Tax data cast doubt on claims about declining use of plastic bags

"Having said that, the city's objective is not to collect fees; instead, our objective is to change behavior in ways that will, over time, restore health to our waterbodies and make them fishable, swimmable resources for District residents, businesses, and visitors," he said in an e-mail.One issue with the city's recent survey is that it relied on poll respondents to estimate the number of bags they used or gave to customers before the tax went into effect, which could cause some to overestimate the actual change in their behavior and create an unreliable baseline for pre-tax bag use.There is strong evidence that bag taxes do reduce bag use. A September dissertation from a Princeton University graduate student, recently highlighted by the Brookings Institution, studied bag habits in the District and Montgomery County, concluding that the five-cent tax was very effective in curbing disposable-bag use. A five-cent credit for using reusable bags, on the other hand, was not.In this hilarious video,wholesale fashion shoes pets Dexter and Gizmo unite as a team to break out of their enclosed space and wander the outside world. 

That academic research is backed by reports from clean-water groups that fewer plastic bags are fouling the Anacostia River and other city waterways.It's tough to be able to stand for a 12- or 14-hour day in the kitchen China shoes manufacturer, but also they put up with a lot at West Point. The survey reported similar impressions from residents and businesses.Yilmaz said it's "hard to say why" the collections haven't dropped, despite the survey findings and anecdotal evidence. While the use of bags may be stable or rising in absolute terms, she said, the rate of disposable-bag use could be declining when factoring in the city's rising population and incomes. 

Bag-tax revenue has risen and fallen alongside general sales tax revenue to a strong degree, even though a major driver of disposable-bag use — groceries — is not taxed. That could indicate a correlation between bag use and overall retail activity.While the economic consequences of the bag tax remain unclear, the political implications are mostly settled at this point, the polling found: Less than one-fourth of the residents surveyed felt bothered by the law. The rest said they supported it or had no opinion on it.At home or on the front lines, it appears german army uniforms the merger of man and machine continues apace.Business owners, who reported saving money on bags, were even more supportive, with only about one in 10 expressing objections.A Washington Post poll conducted in January 2010 found that residents then were almost evenly split on the bag tax.