Item C: Plastic Bag Ban - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment D: Text responses from consumer plastic bag ban survey I am 100% behind the plastic bag ban. They are completely unnecessary and have nothing to do with personal freedoms as some suggest. They keep small items dry in our rainy weather and are extremely handy... much more so than bulky cloth bags. Ban plastic bags, charge for paper bags and thus urge use of your own permanent shopping bag I've lived in States that restrict plactic bag use. I'm fine with it. The stores offer paper and charge 5 cents per bag. That's okay. If I forget my canvas bags that's my problem. I support restricting plastic bags. Why are still giving people an option to use plastic carry out bags, when there have been so many stores selling gorgeous reusable bags for years in Eugene. It is not that difficult to carry string bags or cloth bags with you; they are easily washable so they can be kept sanitarily clean. I expect better from Eugene's citizenry. I lived in Eugene for 40+ years, and recently moved away. I care about Eugene, and I hope my feedback counts. This survey gives the impression of being un-biased. However, the slant is to misguide the city about the citizens opinion of the disaster caused in our environment by plastic bags. Why can't you just ask folks opinion yes or no on free plastic bags? I think that plastic bags need to go away immediately. They are ruining our economy, and we need to figure out a better system for people. If all retail/grocery stores would sell reusable bags for less money then more people would buy them, or give them out for free with a certain number of $. that they purchase. There are better ways to use plastic. Using them to carry food out of a store is a waste of resources - paper and plastic. We have lived in Ireland part of every year since 2006. Their nationwide ban on single-use bags seems a non-issue. The 22-cent fee/tax on each bag is probably a big part of their turnaround. I use my own bags there, too, and always have done so. These "modern" conveniences are something I believe we can learn to live without, just as we did in the past. Although I find plastic bags to be cheap and convenient, I am acutely aware of the HUGE PROBLEM of plastics in our environment, from clogging streams to seawater adsorption of chemicals. And so I would gladly forego them if need be. I currently compost much, and try to reuse any plastic (not just shopping bags) as much as possible. I am not sure what all the solutions are, or if there are things the City can do in addition to banning them at store level to help encourage less use--curbside food compost pickup, plant-based alternatives...-much "degradable" plastics just break down into smaller bits of plastic, which continue to leach toxins into our environment. We need true compostable bags. There seem to be fewer eco friendly larger trash bags (like kitchen trash bags) available via retail than even five years ago. I am building a composter for dog waste, and if I could lay my hands on a few more really sturdy, rinsable shopping bags I would be set. The flimsy non-woven ones are not helpful, and cotton gets dirty quickly, need to be laundered, then the seams blow out. The good ones I am talking about used to be available for sale at Giant grocery stores in Maryland, they were made by the disabled out of some sort of incredibly strong mesh with a hypalon or the like coating. Exactly the same size as a paper grocery sack, they have two brass grommets near the top that hook onto the rack at the grocery store for easy filling. Easy to rinse, very compact, and strong enough to carry cinder blocks if need be. Please pass the ban!!! Many people have my bad habit of using them to hold garbage plastic bags are like anything else - you can find a purpose for them. Against the bag ban, especially when I consider all the paper plates that are used by elderly people who refuse to use washable plates due to convenience sake