Paper or plastic….soon the choice may be made for you in the form of reusable bags as more cities vie to be eco-friendly by reducing or eliminating the disposable shopping bags altogether.
Seattle Mayor Calls for Fee on Disposable Grocery Bags
SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed implementing a 20-cent “green fee” on disposable shopping bags at Seattle grocery and convenience stores.
He also wants to ban foam containers from the local food service industry.
Environmental groups applauded the announcement Wednesday morning, saying Seattle would be the first United States city to require fees for use of disposable bags.
If approved by City Council, the new measure would take effect January 1, 2009.
“The answer to the question paper or plastic is neither – both harm the environment. Every piece of plastic ever made is still with us,” Nickels said. “The best way to handle a ton of waste is not to create it.”
According to Seattle Public Utilities, roughly 360 million paper and plastic shopping bags are used in Seattle each year. That’s the equivalent of about 8,500 tons of greenhouse gases.
SPU would collect roughly $10 million annually from the fee and about $2 million would help Seattleites make the transition to reusable bags. The rest will promote waste prevention and environmental education in the city.
The Styrofoam container ban would include items like trays, plates and beverage cups from restaurants and coffee shops. Nickels said cities across the nation are adopting similar policies and as a result, new compostable plastics are available.
Seattle businesses would be required to switch to compostable or recyclable substitutes by 2010.
A group known as Foam-Free Seattle is advocating for the change.
“We saw other cities around the country enacting polystyrene bans and we wanted to see our own city step up to the plate,” said Ellie Rose, a spokesperson. “We are seeing immense public support for a polystyrene food container ban here in Seattle.”
Seattle is not the only city discussing imposing fees or banning the offensive bags:
California Poised to Enact Nation’s Toughest Bag Law
Heal the Bay, L.A County urge Assembly to impose fees on plastic bags statewide
SACRAMENTO, CA (April 10, 2008) – Leading environmental group Heal the Bay has joined forces with the County of Los Angeles to endorse AB 2829, a bill that would impose a mandatory fee on the distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags at all large grocery stores and pharmacies statewide.
The bill, authored by Assemblymember Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles), would mark the most aggressive action by any state legislature to curb the proliferation of plastic bags and limit their negative impacts on the marine environment, local economies and quality of life for millions of citizens.
In a bid to encourage consumers to bring their own reusable bags, store owners would be required to charge 25 cents for each plastic bag requested by shoppers. Funds raised would be directed back to local governments on a per-capita basis for litter prevention and reduction efforts. Members of the Assembly’s Natural Resource Committee are scheduled to vote on the measure Monday. The bill has the support of a wide range of environmental, business and government groups.“This precedent-setting bill can propel California once again to the forefront of progressive environmental public policy,” said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay. “Along with a ban, a fee-based proposal is the most effective way to help rid our state of its addiction to wasteful, single-use packaging.” Californians use more than 19 billion disposable plastic shopping bags each year, with taxpayers spending more than $25 million to collect and dispose of them. While the bags are recyclable, less than 5% of them are recycled. The vast majority wind up in dwindling landfill or clogging our watersheds and blighting our public spaces.
AB 2829 amends a state law that currently forbids municipalities from imposing carryout bag fees, restoring local government’s authority to enact measures that have been shown to reduce pollution. Ireland, for example, has reduced use of plastic bags by 90% since 2002 after imposing mandatory fees. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, hamstrung legally to charge fees, passed a measure this year that set recycling targets for retailers that distribute plastic bags. The county is a sponsor of AB 2829.
“The distribution of plastic bags has created a hidden cost on residents,” said L.A County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke. “They not only pay for plastic bags in the price of their commodities, but their tax dollars fund litter prevention and abatement efforts. It is our poorest communities that are most negatively impacted by the high amount of plastic bag blight.”
The Assembly committee is mulling a separate plastic-bag measure sponsored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys). Heal the Bay opposes that bill because it relies on unrealistic recycling thresholds and delays action until 2011.
Heal the Bay is a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to making Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean for people and aquatic life.
Contacts:Matthew King, Heal the Bay, (310) 451-1500, x 137
James Bolden,Los Angeles County, (213) 974-1079
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Non-Recyclable Food Service Container Ban
Expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam®) and other plastics together make up the majority of the litter that ends up on Santa Monica’s beaches. The pollutant causes significant environmental damage as it is commonly mistaken for food by marine animals and seabirds.
Santa Monica has joined sister cities across the country in banning non-recyclable plastic food to-go containers – an important interim step toward protecting our oceans, lakes and streams from the ravages of plastics litter.
The ban takes effect on February 9, 2008 for all food service providers in Santa Monica. Enjoy dining in Santa Monica and bon appétite.
Visit us on-line at www.smepd.org/container or contact Josephine Miller of the Environmental Programs Division at (310) 458-4925 or josephine.miller@smgov.net.
Rebecca
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