Dartblog

Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, will push for a 6-cent tax on plastic grocery bags. This, he says, will raise $16 million for the city and push residents to be more eco-friendly. Those are certainly nice goals but the article makes the following points:

In interviews over the past week, many shoppers said the city’s largely carless, minimalist style did not easily lend itself to toting canvas or heavier plastic bags around like another accessory. Many also pointed out that the plastic bag is hardly a throwaway — indispensable, they said, for cleaning up after pets, camouflaging the smell of a dirty diaper, hiding an open can of beer or simply holding other trash.

What are some of the unintended consequences that might result? With fewer, readily available, free plastic bags, perhaps…

…fewer dog-owners will clean up after their pets, making the city significantly more unpleasant
…more people will drive, rather than walk, to the grocery store, defeating the environmentalist goals behind the tax
…larger, more readily available garbage bags (less eco-friendly) will be less efficiently used to accomplished tasks formerly given to grocery bags
…more customers will simply request paper bags, which may be recycled but are more expensive (for merchants), less convenient, and kill a lot of trees.

Another question that the article hints at, although fails to pose: if this step needs to be taken, can the market can take of it?

Ikea started phasing out plastic bags in March 2007 with a 5-cent surcharge per bag. The manager of the Brooklyn store, Mike Baker, said that by the time the bags were eliminated last month, more than 90 percent of customers had either switched to the big blue bags the store sells for 59 cents or decided to load up bag-less, “like Costco.”

This last, it seems to me, is fantastic. Responsible, voluntary, and effective environmentalism.