Lawmaker Wants Five-Cent Tax On Plastic Bags

BRIDGEPORT (AP) — A Connecticut lawmaker is reviving efforts to charge a fee for grocery bags.

Senator Edward Meyer, chairman of the Legislature’s Environment Committee, is proposing a nickel tax for every plastic or paper bag shoppers get at the grocery store.

The Guilford Democrat tells The Connecticut Post that plastic bags are “hostile” to the environment and the goal is to get people to switch to reusable cloth bags.

The revenue from the five-cent tax would go into a fund overseen by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

A similar bill in 2009 failed, in part because some people wanted an outright ban on plastic shopping bags.

Gene Seidman, who helped lead that effort, said a nickel tax is too small and won’t discourage people from using plastic bags.