Should we ban plastic grocery bags?
Paper or plastic? Why not B.Y.O.B. -- as in, bring your own bag.
The Whole Foods supermarket has announced that it will no longer offer plastic bags to customers, which it says too often become litter and take thousands of years to decompose in the environment, according to the company's web site .
In taking the step -- which includes giving customers 5 cent rebates if they bring in their own reusable grocery bags -- the company has jumped into a heated debate that has flared up in Annapolis, Baltimore and many other cities across the country. Plastic bags require petroleum to manufacture, and are only used once before being thrown away. They're so light, in urban areas, they too often perch in trees like birds. And they drift about in waterways like phony jelly fish.
Click here if you want to read a disturbing article about how we're becoming plastic people -- turning our oceans and fields into landfills.
Go here if you want to check out a deeply weird website devoted to photographs of showcasing the "beauty of the omnipresent plastic accessories that adorn the trees of Baltimore, MD." The mere fact that there is a web site called "bagsintrees.com" is perhaps evidence that civilization as we know it has ended.
On a more serious note, San Francisco last year banned stores from giving out plastic bags, unless they are of a kind that break down easily. Recycled paper or reusable cloth bags are required. Annapolis considered a similar ban on plastic in November, but then dropped the idea in favor of studying the issue.
Critics of such bag bans argue that they're an overbearing manifestation of the nanny state. And they say they only encourage the use of more paper bags, which also consume resources. But plastic bag foes say they're a nuisance because they decay so slowly, they're bound to become a permanent blight on the landscape. Plus, they're easy to replace.
The New York times reported in today's paper that "a rising number of governments and retailers are banning plastic bags, or discouraging their use, because of concerns about their environmental impact. ... China announced a crackdown on plastic bags a few weeks ago, while other governments, including New York City’s, are making sure retailers offer plastic bag recycling."
Baltimore City Councilman Jim Kraft says he plans to introduce bills in March that would discourage stores from giving out plastic bags, and ban styrofoam containers. He also wants the city to start encouraging people to recycle cans by requiring customers to pay a small fee -- perhaps 5 or 10 cents -- when they buy a can of soda or beer. Then they can get the money back when they bring cans back to stores. The homeless could make money by cleaning up the city.
Under Kraft's plan, stores could only hand out plastic bags for free they were biodegradable. If customers wanted the old kind of immortal and indestructable flying bags, they would have to pay a small fee. And the money would go to a city green fund used that would be used for cleanup and other environmental projects.
"We have a lot of support from the community and from businesses for this," Kraft said. A key question is whether Mayor Sheila Dixon will support it, he said. Kraft hopes she will. "With the mayor's continued emphasis on a cleaner city, it will be a logical bill for her to support."
Two years ago, the city's restaurant association adamantly opposed Kraft's proposal to ban styrofoam containers and cups. They said it would be expensive and a hassle. Kraft disagrees, saying most major fast food companies, including Taco Bell, McDonalds and Burger King, have switched to paper containers, which don't persist as long in the environment.
If you feel strongly either way, comment on this blog. Or contact Councilman Kraft by clicking here.
If you want to watch the KQED-TV station's recent program on the debate of plastic vs. paper, go here.
Comments
I am in favor of a plastic bag ban. Reusable is the way to go., or at least choose biodegradable bags. The UK has been successfully banning plastic bags. We can do it too.
Posted by: Ed Maurer | January 23, 2008 11:43 AM
Tom,
I came across this article recently, and thought about sharing it on this blog, but hesitated due to the "local-only" nature of the blog. Now, with this post, I decided I should indeed share it.
http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we.shtml
After reading that, I can't see how anybody would be against plastic bag bans. I now shudder every time I even bag my produce. Does anyone know if grocery stores care if you choose not to put your produce in the provided plastic bags?
Posted by: Derek | January 23, 2008 12:03 PM
Ban the bags. Ban them with extreme prejudice. Derek grocery stores do not care if you do not bag produce. It saves them money.
Posted by: cheflovesbeer | January 23, 2008 12:54 PM
Two years ago, the city's restaurant association adamantly opposed Kraft's proposal to ban styrofoam containers and cups. They said it would be expensive and a hassle. Kraft disagrees, saying most major fast food companies, including Taco Bell, McDonalds and Burger King, have switched to paper containers, which don't persist as long in the environment.
In other words, they're too "expensive and a hassle" for small local businesses, but the "major fast food companies" can handle it. Glad to see Kraft working hard for Baltimore!
Posted by: Jesse | January 23, 2008 2:31 PM
"Be careful what you ask for!" There are pro's and cons on all sides. Plastic is less expensive, easier, and faster, but people are pigs and do not dispose of them properly, litter the planet, and petroleum is used in the production. Paper is biodegradeable and organic, but utilizes resources, deforests our planet, and pollutes our environment with toxic chemicals (dioxin) as a byproduct of it's production. Reusable is the way to go, but we Americans are spoiled, inconsiderate and don't want to be inconvenienced by having to "BYOB". It seems to me the answer is to move away from both paper and plastic in favor of reusable natural fiber like canvas but will the average spoiled American go for it? Perhaps if we go into a recession and people are really hurting financially, they might consider using something other than a bag they have to pay for. In my opinion, we should charge for anything that isn't reusable (which should include bringing back your plastic or paper bags for reuse.) My neighbors are so careless that when they put their garbage out on the curb, the plastic bags come loose and blow in the wind and end up in our lake. We need to require our populace to be more considerate by taking it from their wallets when they are not instead of tolerating the current status quo of spoiled consumers whose excesses are detrimental to our environment and who think these problems are someone else's job.
Posted by: Sheila Jones | January 23, 2008 5:29 PM
See: bagsintrees.com
Posted by: TJH | January 23, 2008 9:48 PM
I’m writing from KQED Broadcasting in San Francisco. We recently did a radio story on both sides of the paper vs plastic issue for Quest, our multimedia series on environment, science, and nature.
I saw your recent blog entry and thought your blog readers might be interested in the story—it’s posted online at: http://www.kqed.org/quest/radio/view/704
Thanks,
Amber
Posted by: amber | January 24, 2008 10:53 AM
I'm not in favor of the government banning plastic bags but think it should be easy to use alternatives! I use a cool one from
http://www.cafepress.com/earthrising3.61644666
and get compliments while shopping :)
Posted by: Mary | January 26, 2008 9:42 AM
Ironically, plastic bags are the most re-used form of garbage there is. It's also ironic that we're cutting down more trees to save the environment.
For us average, bill-paying citizens, the ban on plastic bags means spending more time, money and energy carrying our groceries home. Meanwhile, oil consumption will not decrease. Huge SUVs keep rolling out while petroleum companies continue to whimsically raise the price of gas.
Banning the use of plastic bags is an environmental red-herring. Obviously throwing plastic bags on the ground is not good. That's why there are fines for littering.
Between pouring oil into the atmosphere with our cars and throwing plastic bags on the ground, the former seems worse. I wonder, what is the equivalent in plastic bags to an average car's 25-gallon gas tank?
Besides, if there’s one thing oil is good for, it’s for making plastic. Plastic is cheap, sanitary and easy to recycle.
Posted by: patrick | February 11, 2008 8:27 PM
More hype and false info... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3508263.ece
Posted by: Tim | March 8, 2008 7:53 PM
There are better solutions than carrying bags in car. You don't need bags at all. See http://www.autocarts.net for a clever alternative to bags. This is the best solution to the problem.
Posted by: greg | May 13, 2008 4:25 PM