So the bag tax passed. How much do reusable bags cost anyway?

Paper or plastic? Come Jan. 1, Montgomery County shoppers will be mulling whether to BYOB.

Bring your own bag, that is.

Montgomery County Council adopted a 5-cent tax on "carryout" bags during its regular meeting Tuesday.  

But exactly how much would it cost shoppers to BYOB? 

Patch scoured retailers in and around Germantown hoping to score reasonably priced reusable bags. In total, Patch visited 10 stores: Big-box stores Walmart, Target; two grocery stores Safeway and Giant Food; plus six retailers at nearby Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg --- Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Sears, JCPenney, Kohl's and H&M. 

Prices ranged from 50-cents to $3 a pop --- both from Walmart. We were able to find reusable bags at all of the stores except Lord & Taylor and Macy's.

You can view the results in our photo slideshow (above).

As for the nickel tax on bags, just know that you won't have to shell out a money in every case. According to the bill,  oversize bags for bulk items, bags for takeout food and "doggie bags," dry cleaning bags, bags used for prescriptions, bags used for perishables such as meat or flowers don't get taxed.

But for everything else, it will cost you a 5 cents per bag. It doesn't matter whether it's paper, plastic, recyclable or not.

The bag will cost a nickel.

The county estimates the bag tax will bring in more than a million dollars in revenue in its first year. The money would go to the county's water quality protection fund. Businesses get to keep a penny for each bag taxed. The intention, according to the bill, is to transfer the burden of liter cleanup onto people who choose to use paper or plastic bags instead of bringing their own.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett introduced the bill to the council, following the footsteps of Washington, D.C., which adopted at  similar 5-cent bag tax in 2009. The measure passed in an 8-1 vote Tuesday, with councilwoman Nancy Floreen casting sole "no" vote.