Activist Alert

One of my favorite environmental activists, Goffinet McLaren, let me know about Congressman Jim Moran's (D-VA) "Trash Reduction Act of 2013."  Goffinet urges people to call Congressman Moran's office to thank him for introducing this important bill, hoping it will inspire him to fight the uphill battle he will be facing.  That seems to be the case for all environmental legislation that finds its way to the Republican-majority House.  Congressman Moran's number is 202 225 4376.   I just spoke with one of his staffers who was clearly pleased to hear gratitude expressed.  They don't get too many "thank you" calls.  It only takes a couple of minutes, so call if you will.

Here's an excerpt from a press release about the bill, and there's a link at the end of this post if you'd like to learn more.

Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, today announced introduction of the “Trash Reduction Act of 2013,” to impose a five-cent fee on “single use” plastic and paper bags at grocery and retail stores. The fee would reduce littering and encourage use of reusable bags. Revenue from the tax would support the Land and Water Conservation Fund. 

 

“According to the Environment Protection Agency, the average American throws away about 4.4 pounds of trash each day. The results of this waste can be found in our oceans, now home to floating landfills ten times the size of Virginia,” said Rep. Moran. “Small steps like replacing plastic bags with reusable ones yields large returns in reducing the amount of trash we create.”

 

The “Trash Reduction Act of 2013” is modeled after the successful bag tax policy implemented in Washington, D.C. in 2009. The number of plastic bags dropped from the 2009 monthly average of 22.5 million to just 3 million per month by the end of 2010.
  (To read more, click the link.)

http://moran.house.gov/press-releases