海角大神

The cultural clich茅 鈥減aper or plastic?鈥� 鈥� heard in many of America's grocery stores for decades 鈥� could soon include a 10-cent-a-bag levy in New York City鈥檚 retail outlets.

The New York City Council debated a new plan Wednesday that would slap a 10-cent tax on the paper and plastic bags now given gratis to shoppers at grocery and other retail stores 鈥� a save-the-planet effort to curb the billions of disposable bags that often become what some call 鈥渦rban tumbleweeds鈥� flitting about in wind-swept city landscapes.

Indeed, New Yorkers consume nearly 10 billion disposable bags a year, or a startling 91,000 tons of waste that the city鈥檚 Sanitation Department says costs New York nearly $13 million a year 鈥� figures that advocates cite as common-sense reasons to enact the proposed plan.

The bill would allow the nation鈥檚 largest city to join a growing national trend to tax 鈥� or even ban outright 鈥� the widespread use of plastic bags in retail stores. In September, California became the first state to prohibit stores from offering plastic bags to consumers. The legislation, which starts taking effect next year, follows earlier moves by at least 90 California municipalities, including Los Angeles, which in January banned the use of plastic bags at grocery and retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target.

Austin, Texas, also banned single-use plastic bags at retail stores in 2013, and cities such as Boulder, Colo., and Washington have levied taxes on their use in an effort to curb consumer behavior for environmental reasons.

But the New York City Council, one of the more liberal legislative bodies in the country, was sharply divided over the plan. Opponents argue that the 10-cent tax would create an additional burden on poor and working-class folks 鈥� though the bill exempts those on food stamps from the additional fees.

鈥淨uite frankly, I鈥檓 ashamed to sit here today and talk about actually raising taxes on New Yorkers,鈥� said Democratic Councilman David Greenfield of Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 going to have to pay three bucks extra a week,鈥� he said, noting that he buys 30 bags of groceries for his family every Thursday night.

But for advocates of the plan, bringing reusable bags while shopping only makes environmental and economic sense.

鈥淐arryout bags are not free. Every New Yorker pays when we see our trees, streets and playgrounds littered with plastic bags,鈥� wrote Ya-Ting Liu, sustainability director for the New York League of Conservation Voters, in an op-ed for the Daily News. 鈥淭axpayers shell out more than $10 million a year just to truck bags to landfills. And single-use bags kill turtles and birds that mistake them for food.鈥�

鈥淎 shopper uses a disposable bag on average for just minutes,鈥� Ms. Liu added, 鈥渨hile the toll on the environment lasts for decades.鈥�

The bill would exempt restaurants that use the bags for deliveries and carryout, as well as food pantries and other emergency food services. Paper bags, more expensive than plastic, would also be taxed.

But many members of the city council objected, saying the tax would fall disproportionately on those New Yorkers who struggle to get by. Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed similar legislation in 2008, but dropped the issue after many in the city council objected for similar reasons.

鈥淭his is a progressive council, doing something like this?鈥� said Democratic Councilman James Vacca of the Bronx, according to The New York Times. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e concerned about income inequality, this is not the way to go.鈥