Fairfax City reviews plastic bag‑tax spending; staff proposes $100,000 toward new carts in FY26

City staff told the Fairfax City Council on July 8 that the city has collected roughly $252,251 in disposable plastic bag tax revenue since the tax began Jan. 1, 2023, and has spent about $144,316 on reusable bags, community cleanups, city jobs support and public‑art projects. Environmental sustainability coordinator Melissa McDonald said the city has distributed more than 20,000 reusable bags and that community cleanups supported by the fund have yielded more than 14,000 pounds of litter and more than 5,000 volunteer hours.

The staff presentation described four allowed spending categories under state guidance — environmental cleanups, public education designed to reduce waste, litigation to address pollution/litter, and distribution of reusable bags — and proposed directing $100,000 of the unallocated bag‑tax revenue to offset part of the cost…