Bagging It -- A Less-Than-Inspired Response to a Real Problem
Okay, here's hoping we can reach the Board of Supervisors BEFORE this goes to a vote; maybe we can circumvent this before giving our favorite supe a chance to go supernova.
The San Francisco Commission on the Environment -- a group that meets bimonthly and serves to advise the Mayor on matters of the environment -- is recommending that the city impose a charge on all grocery bags. Initial thoughts are that this charge would be 17 cents per bag. Basically, they want to encourage cleaner city streets, save money on clean up costs, help to fund said costs, and safer conditions for marine life.
So, let's see . . . if shopping for a family of four for a about week . . . maybe eight or nine sacks of goods, double-bagged to prevent breakage . . . we're talking somewhere in the area of a buck-fifty a week charged to shoppers. An oversimplification, to be sure -- and not SOOO much money. But for all the cost of putting the mechanism in place that could monitor and enforce this law, it strikes the SFist that this may be more trouble than it's really worth and that there may be more value in trying to achieve these laudable goals in a different way.
Paul Pelosi Jr., commission vice president, is quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as saying, "We're not trying to just charge a user fee; we're trying to make a change in behavior."
Gee, Paul -- when we were kids, we only responded to punishments. No, really, we responded when the reasons behind the behavioral change were explained in a manner that made sense and changes were made to our environment that encouraged us to accept and support the new behavior.
We submit that perhaps -- perhaps this may be a situation where we should give a "carrot" a chance to solve a problem before defaulting to using a "stick."
Photo taken sans permission from the super-funny PaperBagHead.com
The people that came up with this "solution" may have a limited understanding of the spirit and character of the city. Rather than punishing those who aren't responsible about things like recycling, perhaps the more "SFist" way to do this would be to implement a program that encourages non-practitioners/offenders to do it the right way. And not punish stores by giving them yet another item to worry about. And not create extra enforcement-based bureaucracy. And not punish the people who are already doing the right thing, or the poorer folks who--even if they could waive the fee by proving hardship--shouldn't have to go through all that crap. Not to mention that the monitors of the program will now have to account for the exceptions.
How about an incentive to grocery stores that recycle plastic bags? Incentives to stores that offer discounts to people that bring their own bags? A PR and/or marketing effort that shows the damaging effects of discarded plastic bags on the city? Maybe a campaign to show consumers the best alternatives? Point out where the cheaper, long-lasting cloth bags are available?
Hey, Board of Supervisors -- let's think outside the bags, mm'kay?