In 2009, the District of Columbia passed the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act, which required businesses in the District to charge a $0.05 fee on single-use plastic bags. The fee funds other projects to aid in the river cleanup, such as trash traps that collect litter from the water using just the power of the natural current.
A decade later, the policy has generated more than $19 million from disposable bag fees, enforcement revenue, proceeds from Anacostia River commemorative license plates, and voluntary tax contributions from DC residents. Some 29,000 linear feet of streams have been restored using resources from the Anacostia Fund.
For more information about the Anacostia River Cleanup, see here.
