.)

when the tax first took effect, i was buying a new plastic bag just about every time i approached the check-out counter, until i eventually realized that this was probably about as bad for the environment as anything. i have a cabinet full of them and they probably wouldn't be too good for the anacostia river if they somehow made their way there. how do the plastic bags get there in the first place? washed down sewers? what's the big deal about paying this small tax for a paper bag? the clerks are starting to calm down about it, but some still act like it's a big deal that you don't have your own bag.

i have noticed that they are using paper wine bags at whole foods much more sparingly, even though they are allowed to provide them under the law tax-free. as a result, i have had to endure clinking.

i guess my real point is that the price of food these days is far, far more regressive than this tax, whatever its purpose. prices have been going up and up, it seems to me, even while the economy has been going kerplunk. mainstream grocery stores specialize in aisles and aisles of junk food. there are ways out of this trap, if you know how to cook and you have the time and you are careful about what foods you buy. it used to be that shifting away from meat to vegetables was a good strategy, but not necessarily any more.

as for metro buses, the only thing they really have to do with this board is that you can't eat on them. however, the latest two designs are terrible, jerky, scrunching passengers in narrow seats, trapping them in the back. i would like to transfer to another bus system. however, compared to most big cities where i ride buses, their cost here is not that high.

[plunk]

i have noticed that they are using paper wine bags at whole foods much more sparingly, even though they are allowed to provide them under the law tax-free. as a result, i have had to endure clinking.

Trader Joe's in Foggy Bottom charged me for my paper wine bags. Selective (or simply wrong) application of this tax is another reason why I don't like it.

[legant]

they are allowed to provide them under the law tax-free.

Can you provide a citation for this? Yes, I would rather quote chapter and verse than pay the $0.05.

[Poivrot Farci]

There should be a support group for those who earn more than $40,000 but are burdened by an avoidable 5¢ tax that challenges wasteful consumerism in an effort to clean up a waterway in the nation’s capital, maybe giving any government environmental protection initiatives credibility –initiatives that are probably somehow linked to clean water and eventually ingredients/products that make up the fodder of this forum, let alone sound nutrition and fundamentally healthy food.

What are the crippling monthly financial impacts on the affluent and stubborn poor (and their partridge families) who detract from 5¢ Pavlovian conditioning and aren’t conscientious or resourceful enough to bring a bag with them on the way to the grocery store and pay nothing at all? Hopefully not more than is grudginly left as a modest tip despite humdrum food & service or drunkenly left at a bar.

[dcs]

i have noticed that they are using paper wine bags at whole foods much more sparingly, even though they are allowed to provide them under the law tax-free. as a result, i have had to endure clinking.

Trader Joe's in Foggy Bottom charged me for my paper wine bags. Selective (or simply wrong) application of this tax is another reason why I don't like it.

Can you provide a citation for this? Yes, I would rather quote chapter and verse than pay the $0.05.

Not all wine bags may be provided tax free. In the DC Code, the definition of "disposable carryout bag" at § 8-102.01 excludes "ags provided to the consumer, as required by § 25-113(b )(5)(C ), for the purpose of transporting a partially consumed bottle of wine." There is no general execption for paper bags for wine bottles or other alcoholic beverages as best I can tell. It is the "disposable carryout bag" that carries the $.05 fee per § 8-102.03.

I recommend that you start drinking the wine before you check out at the grocery store to avoid the tax. Plus, it makes food shopping all the more fun.

[giant shrimp]

Can you provide a citation for this? Yes, I would rather quote chapter and verse than pay the $0.05.

i don't have a citation. read it a few weeks ago in a washington post story on dc clarifying provisions of the new tax. (and i haven't been able to locate that story by googling it.) bags used to contain food items in the store, i.e., the little bags going into the bags that carry the food away, usually plastic in most places, are not subject to the tax. -- or something to that effect. i guess more clarification is needed and i'm not sure of the clarification provided above.

the wine bags i'm talking about simply wrap the bottles so they don't crash into each other in a larger bag -- or maybe to insulate bottles that have been refrigerated or cooled down so you can start drinking them in the store. (do they still have those?) i know i have been charged the tax at cork, for a big bag, but not sure if it is applied to the four-bottle carrier they provide.

i know i have not been charged the tax at whole foods lately. early on, they stopped providing the paper wine bags period, so the tax was not an issue.

worst case scenario: you are charged a nickel on a $10, $20, $30 bottle of wine if it's individually wrapped in a small paper bag. i can live with that. i've got far bigger fish to fry, and if you are looking for trouble, they are easy to find.

