2/10/2011 12:29 PM
Recent columns and letters to the editor have focused on the City’s supposed “plastic bag ban." There's also been a lot of talk about it in the community.
To clarify, Aspen City Council is not considering banning plastic bags. They are considering the possibility of imposing a fee on one-time-use bags, made of both plastic AND paper.
With this fee, those choosing to use one-time-use bags will pay a small fee for that choice, while those using reusable bags, boxes – whatever they choose to transport their items – will pay nothing.
Certainly many in the community have had negative reactions to this idea, while some have been very positive. However you feel about it, please be clear as to what the proposal on the table actually is.
Have thoughts for City Council on this? Email public_comment@ci.aspen.co.us. For a staff memo on this topic (presented to Council earlier this month), click here and then scroll down a bit.
Want to share your thoughts on this issue on our blog? Please do!
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1 comments so far...
Re: Banning Plastic Bags?
Call it a fee if you like, but it would be a tax regardless of what it is called. Section 20 (4) of Article 10 of the Colorado Constitution requires the city to have voter approval of any new tax to be imposed. Has the city obtained written advice from counsel that the city has the authority to take this action? Has such advice been made public? Is the city prepared to spend limited city resources litigating the constitutionality of this tax? Under Article 10, if the city were successfully sued over this fee the city would have to pay the attorneys' fees and costs of both the city and the plaintiff. Is it worth the cost and risk to the city to make the gesture that this proposal represents?
By Maurice Emmer on
9/15/2011 1:31 PM
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