2020 will be remembered for one thing and I don't need to say what. Actually two things! But it will also be known as the year in which the Governor of Virginia signed into law Senate Bill SB11 and House Bill HB534, authorizing any county or city to impose a five cent tax on plastic bags provided by stores. This does not apply to durable and reusable plastic bags, nor bags used for wrapping perishables or used for trash.

As a member of the Virginia Municipal League's Environmental Quality Policy Committee, I had pushed hard for plastic bag regulation in 2019 only to see it shot down in flames. However, and ironically, now that grocery stores will not bag reusable grocery bags for safety reasons during COVID-19, I felt that it was premature to allow this new tax to be imposed, beginning no earlier than January 2021, when so many citizens are struggling to get by.

Middleburg itself cannot impose this tax, and must defer to Loudoun County. We made our views clear to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors which concurred and agreed to defer the tax until at least January 2022, by which time hopefully COVID-19 will be well behind us.

In addition, taxes collected from this law will be directed to environmental cleanup programs, education aimed at reducing waste, litter pollution mitigation and the provision of reusable plastic bags to recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women Infants and Children) programs.

Meanwhile, one of the best kept secrets related to plastic bags locally is the presence of a large container outside the Middleburg Safeway store, where customers can drop their used plastic bags to be collected by Trex of Winchester, and used to make its eponymous decking material. Now that really is a wonderful example of the circular economy!

So, tax or not, please use this excellent option and feel good about not putting used plastic bags in the trash. Happy New Year!