I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6749 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow retail businesses 
a credit against income tax for a portion of the cost of recycling plastic 
carry-out bags and certain other types of plastic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2008 
Mrs. LOWEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow retail 
businesses a credit against income tax for a portion 
of the cost of recycling plastic carry-out bags and certain 
other types of plastic. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Economic Credit Op-
portunity for Businesses Acting Green Act of 2008’’ or 
the ‘‘ECOBAG Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) It is estimated that Americans use approxi-
mately 100 billion plastic bags per year. An esti-
mated 0.6 percent of these bags will be recycled. 
(2) The production of plastic bags and film 
plastic worldwide uses over 12 million barrels of oil 
per year, accounting for upwards of 4 percent of the 
world’s total oil production. 
(3) The Environmental Protection Agency has 
found that the average plastic bag will take up to 
1000 years to decompose. Because these plastic bags 
do not biodegrade, when improperly disposed they 
ultimately end up breaking down into smaller pieces 
contaminating our soil and waterways while causing 
injury, illness, or death to our animal and marine 
life. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to allow 
an income tax credit for retail businesses that participate 
in at-store plastic bag recycling programs. 
SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR COSTS OF COLLECTION AND RECY-
CLING BY RETAIL BUSINESSES OF PLASTIC 
CARRY-OUT 
BAGS 
AND 
CERTAIN 
OTHER 
TYPES OF PLASTIC. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
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1986 (relating to business-related credits) is amended by 
inserting after section 45P the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 45Q. COSTS OF COLLECTION AND RECYCLING BY RE-
TAIL BUSINESSES OF PLASTIC CARRY-OUT 
BAGS AND CERTAIN OTHER TYPES OF PLAS-
TIC. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 
the case of an eligible taxpayer, the plastic carry-out bag 
recycling credit is an amount equal to 15 percent of the 
amount paid or incurred directly or indirectly by the tax-
payer to implement an at-store recycling program for 1 
or more types of eligible plastic. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE TAXPAYER.—For purposes of this 
section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible taxpayer’ 
means any taxpayer engaged in the trade or busi-
ness of selling property at retail and who accepts for 
recycling 1 or more types of eligible plastic at retail 
business premises of the taxpayer. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not include 
any taxpayer engaged in the trade or business of re-
cycling. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PLASTIC.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible plastic’ means plastic carry-out 
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bags, film plastic, and other types of plastic specified in 
regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) EXPENSES OFFSET BY RECYCLING INCOME.— 
The expenses which would (but for this subsection) be 
taken into account under subsection (a) shall be reduced 
by any income from the sale of used plastic carry-out bags 
to any recycler.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 38(b) of 
such Code is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of 
paragraph (32), by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (33) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(34) in the case of an eligible taxpayer (as de-
fined in section 45Q(b)), the plastic carry-out bag 
recycling credit determined under section 45Q(a).’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45Q. Costs of collection and recycling by retail businesses of plastic 
carry-out bags and certain other types of plastic.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after 
the date of the enactment of this Act in taxable years end-
ing after such date. 
Æ 
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