What ever happened to Seattle's fee on plastic and paper grocery bags? For awhile last summer it was one of the hottest topics in the city. Then the plastics industry put nearly $200,000 into petition drives to get it on the ballot. They were successful, so the city called off its January 1 start date for the fee.

Rumors are that it will be placed on the ballot in the August, 2009, primary election. I predict voters will not approve it. Personally, I believe this sort of fee system has merit, from a product stewardship standpoint. You wouldn't have to pay the fee if you used reusable bags. This would make people realize there are environmental costs to using single-use bags. But, even though it has a fair amount of support, these are the reasons I think it won't pass when it goes on the ballot in Seattle:

1) It can be portrayed as unfair. It would be a 20-cent fee on grocery store, drugstore and convenience store bags, and doesn't cover newspaper, dry cleaning, restaurant take-out or other retailers' bags. It also doesn't target all the other wasteful packaging that piles up in our garbage cans or recycling bins.

2) Some people think the city should be dealing with more important environmental issues instead.

3) Critics have highlighted it as an example of the city's "nanny state" mentality.

4) A surprising number of people have told me they use all their grocery bags now - to line their trash can or to pick up dog poop, mostly - and they oppose the fee because now they will have to buy bags for those purposes.

5) The plastics industry will mount a massive public relations and advertising campaign to kill it.

So where are we now, and where will we be if it doesn't pass?

King County, my employer, is interested in working with retailers and the plastic bag industry, to get them to set goals for recycling and establish a formal collection network for plastic bags - something along the lines of our Take It Back Network for electronics and fluorescent tubes.

The City of Seattle had talked about a major program to distribute reusable bags to residents, probably for free, to complement the fee. Even though the fee is delayed, if not dead, the City could still move ahead with that. There has also been talk that, if voters don't approve the fee, the Seattle City Council could just ban plastic bags altogether (although the fee would cover both plastic and paper bags, plastic bags still appear to be the number one target).

Down in south King County, the City of Federal Way has already embarked on an innovative program to offer its residents reusable bags. Federal Way distributed more than 40,000 coupons, which residents can use to get a free reusable bag from local grocery stores (the store's "house brand" of reusable bag they are already selling). When a resident uses the coupon, the store can get reimbursed from the city for the cost of the bag (usually about $1). With a typical return rate of 10 percent or so for the coupon, the city expects to spend less than $6,000 to distribute a lot of reusable bags to residents who want and need them.

Meanwhile, Portland and Vancouver BC may beat Seattle to the punch when it comes to doing something about plastic bags. Both those cities are considering taking action against plastic grocery bags, or all single-use grocery bags. Portland Mayor-elect Sam Adams is especially hot to trot on this issue. I was on a panel with him at a public forum about this in Portland just last month.

I'm glad people are starting to think more about the ubiquitous plastic bag. A plastic bag may not weigh very much, and might not seem important, but it's made from petroleum, and it's a potent symbol of consumption.