Seattle passes per-bag fee; bans foam

SEATTLE, July 29 (UPI) -- Seattle has passed an ordinance meant to reduce the use of plastic bags by requiring grocery, drug and convenience stores to begin charging 20 cents per bag.

The City Council voted Monday to make the new rule effective Jan. 1, along with another measure banning plastic foam food and drink containers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Tuesday.

Mayor Greg Nickels said the City Council did the right thing by passing the ordinances.

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

Officials estimate 360 million disposable bags are used in the city every year. The fee is expected to slash that number in half.

Councilwoman Jan Drago was the lone vote against the measure.

Drago said she is concerned the rule will have unintended effects. She said people who reuse their grocery bags to take out the garbage might have to buy boxes of plastic garbage bags.

The 20-cent-per-bag "green fee" is expected to raise about $3.5 million each year. Proceeds will be used to offset expected increases in the city's solid-waste rates.