Sophomore Josh Thompson, the director of communications for GreenGW, argues that the District’s new bag tax is a small price to pay for the environmental benefits it will bring.

Let’s face the facts: water pollution is a major issue in D.C., and anyone who has ever seen the Anacostia River is a witness to that. Although no one enjoys a new tax, the newly implemented D.C. bag tax is a minor inconvenience when compared to the larger problem it is fighting. Despite the outcries of some, this bag tax is neither unprecedented nor unwarranted, and has the potential to reshape the way Americans approach paying for environmental problems.