Mayor Nickels Applauds Council’s Passage of
Green Fee on Shopping Bags, Ban on Foam
Nickels: The answer to the question ‘paper or plastic’ is neither

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels applauded the City Council today for passing a 20-cent “green fee” on all disposable shopping bags at the city’s grocery, drug and convenience stores, effective Jan. 1, 2009.  The plan also calls for a ban on foam food containers.

“The answer to the question ‘paper or plastic’ has officially become ‘neither,’” said Nickels.  “The best way to reduce waste is not to create it, and today, we have made that a little easier in Seattle.”

Seattle Public Utilities estimates 360 million disposable bags are used in the city every year, most made of plastic.  The green fee is intended to encourage and promote the use of reusable shopping bags. The city will distribute these bags and promote their advantages to every household in Seattle, with additional bags going to low-income families. Retailers will keep 5-cents of every disposable bag sold to cover administrative costs. Retailers grossing less than $1 million annually will keep the entire 20-cent fee.

Charging a fee for disposable bags will cut the number of throw-away bags coming out of grocery, drug and convenience stores by an estimated 70 percent or more, according to the city’s analysis, and will reduce the use of disposable shopping bags in Seattle overall by more than 50 percent. By preventing the manufacture of 184 million bags a year, Seattle will cut greenhouse gas production by 4,000 tons per year, equivalent to taking 665 cars off the road.  A similar fee in Ireland achieved a 90 percent reduction in use from 325 to 23 bags per person per year.

The proposed ban on foam containers used by the food service industry would include such items as plates, trays, “clamshells” and hot and cold beverage cups used at restaurants, delicatessens, fast food outlets and coffee shops, and egg cartons used at grocery stores. The legislation would also require that by July 1, 2010, all food service businesses currently using disposable plastic or plastic-coated paper products convert to packaging that is compostable or locally recyclable, including meat trays used at grocery stores.

To smooth the transition, the city will set up business advisory committees representing the retail and restaurant sectors. In addition, the city will help food service businesses work together for lower prices on new compostable products.

Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm

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Office of the Mayor