[dcs]

Here is the complete text of § 8-102.01:

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term:

(1) "Disposable carryout bag" means a bag of any material, commonly plastic or kraft paper, which is provided to a consumer at the point of sale to carry purchases. The term "disposable carryout bag" shall not include:

(A) Bags used by consumers inside stores to:

(i) Package bulk items, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy, or small hardware items;

(ii) Contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether prepackaged or not;

(iii) Contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where dampness may be a problem; and

(iv) Contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods;

(B ) Bags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription drugs;

(C ) Newspaper bags, door-hanger bags, laundry-dry cleaning bags, or bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as garbage, pet waste, or yard waste bags;

(D) Paper carryout bags that restaurants, as defined in § 47-2827(e)(2), provide to customers to take food away from the retail establishment;

(E) Reusable carryout bags; or

(F) Bags provided to the consumer, as required by § 25-113(b )(5)(C ), for the purpose of transporting a partially consumed bottle of wine.

(2) "Fund" means the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund established by § 8-102.05(a).

(3) "Retail establishment" means any licensee under a Public Health: Food Establishment Retail endorsement to a basic business license under Chapter 28 of Title 47 or under an off-premises retailer's license, class A or B, pursuant to § 25-112.

(4) "Reusable carryout bag" means a bag with handles that is specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and is made of cloth, fiber, other machine washable fabric, or durable plastic that is at least 2.25 millimeters thick.

CREDIT(S)

(Sept. 23, 2009, D.C. Law 18-55, § 2, 56 DCR 5703.)

I do not see any exclusion in here for a bag of any size used to cover a wine bottle to avoid clinking or to maintain a chill.

[Pat]

(iv) Contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods;

I think this was the section the original Marvelous Market employee referred to when he said that they didn't have to charge for the bag. So, why are they charging now? (Rhetorical question. I still haven't talked to the manager.) I keep plastic bags in my backpack in case I get items that I don't want to put uncovered, directly in the backpack for whatever reason.

The only way I see bags used for individual bottles (wine, olive oil, etc.) being exempt is if those count as bulk items.

This would annoy me less if this law were applied more consistently. This is like the old zone cab system, where you have to know the system well enough not to get overcharged and still get overcharged sometimes anyway.

[giant shrimp]

Here is the complete text of § 8-102.01:

(1) "Disposable carryout bag" means a bag of any material, commonly plastic or kraft paper, which is provided to a consumer at the point of sale to carry purchases.

I do not see any exclusion in here for a bag of any size used to cover a wine bottle to avoid clinking or to maintain a chill.

maybe it is not specifically listed under the exceptions, but i don't believe a bag that is wrapping a product meets the definition of a disposable carryout bag; the purpose of the wine bag is not to carry purchases.

[dcs]

maybe it is not specifically listed under the exceptions, but i don't believe a bag that is wrapping a product meets the definition of a disposable carryout bag; the purpose of the wine bag is not to carry purchases.

This may indeed be correct. At one well-known liquor store earlier today I was charged $.05 for the bag for my entire purchase but not for the bag into which was placed the vermouth to keep it separate from the gin. Don't worry, however, there will plenty of tme for those two to get to know each other later this evening.

[legant]

I was told yesterday that, since I didn't have my own bag, I had to buy one for the wine I purchased. This was the first time I had been "forced" to buy a bag -- told it was DC law -- when I was quite comfortable carrying my liquor down the street. Besides, I've seen many beer six- twelve- or 24-packs being carried... in the open on the DC streets. I'm okay about it if I choose to buy a bag, but to not offer me the choice?

[The Hersch]

This was the first time I had been "forced" to buy a bag -- told it was DC law

I thought that too: Packaged liquor, wine, and beer have to be in bags or boxes to carry on the street. At a wine and spirits merchant today, though, the cashier asked the customer ahead of me "you want a bag?" and he said No, and picked up the five or six bottles of wine and spirits he'd just bought and walked out of the store with them in his hands. Good luck trying to find an answer to this burning question on DC's stupefyingly awful web site (where lately it seems most links are broken).

[Mark Slater]

What's the real deal here? Is it the principle or the 5 pennies?

[dcs]

What's the real deal here? Is it the principle or the 5 pennies?

In my case, it's just boredom.

[Poivrot Farci]

What's the real deal here? Is it the principle or the 5 pennies?

Chronic white whine, like the insufferable burden of higher insurance premiums for sports cars. Paying 5.75% sales tax ($1.40 on a $25 bottle of wine –equivalent to 28 bags) is OK, but the additional 5¢ ( 0.2% of that bottle of wine) is unbearable, particularly when the aim is to clean up a filthy watershed in a crappy part of town that is generally avoided by anyone with good enough sense and income to enjoy wine.

[Mrs. B]

particularly when the aim is to clean up a filthy watershed in a crappy part of town that is generally avoided by anyone with good enough sense and income to enjoy wine.

My daughter's crew team practices on the Anacostia, it would be nice to have it cleaned up.

I still hate the stupid tax because in the summertime I generally don't have any place to put the bags when I go shopping, they are uncomfortable to carry.