Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Pressure Builds to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Paper or plastic? It is a question that has long dogged grocery shoppers. But the debate may soon be settled for this maritime city, where a bill aimed at protecting marine life would ban plastic bags from all retail stores. San Francisco enacted a ban in April, but it applies just to larger groceries and drugstores. Similar measures are being considered in Boston; Baltimore; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Santa Monica, Calif.; and Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques Cousteau and director of EarthEcho, an environmental education group in Washington, said, "Banning plastic makes sense for the simple reason that it takes more than 1,000 years to biodegrade, which means that every single piece of plastic we've ever manufactured is still around, and much of it ends up in the oceans killing animals."
Ms. Cousteau attended a public meeting here on Monday to support the measure. More than 70 people attended the meeting.
The bill aims to help protect Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, whose fish and birds often die after ingesting discarded plastic bags. Stores would be required to offer paper bags made from recycled material under the bill, which goes to a final City Council vote in October.
Critics say the ban would be expensive and counterproductive.
"It sounds good until you consider the cost," said Barry F. Scher, a spokesman for Giant Food, the grocery chain based in Landover, Md.
Instead of taking away plastic bags, which cost 2 cents each compared with 5 cents for paper bags, Annapolis should enforce its litter laws, Mr. Scher said.
He added that Giant already offered a 3-cent credit for every plastic bag that customers return to the store and that 2,200 tons of bags a year were recycled and turned into backyard decks and park benches.
Paper bags are bulkier to transport than plastic bags, Mr. Scher added, and more trucks, fuel and pollution are involved in delivering them to stores.
"That may be true," said Alderman Sam Shropshire, the sponsor of the bill here. "But what they don't tell you is that to make 100 billion plastic checkout bags per year, which is how many we use in the U.S. each year, it takes 12 million barrels of oil. No oil is used to produce recycled paper checkout bags."
Jeffrie Zellmer, legislative director of the Maryland Retailers Association, said it took far less energy to recycle plastic than to recycle paper. Mr. Zellmer added that 90 percent of retailers used plastic bags and that costs could increase threefold or sixfold, eventually reaching consumers.
The commercial recycling coordinator for the City and County of San Francisco, Jack Macy, said that nationally 1 percent of all plastic checkout bags were recycled. "That means the rest end up in landfill," Mr. Macy said. "And so the argument about plastic recycling being energy efficient isn't a strong one."
"Look," Mr. Shropshire said, "in the end, the best option is for people to bring their own reusable bags. But if they fail to do that, then they can use paper bags that biodegrade faster than plastic and yet do not require any trees to be cut down."
At the hearing, a lobbyist for Safeway called the bill un-American, saying it would take choices away from consumers.
For now, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer of Annapolis, a Democrat, remains undecided on the measure.
A spokesman for Ms. Moyer, Ray Weaver, said the city planned to distribute reusable bags to residents by the fall. To accomplish that, Mr. Weaver said, the city is considering teaming with sail makers to use excess material that teenagers in a jobs program may sew into sacks.
"I think it's a smart move," said Jim Martin, owner of the Free State Press, a small printing and copy store several blocks from the State Capitol, as he ordered business cards for a City Council member to be delivered in a plastic bag.
Mr. Martin said he was more than willing to phase out the plastic bags because he was tired of the litter in the streets, trees and bay.
Brian Cahalan, owner of 49 West, a coffeehouse about two blocks from the Capitol, said that regardless of whether the measure passed, the debate had compelled him to act.
Though his store uses plastic bags, Mr. Cahalan said, he plans to encourage customers to use their own bags or none by adding a fee of 25 cents for each store bag used.
"That way," he said, "we won't have to figure out which of these two types of litter is worse."
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
Comments
Note: Disqus 2012 is best viewed on an up to date browser. Click here for information. Instructions for how to sign up to comment can be viewed here. Our Comment Policy can be viewed here. Please follow the guidelines. Note to Readers: Spam Filter May Capture Legitimate Comments...
16 Comments so far
Show AllWhy don't people just use fabric bags?! I know it is hard to get used to, but it isn't that difficult to grab your bags before you go to the grocery store or keep them in your trunk.
Forget your bags? Oops, but it's not the end of the world. So you use paper bags from the store when you forget your fabric ones...no biggie.
I guess people just don't realize that they are paying for the bags they use when they shop somewhere, as it is built into the price of everything they buy.
I can't tell you how happy I am with my hemp grocery bags...they have taken a beating and I have had them for three years!
Go on, take the plunge! Don't wait for bags to be banned, and ban them from your own home instead. It will be fun - trust me. The looks I get at Target are worth it when I show up with my own bag. Start your own revolution.
S.I.T.O.
