As a UConn alum, I was pretty disheartened when I saw the recent editorial in The Daily Campus ("Plastic bag tax inapporpriate for state during fiscal crisis," April 2) opposing the Reusable Bag Promotion Act, which would enact a five-cent fee on throwaway bags. An institution of higher learning and free thinking such as UConn should obviously support this. There are a couple of overlooked, simple points I want to address that I think well justify this bill.
First, plastic bags are simply unnecessary. They are used for only a few minutes but last a thousand years, with hundreds of millions more being thrown away every year. Moreover, they affect wildlife in the Long Island Sound and litter our streets and country side. All it takes to fix these problems and cut down on some of our oil dependence is a switch to reusable bags.
Second, there is no reason to believe that a five-cent fee on throwaway bags will discourage consumer spending. There is, however, every reason to believe that people will switch to reusable bags, which are a one-time purchase and, ultimately, the goal of the legislation. Ikea saw a 92 percent reduction in bag use nationwide after charging five cents per bag. The program was so successful, in fact, they have phased out plastic bags in their stores all together.
The Daily Campus suggested that stores be offered tax credits for offering consumer incentives to use reusable bags, or to institute plastic bag recycling programs. The fact is that incentives and recycling are already in place in many stores - we have all seen them - and participation in them is very low. In my book, instituting a plastic-bag fee is a no brainer - retailers would have the opportunity to make an extra buck on reusable bag sales, and we would decrease pollution and cut down on our dependence on fossil fuels. There is no reason to delay; the throwaway bag fee is a common-sense idea that should be instituted right away.
-Robert Zywno 2008 UConn graduate Naugatuck
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