Santa Fe may tax grocery bags

ALMOST DID IT -- NOW SANTA FE IS THINKING ABOUT DOING IT. TO SAVE TREES -- AND TO CUT DOWN ON L...  More »

ALMOST DID IT -- NOW SANTA FE IS THINKING ABOUT DOING IT. TO SAVE TREES -- AND TO CUT DOWN ON LANDFILL -- THE CITY DIFFERENT IS LOOKING AT THE IDEA OF TAXING GROCERY BAGS .... PAPER ... PLASTIC .. IT DOESN'T MATTER. OUR SANTA FE BUREAU CHIEF RAY SEVA FOUND ...IT'S NOT HARD TO FIND SHOPPERS WITH STRONG OPINIONS ON THE MATTER. IT'S THE OL' SUPERMARKET DILEMMA: HOW TO ANSWER THE GROCERY-BAGGER. A SANTA FE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP WANTS TO MAKE THIS CHOICE TOUGHER. IT WANTS THE CITY TO IMPOSE A NEW TAX ON PAPER 'AND' PLASTIC BAGS 1427-1435 'I'm willing to pay a tax if it's there. But I also take the responsibility to bring my bags to the store whenever I can remember.' WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT ENVIRONMENTALISTS 'WANT' YOU TO DO: BRING YOUR OWN 'CLOTH' OR OTHER NON-DISPOSABLE BAGS FROM HOMEAND KEEP THE PAPER AND PLASTIC OUT OF OUR LANDFILLS. THE SUPERMARKETS SAY THE IDEA IS RUBBISH AND SHOULD BE 'VOLUNTARY'BECAU SE THEY'LL HAVE TO PASS THE ADDED COST ON TO SHOPPERS. 745-752 'I would think that if the public was behind something like this strongly enough, it wouldn't require legislation.' BUT SANTA FE BEING SANTA FEMANY SHOPPERS SAY 'BRING IT ON.'554-600 'We shouldn't even have the option of paper or plastic, because our resources are dwindling so fast.' 519-523 'I think it's a great idea. And they should raise gas prices, too.' OTHERS SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 1630-1634 'I'm not in favor of it because we're being taxed too much already.' 452-457 'I think a lot of our choices are being taken away, and we need to stop letting people taking our choices away.'PAPERPLASTICCLO THMA YBE LEATHER. THE ISSUE 'COULD' BE HEADING FOR A CITY COUNCIL HEARING AND PUBLIC VOTE SOMETIME SOON. IN SANTA FERS, EWN-4. THE CITY SAYS IT STILL NEEDS TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH THE GROCERY TAX WOULD ACTUALLY BE. IN SAN FRANCISCO, THE PROPOSAL WAS FOR 17 CENTS A BAG -- IT DIDN'T FLY.  « Less