DC Bag Tax Collects Nearly 150K in First Month

WASHINGTON - A stream of bottles, paper and assorted trash flows down D.C.'s Anacostia River. This is the ugly mess that the city's controversial bag tax is supposed to address.

"It's unfortunate that it took 5 cents for people to realize it's putting a hurt on our environment," says Robel Kinfe.

Since January, the city has imposed a 5-cent tax on paper and plastic bags at most retailers that sell food. Despite its noble intentions, the tax is not popular with many city residents.

"This 5-cent tax, its ridiculous!" says Peggy Scriven.

She just paid the tax for a plastic bag with her purchases from Rite Aid. Not a food establishment, but because Rite Aid also sells food products, all of its bags are subject to the tax.

The District Department of Tax and Revenue says the new tax brought in just $149,432.27 for the first month, far short of expectations. Initial estimates done by the city's Chief Financial Officer were $3.5 million for the whole year, about $292,000 per month.

"Right now it tells us that bag usage is really plummeting," says Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells, a chief proponent of the law.

Many businesses, like Union Pub on Capitol Hill, are seeing some evidence of that.

"I have noticed that there are more and more people bringing in their own bags," says bar manager Lance Cook, noting that before the tax, no one brought in their own bag.

But the numbers don't add up just yet. The money sent to the Office of Tax and Revenue paid for 2.9 million bags. The city's CFO estimated before the tax, consumers used about 22.5 million bags a month.

That would mean D.C. consumers used 90 percent fewer bags in January. That's a figure that just doesn't ring true if you survey the carryout crowd on any city street at lunchtime. 

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