Campaign against restaurant tax begins By Darafyn Trappe Emerald Associate Editor Opponents of a proposed Eugene restau rant tax that will be voted on March 2.'t kicked off a campaign Tuesday In an effort to defeat what thev call an "inoouitable tax." RESTAURANT TAX Meanwhile. Kayo Robi nette. president of the Eugene City Council, said he anticipates that resi dents will approve the tax and pointed out that 73 percent of respondents to 1991s extensive Eugene Decisions survey favored a restaurant tax over four other tax options. Measure 20-02. as it will be referred to on the ballot, would implement a 3 percent tax on prepared meals purchased from restau rants, diners, cafeterias, delicatessens, push carts, athletic concession stands, bars, tav erns and caterers. Certain vendors would l>e exempt, such as residential facilities and campus dormito ries. If approved, the tax would go into effect |an. 1, 1004 It was referred to the voters by the City Council as part of an effort to deflect an expected SO million budget shortfall for 1003-04 The tax would generate an estimat ed $5.3 million annually in gross revenue for the first five years. Cretchen Hull Pierce and Greg Evans, co chairperson* of Citizens Against Selective Sales Tax, which is supported by several local restaurants and the Oregon Restaurants Asstx iation. said at a Tuesday news confer ence the tax would unfairly affect low income residents and small businesses "We believe that it's simply wrong to tax food in general. And this tax is an attempt to support broad-based public, services with a very narrow industry that's heen targeted for this tax," Pierr e said "We believe that's sim ply not fair ." The tax would affect smull businesses I localise, for example, a sandwich purchased from a restaurant or a sub shop would he subject to the tax, hut a sandwich purchased in a supermarket would not lie. Pien e said. Evans said the tax would unfairly affect low-income residents because the same amount would he charged to each patron, despite their income. "This is not a luxury tax," he said " This is a tax that will hit [>eop1e on low and fixed incomes, such as senior citizens More than a quarter of the seniors in the community eat prepared meals, some because they are not able to prepare their own meals or don’t have the facilities to." Households with an annual income of less than $5,000 spend 41.5 percent of their total food budget oil meals purchased away from home. Evans said, and the average for nil households is 42.:i percent Households headed by seniors, with a $5,000 to $10,000 annual budget, spend nearly a quarter of their total food budget on meals purchased away from home, he said If 20*02 passes, low-income people will !«■ charg'd a total of SI? 11 during the course of a year for meals, Evans said "This is very debilitating if you are a per son on a fixed income, or a low budget." he said Both he and Pierce support a progres sive income tax. which was favored by only about 25 portent of Eugene Decisions respondents Robinette said his impression is that the restaurant tax will pass bi« auxn it is a kind of tax people i an have< ontrol over All res iderits can make n choice about whether they can afford to eat out and where, he said Robinette said the respondents to Eugene Decisions were given a signifu ant amount of information about the city's financial situa 110(1 ”The\ responded not hecnuse someone simply asked them a question, but came to their'responses as the result of having gone through a process and understanding the financial problems." Robinette said "They told us, 'Ok. if we have to have a tax, this is what we'd prefer " Pierce said she believes people responded that way out of the mistaken notion that a restaurant tax is something that "other pen pie" will have to pay Robinette said people do understand what's at stake, whether or not they support the idea of a new tax "It's important to keep in mind the seri ousness of the finnm ini problems that we're facing." he said OSPIRG takes action against plastic industry By Marion Suitor Emerald Contributor OSP1RG sunt a surprise par k age full of styrofoam, shrink wrap and plastic packaging to the headquarters of the Society of the Plastics Industry in Wash ington, D.C., Inst week In part of its "Take the Wrap" campaign, OSPIRG has been returning unrecyclable plastic materials from whence they came. "Basically, we are telling the plastic s industry to take respon sibility for all the waste they are producing,” said Gretchen Haber. OSPIRG staff member. "The package was meant as a visual message to the industry that something has to be done about unrer ydable plastic.” OSPIRG has started three campaigns to address the issue of plastics recycling, mainly focusing on widening the scope of plastic recycling in Oregon, Haber said. In addition to the "Take the Wrap” campaign. OSPIRG’s plastic recycling agenda also includes extending some of the requirements of a recycling hill passed in 1991 called Senate Bill No 66. Senate Bill No. 66 requires plastic packaging to contain 25 percent recycled content by 1995. OSPIRG wants that per centage increased to 50. Also. OSPIRG supports a truth-in labeling law so that plastic: mate rials cannot be labeled "recy clable” unless consumers have access to convenient recycling facilities. OSPIRG s third extension to Senate Bill No. 66 would be to rWUNDERlAMO ^ 1 PUBLIC MARKET 683-8464 r *',» i VIDEO APVtHTUKc ^ VALLIY MVtll PLAZA convince the plastics industry to fund programs to develop the recycled plastics market. OSPIRG recently collected 3.000 signatures statewide on a petition in support of these three amendments, Haber said. Although it seems plastic is just as easily collected and recy cled ns aluminum cans, only a small amount of plastic actually finds its way to recycling facili ties. Haber said. Currently, only a limited amount of No. 1 and No. 2 plas tics are recycled in Oregon Plas tics labeled No. 3, No 4. No. 5, No. t> and No 7 go to landfills "Part of the reason so little plastic is actually recycled in Oregon is because there is no market for recycled plastii s," Halier said. "People think it is so easy to recycle plastic because they don't have to think about it after it leaves the curb." Kuryn Kaplan, University • recycling coordinator, said peo ple often ask her what they should do with the styrofoam shipping materials that come in computer boxes and other plas tic materials. "I tell them to throw it away," Kaplan said. "No matter what the plastics industry might tell you. there's just no place to send it for recycling." Currently, the University can only send No. 2 milk jugs to be recycled: everything else goes in the garbage. About 70 percent of all plastics are used in food related capacities and can't be recycled, Kaplan said OSPIRG focuses on education as a means to help keep plastic out of landfills. Halier said. j BACK TO SCHOOL j i SAVINGS i ! 10% off! | «mf> ttn coupon | 086-5069 | 1122 Attw j Playing with shadows University students cast shadows while playing bas ketball near the campus tennis courts Tuesday after noon despite chilly winter temperatures in Eugene —^r. f \ CUSTOM PRINTED \ JT-SHIRTS Lowest Rates! 896-0101 DEVELOP & PRINT • 3" COLOR PRINTS ■ 24 36*^*^ 2nd* I **| ■exp ■ exp w set ■ J I coupor ist accompany order • add $1 for 4“ x 6‘ color prints 1 i Campus 1 hr photo ■ 1231 ALDER • 683-4693 UNCOOKED UNKNOWN UNLEASHED An evening of original works presented by graduate students of the Department of Dance Friday/ Saturday February 19 & 20 • 8:00 pm Dougherty Dance Theatre 354 Gertinger Annex S3 Pw person -- nr prt i\isti»mrf I *jMf«** 1/l** %t \ 136 E. 11 th • (near Willamette) 342-3358 Must be 21 or Over Wednesday ** ■ - $5 (mhkI God!! It's ... . Flipper Sludge plow A (• uv Named James Thursday ia, w $3 Boogie Patrol Kxpress Roots Roundup (ftwnC'anad*) Friday m i«$5 A niuitl pic rang and scarification seminar Sowbelly »The Big I Am The Scallywags Terry Ixre Hale Music Starts at 10pm Mon-Sat Music starts at 8pm Sundays PAPER DUE? FIND SOMEONE TO TYPE IT IN THE ODE CLASSIFIEDS