Two Virginia Democrats are again trying to get themselves a fee on plastic bags, but five cents isn’t enough for them — they’re trying for 20.

Plenty of people dislike the idea of charging five cents for a plastic bag. To some, it discriminates against those with fewer means. To others, though, it pushes consumers towards reusable bags, which are simply a health hazard.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is incredibly concerned about the amount of lead in our reusable grocery bags — so much so, he is calling for an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Product Safety Commission into whether the bags pose a danger.

In the run-up to the start of the District’s 5-cent disposable bag fee, city leaders put out the word to area grocery stores and other retailers and organizations that they needed donations of free reusable bags. D.C.’s poorest residents would need help getting their hands on bags that they can reuse, which often cost $1 or more to purchase. Businesses responded to the call for bag donations in a variety of ways. Giant Food…

With the State of the Union address looming, it means we’re nearly a month into the new year, and nearly a month into paying the District’s new 5 cent disposable bag fee. Regardless of where you fall on the topic along the libertarian-outrage-to-environmental-nut scale, it’s been a confusing month for retailers and consumers alike. Even the Wall Street Journal highlighted the confusion. Just as one example, last night, a market I went to informed…

City Desk had a fun post yesterday about the D.C. Republican Committee’s whimsical attempt to protest the District’s new $.05 disposable bag fee by … selling their own reusable bags? Hmmm. Maybe it’s not as counter-intuitive as it sounds. It’s not difficult to picture the hundreds, if not thousands, of irritated, marginalized small-government conservatives living inside the District who wouldn’t ordinarily be caught dead carrying some Liberal Canvas Bag. This way, the D.C. GOP…

With the Jan. 1 implementation of the District’s 5 cent disposable bag tax looming, Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) sent out some updates on how area retailers are preparing. The list is a little vague in some places, but the best opportunities to score free reusable bags look to be coming from Giant and Harris Teeter. Giant is about to launch the most generous bag giveaway of any local retailer: throughout the entire…

As we’ve been telling you for some time now, that 5 cent disposable bag fee finally goes into effect on January 1. Much of the opposition to the law when it was initially being considered was that it could end up hurting the poor more than anyone else: spending $1 on a reusable bag or two could really be a hardship for the poorest District residents. With that in mind, below you’ll find a…