“How many bags did you use?” The self-checkout line question brings to mind another query: What does my 5 cents fund?
In Northern Virginia, seven jurisdictions tax plastic bags. The state collects the taxes and distributes the money back to Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax city, Falls Church, and Fredericksburg. Retailers can keep a penny for administration.
The tax’s aim is to reduce plastic waste since it does not break down, and the microplastics in the bags can threaten wildlife, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Virginia requires localities to use the money for environmental cleanup, waste-education programs, and pollution mitigation, and to provide reusable bags to people in either the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Women, Infants, and Children Program.
Regionwide, the bag tax generates millions. According to Fairfax County, it created $2.3 million in revenue in 2022, the tax’s first year. Final figures for 2023 are not expected until March, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Fairfax County allocates the money to nearly a dozen projects. Operation Stream Shield, the largest at $720,000, pays people experiencing homelessness to remove litter from streams and riparian areas. Waste collection at commuter parking lots and bus stops and funding for the Zero Waste by 2030 plan are the next largest endeavors at $580,776 and $509,854, respectively.
Loudoun County will use $780,000 of its revenue to move and expand the Lovettsville Recycling Center. Glass recycling will be added during the relocation to Lovettsville Community Park. That project is expected to be completed in the fiscal year 2024–2025.
The first year of the tax brought back $340,802 to Arlington. It used some of the money to provide 10,000 reusable bags to SNAP and WIC recipients.
Alexandria is in the process of launching a bag tax–funded pilot program called the Alexandria Clean Team.
“The Clean Team will be responsible for litter mitigation and cleanup in the medians, roadways, and sidewalks,” says Camila Olivares, spokeswoman for the transportation and environmental services department.
Falls Church started its plastic bag tax program four months after other jurisdictions. The funds help with the twice-yearly community and periodic stream cleanups.
“We use the funds to purchase items for staff and volunteers for litter cleanups in our parks and streams,” says Lonnie Marquetti, the solid waste manager in charge of the Falls Church effort. “The cost of those items — like disposable gloves — has increased, so these funds are well-utilized.”
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
This story originally ran in our March issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
