City May Give New Meaning to the Nickel Bag

You know, there is going to be even greater joy in being a New Yorker soon. Of course, we have the property tax rebate check killing and tax hikes, but will there be a revolution over the plan to charge a tax of five cents on plastic bags. The new Nickel Bag Plan would take in up to $16 million that the Sanitation Department would use to offset the cost of collecting and disposing of plastic bags currently not recycled. The Nickel Bag Plan seems to be even less popular than the new $250 dog shit summons, up from $100, and now dog owners who use plastic bags to clean up what man's best friend leaves behind could spend an extra 20 or 25 cents a day depending on how many times Spot likes to go. One dude at a Harlem deli told the Times: "No way. They ask us for plastic bags for free as it is. When we say no, they curse us out. They demand a bag for a 25-cent bag of chips." It is not true that someone at the (deeply reviled and/or much beloved) Park Slope Food Coop, which banned plastic bags, suggested charging a user fee of $35,000 per bag, especially for the ones that say "Have a Nice Day."
· Shoppers Left Holding the Bag [NYP]
· 'If I had a nickel for every bag,' sez Mayor Bloomberg [NYDN]
· In Mayor's Plan, Plastic Bags Will Carry a Fee [NYT]
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