Five cent bag tax wins final council vote - Washington Business Journal:

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The collections from the new 5-cent disposable bag fee, to go into effectr after a citywide public awareness campaighn and free reusable bag distributiohn to the elderlyand low-income families, will flow toward a new cleanuo fund for one of the country’sa dirtiest rivers. City leaders had estimaterd upto $3 million to $4 million in the firstg year, and the food and liquo r retailers will keep at least 1 cent of the fee each time it’x charged. The city also recruitecd a corporate partner to help fulfill its first tasks under thenew law. , which has 16 D.C. locations, said it will donatse reusable bags to a local nonprofif or two to dole outto 10,000 low-incomer families.
When the bill was first Safeway had described itself as neutrall onthe issue. At that time, it had only suggestedr that the more expensive paper bags also be includeed in thefee — a suggestion city leaders incorporated. The D.C. Council backed the first introduced in February by CouncilmanTommy D-Ward 6, over protests by some retailers, plastic bag manufacturers and even charities that rely on plasticc bags to distribute donations, all of whom considered this an adde hardship for businesses and customers during an already tough economy. But Councilk members pointed to a recentg analysis bythe D.C.
Department of the which found that plastic bags make up 20 percen of trash in the Anacostia River and 50 percenr of trash inits tributaries. According to that same DDOE charging for plastic bags could eliminate up to 47 percen t of trash in the tributaries and 21 percent fromthe river’ds main stem. “Many residents on both sides of the river supported this bill because they see it as a way to changr our behavior to take greate r responsibility forour environment,” Wells said aftet the unanimous vote. A similar measure was the targe of harsh words today in where City Council members had introducer a bill last fall that would chargea 25-centr fee for plastic grocery bags.
City Counci President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake blasted the proposed bill describing itas “good intentions gone