Statement

Coalition to "Stop the Seattle Bag Tax" Surpasses 1,000 Members, Continues to Grow

ARLINGTON, VA (July 22, 2009) – Today the Coalition to Stop the Seattle Bag Tax announced that its membership has grown to more than one-thousand citizens who have joined together to help stop a twenty-cent tax on plastic and paper shopping bags through a voter referendum that will take place on August 18.  The Seattle City Council passed the tax on shopping bags issued by grocery stores last year.

The Progressive Bag Affiliates (PBA) of the American Chemistry Council – an organization comprising leading manufacturers and recyclers of plastic bags and plastic resins – is a member of the coalition. PBA believes the tax is unnecessary because surveys indicate that more than 90 percent of Seattle residents already reuse and recycle their plastic bags.  In addition, history has shown that efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic bags – as an alternative to taxing consumers during a recession – are good for both the environment and the economy.

“Recycling is a practical, workable solution for reducing waste from shopping bags that is good for the environment and won’t tax struggling families,” said Steve Russell, managing director of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division. “We want Seattle residents to know that many area grocers already offer programs that allow shoppers to bring back their plastic shopping bags, dry cleaning bags, news paper bags, and many types of product wraps for recycling.”

Because PBA shares the coalition’s goals of promoting solutions – such as recycling – over taxes, PBA members today announced that they have made an additional contribution of $300 thousand to the coalition, helping to ensure that all Seattle residents are aware of the August 18 vote and the efficacy of recycling as an alternative to a tax.  To date, this brings PBA’s total contributions to the coalition to just under $1.1million.

The recycling of plastic bags and wraps increased 27 percent nationwide from 2005 to 2007, and the rate of recycling these products climbed to 12 percent.  PBA believes that through increased consumer awareness and at-store programs to collect plastic bags and product wraps, these numbers will continue to grow.

Recently, the PBA members announced a landmark recycling goal of 40 percent recycled content, including 25 percent postconsumer material, in all plastic shopping bags by 2015. When fully implemented, the Full Circle Recycling Initiative will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 463 million pounds, conserve enough energy (mainly natural gas) to heat 200,000 homes, and reduce waste by 300 million pounds every year. More information is available at www.americanchemistry.com/fullcircle.

About the Progressive Bag Affiliates
The Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council promote the responsible use and recycling of plastic bags. The PBA recycling toolkit is being used by retailers around the nation as a reference for determining the best ways to deploy effective recycling solutions in stores. To learn more about increasing plastic bag recycling, please visit www.plasticbagrecycling.org.