We’ve spent plenty of time debating the merits of D.C.’s three-year-old five-cent bag tax, but by all accounts it seems to be working: bag use is down, and environmental activists recently reported that they had seen a substantial decrease in the amount of bags found in one of the tributaries of the Anacostia River.

But how exactly did the bag tax come to be? A group of local college students delve into the complex history and policy debates that led to the tax’s imposition in a video submitted to the American University’s Eco-Comedy Film Competition.

D.C.’s five-cent bag tax: better than getting punched in the gut.