I agree with lawreros: cloth bags are great - stronger and much better looking than either paper or plastic. Also, when they ask "paper or plastic?" answering "cloth" has a nice ring. And its true, other people in line appear shocked and envious.
plastic
kills
google:
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Start charging for all those wasted bags. Eventually, people will either recycle or buy cloth. Americans need to start changing their mindsets, and that will take ongoing reinforcement and consequences for irresponsible decisions. When we were in Ireland, stores didn't just offer up bags for every tiny little purchase. People were constantly reminded to conserve. In a bathroom airport in Switzerland there was a sign asking people to only use one paper towel. Sometimes all it takes is a friendly reminder. We now use cloth bags for groceries. They're not that expensive and work great. And for very small purchases that can be easily carried without a bag, tell the clerk to keep it. People need to be reminded of this stuff over and over. And they won't change unless there are consequences.
have been using cloth bags for many years
making sure the checkout line knew....
success!!
last week i saw a lady bring her own bag....
first ever!!!
and oh yeah
i have no trunk
i walk
always
ken
"'It sounds good until you consider the cost,' said Barry F. Scher, a spokesman for Giant Food, the grocery chain based in Landover, Md.
Instead of taking away plastic bags, which cost 2 cents each compared with 5 cents for paper bags, Annapolis should enforce its litter laws, Mr. Scher said."
No, actually it still sounds good even after I consider the added cost of 3 cents per bag, Mr. Scher.
I bring my own canvas bags, and also a couple of stretchy cotton net bags. It's so nice not to get home and either have to stow away yet more plastic bags or throw them away. It's not too big a deal at the local health food store, and they even credit me 5c per bag, but whenever I bring them to the supermarket, I get the suspicious looks, like perhaps I have escaped from a mental institution.
I have been using canvas bags for a long time also. It is not that difficult to remember once you start. Another option if someone happens to forget their reusable bag is to just not use a bag. Until the proper laws are enacted, a little education for the checkout workers would go a long way. There is so much waste--I often see people buy one item and put it in a bag. If bags were a quarter a piece that would hardly ever happen.
Unnecessary packaging is one of my biggest pet peeves. The same problem applies to mail-ordered items, retail stores, fast food restaurants etc. Unfortunately, the fact that there is such resistance to eliminating wasteful practices shows that we are a long way from making the real sacrifices needed. Wasteful packaging increases the cost of goods and creates hassles--more time spent unwrapping, throwing away, (or recycling).
Switching from plastic to paper is not a solution at all and not necessary at all. I am thrilled to see what is happening in San Francisco and possibly other cities. It is a long awaited voice of reason.
Yes please bring your own bags Be them cloth , Canvas or even plastic.
It wasn''t more then a few generations ago people used their own baskets to shop.
I see new mothers carrying around their babes in huge contraptions. Why not carry your own basket. Cause if you get to carry the items before you buy . You for sure will buy less which is a big plus.
Another plus if you buy less prices will go down. You don't really believe that old chestnut of Mass production cutting the cost to the consumer do you? A couple a days ago I saw a 95 cent what once was a 5 cent candy bar. No people they do not make these candy bars special for each person.
By the way while I was in the store 3 people bought candy bars without even a look of surprise.
So surprise the store carry your own basket .
You other choice is just to stay the ZOMBIE you are.
"Instead of taking away plastic bags, which cost 2 cents each compared with 5 cents for paper bags, Annapolis should enforce its litter laws, Mr. Scher said."
Agreed. Enforce the litter laws and have systematic litter pick-up. But most importantly, have the whole thing funded by grocers, convenience stores and fast food restaurants; NOT the taxpayer.
"Annapolis should enforce its litter laws, Mr. Scher said."
The ol' capitalist cop out. What a joke! The last thing law enforcement needs to worry about is catching litterbugs. Enforcing litter laws doesn't work and trying to get consumers to be responsible usually doesn't work.
"At the hearing, a lobbyist for Safeway called the bill un-American, saying it would take choices away from consumers."
I say it's irresponsible and unsustainable to let consumers have all the choices they have now.
Every year 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. They take about 300 years to photodegrade, leaving toxic remnants behind. They require a great deal of energy to produce, and transport. Even if they were always properly disposed of, they are still an environmental bane. The most disturbing thing about them is that they are unnecessary. A tax on plastic bags was enacted in Ireland in 2002, and a result, use decreased by 90%. This whopping decrease in use was possible because no one really needs these plastic bags in the first place.
I just came back from visiting friends in Ireland. We went to the grocery store and there you must bring your own bag. They just don't provide them period.
The people there are used to this system and they're not kvetching about their choices being abridged!!
When you look at all of the other choices being taken away or endangered in this nation I think we have a few more things to worry more about than our grocery bag choice! Hmmm, Patriot act, or paper v. plastic?
It's the height of hypocrisy for anyone, from the president of the U.S. down to the president of Safeway, to fail to advocate for us to conserve petroleum products, and forgo the plastic bag, as a way for us to support the troops and gain energy independence . . . oh, sorry, i forgot . . . i'm supposed to just spend money on stuff and travel according to Bush's 1st law of patriotic fervor and anti-terrorist action.
Well said, Chartreuse Muse. This "consumer choice" idea was shamelessly introduced by the Safeway lobbyist.
Do you want a freakin' plastic bag or do you want a planet that supports life? How is that for a consumer choice?
I agree with the Common Dreamer who said, "it's irresponsible and unsustainable to let consumers have all the choices they have now."
Instead of the ludicrous proliferation of consumer choices let us think more of the responsibility in the form of stewardship we have to air, water, and soil; we must choose on their behalf.