If life changes on a dime, then maybe a nickel isn’t worth a dime for shoppers in need of change and pocket change.
Retail shoppers forgetting reusable bags must dig deeper to buy paper or plastic bags from more than 40 Northbrook retailers with square footage of 3,000 or greater.
Since Jan. 1, Northbrook’s single-use bag tax ordinance charges customers one dime per bag. Retailers and the village split the tax 50/50.
One nickel offsets the retailer’s investment. The village’s nickel benefits sustainability initiatives.
“This habit that Americans have of using something and then throwing it away, it’s ridiculous,” said customer Dave Mucha of Northbrook, who reused a CVS plastic bag at Northbrook’s Dollar Tree on April 30.
Around New Year’s Day, one retail chain had software register problems, not collecting the tax from customers.
When businesses double bag and don’t double charge, “If a cashier’s doing that, they’re in violation of the ordinance and they’re subjecting their employer to an audit finding,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA).
“How do you account for one that was ripped?”
“You’re packing it in a checkout line and it rips,” Karr said. “Do you get charged with another one or since that one’s not usable, do you just get a new one and not charge for that one because it ripped?
“It gets very difficult on the audit side.”
Grocery chains like Mariano’s or Trader Joe’s have caused Northbrook residents to consider shopping in Glenview to receive free bags comparable to bags Northbrook customers pay for.
In a February Village of Northbrook press release, Northbrook’s Trader Joe’s Captain Rich Seifert said, “Environmentally, this bag ordinance is doing its part and our customers have been supportive of it.”
Northbrook Village President Kathryn Ciesla said, “Since the introduction of our single-use bag tax in January, I’m thrilled to see the progress with its implementation and the overall acceptance from the public and business community.
“This initiative underscores our commitment to environmental stewardship and further progress in building a greener, more sustainable Northbrook,” Ciesla said.
Single-use bag reduction is a priority in Northbrook’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). A Village of Glenview spokesperson told Pioneer Press (on April 24) that Glenview is not considering a bag tax.
Sheri Latash of Glenview, co-founder of Greener Glenview, an affiliate of Go Green Illinois, said, “Greener Glenview is not advocating for a bag tax,” indicating the tax is, “more complicated administratively than one might suspect.
“Greener Glenview supports efforts to reduce consumption of single-use plastics, we just aren’t leading that charge in Glenview,” Latash said. “We’re tapped out on other things.”
The Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Northbrook’s bag tax is, “probably not great for business,” said Cindy Miller of Northbrook, who patronized Philip’s Shoe Clinic (1945 Cherry Lane) on April 30 at the business owned by Oscar Ruiz of Deerfield.
Miller said there have, “been times when I’m like, ‘Oh, should I just go to Jewel (in Glenview),’ then I don’t have to deal with it.
“I don’t like to pay a tax when I forget them.”
Miller used no bag to bring Ruiz a pair of shoes needing shoelaces. Ruiz ordered about 200 reusable bags, offering them for free before Jan. 1. Customers often bring in items to repair using preferred containers, Ruiz said.
“It’s a great idea to tax,” Ruiz said, but, “I don’t use bags.”
Ruiz said he was visited by Village officials during the last week of April asking Philip’s Shoe Clinic about the bag tax.
“I don’t charge them (customers) because I don’t give them bags,” Ruiz said. “What do you want me to charge? For their own bags?”
The Village identified 18 businesses (as of April 18) not submitting tax receipts or data.
The 18 business names were not revealed at an April 18 Sustainability Commission meeting. The Village required Pioneer Press to submit a FOIA, Freedom of Information Act request, for the 18 names. A Freedom of Information Act request was extended twice by the Village with May 10 as the next response.
In a Village memo from Kate Carney, the village’s new sustainability coordinator, Carney said February receipts from retailers with square footage of 3,000 to 20,000 square feet remitted $460.55 in taxes.
Also in February, businesses with square footage of more than 20,000 square feet remitted $6,588.55 in taxes. February’s share to the village was $7,049.10 at 140,982 bags.
The number of bags sold, “ is pretty staggering,” Carney said, with Tracy Lee, Sustainability Commission member, saying, “Bummer, I was hoping it had actually just gone down.”
In January, the Village received $8,338.25, representing 166,765 bags sold.
Jonathan Mendel, the Village’s director of the Development and Planning Services, said, “Those are very large numbers.”
Carney said, “We do have some large retailers that have not reported any remittance, so unfortunately, I do believe both of these numbers will go up, but that’s okay.
“This is going to give us some really nice baselines so that we can continue to communicate with our residents, with the retail businesses about the importance of bringing these numbers down,” Carney said.
Rob Karr said collecting the tax from merchants is, ”how you do it and is the local government going to be abusive on the audit-type situations and it gets very difficult.”
Of shoppers angry with the tax, “That’s who it’s aimed at, is the consumers, and unfortunately, the retailers are at the firing line with the consumer,” Karr said.
Northbrook Ace Hardware indicated no comment. George Garner Jr., co-owner of George Garner Cyclery, said, “We don’t do many bags at all,” with accessories often installed on bikes.
“I agree with the concept of the bag tax,” Garner said. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction to have less waste in the world.”
The Northbrook Village Board of Trustees will hear an update on the single-use bag tax likely later in May.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
