A Mandatory Paper Bag Fee May Be Coming to Philly Stores
Plus, Philly mob documentary makes a big splash on Netflix.
If you get a paper bag like this one at a store in Philadelphia in the near future, it may cost you at least 10 cents. (Getty Images)
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A Mandatory Paper Bag Fee May Be Coming to Philly Stores
It has been four years since Philadelphia’s plastic bag ban went into effect at retail stores, prohibiting establishments from providing customers with single-use plastic bags. Many shoppers now travel with their own reusable bags – the desired outcome – and many stores sell those reusable bags to customers or provide them with paper bags free of charge. The end result of all of this is that the use of single-use plastic bags is reportedly way down, but the use of paper bags is up. And a new bill that’s with City Council aims to curb the use of paper bags by making stores charge customers for them.
Bill number 250773 is co-sponsored by 10 members of Philadelphia’s City Council and passed out of committee on Monday, the next step likely being to make its way in front of the entirety of City Council for a vote. The bill states that retail establishments should charge customers at least 10 cents per recyclable paper bag, though exemptions are made for such bags provided for delivery orders, drive-through orders, or takeout orders of prepared foods.
A 2023 study released by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Swarthmore College showed that the percentage of shoppers who opted for reusable bags nearly doubled due to Philadelphia’s plastic bag ban, from 22 percent to 42 percent, but the percentage who used paper bags went from 17 percent to 45 percent.
“Paper bags, while easier to recycle than plastic, require four times the energy to produce and may involve the use of environmentally harmful chemicals and fertilizers,” noted the study, which was included in some of the data reviewed by members of City Council.
Should the bill become law, stores would be required to charge for paper bags within 60 days.
A Kada Scott Update
Now that the Philadelphia medical examiner’s office has ruled that Kada Scott was murdered, the DA’s office has charged Keon King with that murder as well as other charges, including robbery, theft, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. Those are in addition to charges he was already facing: arson, conspiracy, and kidnapping. Doesn’t sound like he’ll be getting out of jail anytime soon (this time).
By the Numbers
1st: Ranking of the brand new docuseries Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia on Netflix’s list of the most popular TV shows on the streamer right now, but guilty-pleasure “reality” series Love Is Blind is quickly coming up from behind. Word has it that this guy, who is prominently featured in the mob series, told Moose and Rocco to keep an eye on things.
117-116: Score in the Sixers season opener last night against the Celtics, with the Sixers coming out on top. Next up, we play the Charlotte Hornets in South Philly this weekend. Let’s hope this season goes better than last season, when Sixers tickets were selling for just a buck. That was painful.
0: Days in the next 10 days when lows are expected to climb out of the 40s in Philadelphia. Soon, my household will erupt in the annual argument over just when we turn the heat on. I try to hold out until December 1st. My family feels otherwise. Of course, they walk around the house in t-shirts and complain that it’s cold.
