As managing editor of The Baltimore Sun newspaper editorialized today against a proposed 25-cent tax on plastic and paper grocery bags, arguing that it "smacks of a tax on the poor in the middle of a recession."
The column notes that the proposed tax is deliberately high to encourage residents to buy and use reusable bags instead of single-use bags.
The Sun thinks encouraging residents to recycle bags is a better idea.
Baltimore should take steps to reduce the number of disposable bags its residents use. The city should encourage merchants to give a rebate to people who bring their own bags, and officials should amend Baltimore's single-stream recycling program so that it, like some suburban counties, accepts bundles of used plastic bags. The city should also require that all grocery stores have recycling bins for bags.It is certainly unsightly to see plastic bags blow in the breeze, get caught in tree branches or float through the Inner Harbor. But that's not a good enough reason for Baltimore to lead the nation in enacting what could become a significant and regressive tax increase.
Progressive Bag Affiliates, which has been fighting bag bans and taxes around the country, should be pleased with this stance. Will it help convince Baltimore's City Council?