SEATTLE - The Seattle City Council has approved a proposal to impose a 20-cent fee on disposable shopping bags and to ban plastic foam containers used for fast-food takeouts.

The council passed the plastic foam ban by a unanimous 7-0 vote. The vote to impose the 20-cent fee on bags was 6-1 in favor.

Councilwoman Jan Drago was the lone vote against the bag fee measure. She says she supported the goals, but not the legislation as written.

"I would support it if it didn't create another fee in a recession," Drago said.

But Councilmember Richard Conlin responded that no one is required to pay the fee unless they choose to use disposable bags.

"No one, it's a fee, not a tax," Conlin said. "A tax is something that goes into general fund that we can use for other purposes. The fees are going into a solid waste fund. It may only be used for solid waste purposes."

The proposal was recommended by a vote last week of the Environment Committee. The city estimates it will raise as much as $10 million for waste prevention and encourage shoppers to take reusable bags to grocery stores.

The 20-cent fee on disposable paper or plastic bags takes effect Jan. 1 at convenience, drug and grocery stores. The styrofoam ban begins in 2010.

The city says the green fee would encourage the use of reusable bags and reduce the number of disposable bags by half. City officials estimate Seattle citizens use 360 million paper or plastic bags each year.