Item 3: Ordinance on Plastic Bags

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Bag Ban Public Testimony 7/24/2012 – 9/10/2012 Subject: Plastic bag info worth considering before the upcoming meeting TO ALL COUNCILORS AND THE MAYOR: This email is being addressed to all of you prior to the scheduled Sept 17th public meeting regarding a blanket ban on all plastic store bags that is being proposed. Not only do I completely disagree with such a ban but I think that it is a hypocritical approach and has unexpected consequences as seems to be the case with "hastily pushed" policy that we have witnessed lately. When will our politicians learn to slow down and think things through; carefully considering the figurative big picture, before recklessly moving ahead with costly and/or ill thought out policy that is rooted in sensationalism? This is one such proposal! Most don't dispute the need to be as clean and efficient as possible, as current technology allows. This is evidenced in the fact that many such store bags that are to be banned are now made of "bio-plastics" that are derived from renewable and biodegradable biomass sources; sources such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota (a monotypic genus of evergreen coniferous shrub in the cypress family - refer to wikipedia). These bags are so lightweight and flimsy that they can barely contain any heavy groceries that they are designed to carry but can and are REUSED by many as trash can liners, pet waste bags, trash bags for vehicles on road trips, laundry and/or shoe bags when traveling or camping, etc. I have used them for all of those purposes as I'm sure many others have and there are probably many more applications of which I am unaware. That being said, the moniker of "single use bag" that is attached to these bags is an outright fabrication. In fact, let's expand on that thought and really get to the heart of the matter. What indeed are SINGLE USE BAGS are the commercially produced trash can liners designed for "single use" application. Not only are they so heavy duty that they do not easily break down but they are designed specifically to go from the manufacturers box and into the landfill, via your trash can, where they will sit for years. So I will ask a simple question. What do "you" line your trash cans with? Are you "recycling" a store bag by giving it a second or third life? I recycle 100% of everything that comes through my house and have been for about 20 years now. I have about 15 tote bags that I shop with UNLESS I need more trash can liners (in which case, I collect more store bags instead). Let's use common sense and not be hypocrites. Jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire is not the right approach. I already go two weeks with the smallest trash can available before needing a pickup but If these bags are banned, then I will be forced to buy heavy duty, non-biodegradable trash can liners and contribute to the already massive piles of those products within the landfills. How many others will be forced to change products as well? You could be doing more harm than good with this approach. The following is an OSU news and research communication article written January 4, 2011. I have pasted it so that you can see the over-exaggeration in regards to these bags. While they are not a perfect solution to our waste needs, they have been greatly improved. The fact that photosynthetic microbes within the ocean are thriving on plastic particles just goes to show that more research is needed (not rash decisions), and that they might not be as bad as depicted (especially if organically derived). Just remember that haste in decision making has the potential for huge waste and a host of other problems as well. OSU prof: Ocean garbage patch 'grossly exaggerated'