Item 4: Ordinance on Suspension of Paper Bag Pass-Through Charge

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The City has had plenty of time and notice to implement the chance. I was hoping the bag ban would help people chose bags that can be recycled. Decreasing the plastic is great for the environment but increasing paper bags is not the solution. Some people's reaction has been juvenile, like a temper tantrum. I spoke with a Wal-Mart clerk who said that people initially were so terribly verbally abusive to her that she wished she could have quit. That is totally uncalled for. Wal-Mart sells recycled bags for 50 cents! They hold so much that those people who leave with 20 plastic bags, would only need 4-5 recycled bags. That's less than $3 and much less than a pack of cigarettes or 6 pack of beer. My recycled bags have lasted for years. I only had to repair one small hole in one. Many stores give you 5 or 6 cents for eahc bag that you bring in shopping which reimburses the cost. I am very caring about low income people and their problems. If they really need help, why not allow the recycled bags to be bought with their Food Stamps. That way less paper will be used. From personal experience I know that in many European countries they were charging 25 cents for a bag in the 70's if you didn't bring in your own bag. And its great when you can find recycled bags made out of old recycled plastic bags. ( ie:Trader Joe's) I hope you don't reverse the ban or encourage more paper use. Educating the pupil on helping our environment is so important. Thank you. Lin Marie * From: Lana Lindstrom [mailto:lana_lindstrom@hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 2:21 PM To: *Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Subject: grocery bags - give it time! I was incredulous when I read that the Council was considering repealing the $.05 charge for grocery bags - it had been less than 2 weeks!!! Of course some folks are going to complain - it's change. I've spoken with several checkers in the S. Eugene Market of Choice, hardly a place where low income folks shop - yes, even there, some folks are complaining, but most are accepting. That's because most of us have been training ourselves for years to walk in with a bag or two. Most grocery stores in Europe and even in S. Africa have been charging for bags for at least 10 years! Let's not go backwards. If folks are concerned about low income folks, let's provide them with some reusable bags for free - 2 or 3 bags per family which should last a couple of years. Make it part of the Sunday Streets Festival. Even the grocery store $.05 bags, both plastic and paper, can be re-used multiple times, but most people don't - many end up in the grocery store recycle bins. I don't believe it's about the money. It's about change and being "inconvenienced" by having to remember to bring a bag(s) into the store. Please, please, please allow new habits to form..... one bag at a time. Lana Lindstrom *