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

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If the City Council wants to make it more "fair", the .05 should go away (as it is included in the price of goods) and people should get a .05 discount for bringing their own bags. Now, that is financial incentive for us to change. thank you Brenda Brainard Elysium Ave Eugene OR * 5/21/13 Letter to Mayor, Council, and City Manager Megan Holloway bagthebaneugene@yahoo.com To Eugene City Council Members, Mayor and whomever else it may concern: A few weeks ago, I woke up from a nightmare. In this terrifying dream, the world had evolved into a place where literally everything cost money. People were charged extra for the wrapping and packaging on products, and everything had some sort of tax attached to it. One of the most shocking parts of the nightmare was the regulation imposed on the usage of water. Although water, in most cases, is a paid commodity, in my dream, only a certain amount of water was delegated per day, and it wasn’t enough. In the real world, this may seem outlandish and far fetched, but in actuality, given a decade or so, I can foresee a real threat towards the progression to this future. When I woke up, I was infuriated, and the recently implemented plastic bag ban in Eugene served as a catalyst for my anger. The plastic bag ban never seemed like it would happen here. I guess I never really believed all st the rumors until it was actually imposed May 1. My emotions fluctuated between shock and rage as I visited the check stand at my preferred grocery store for the first time since this law went into effect. I was told by the obviously verbally exhausted clerk that people had been complaining all day to him and that it was frustrating because it wasn’t his fault. In fact, he was against it. I read an article printed May nd1 2, which claimed the bag ban was off to a “smooth start”. I call selective interviewing. I have not talked with one single person in favor. As everyone I’m sure is aware, there are a multitude of seemingly positive reasons to conform to the ban of plastic bags. Claims include, they are single use, non biodegradable, causing environmental problems when people litter, filling landfills, and so on. So your solution is to ban them, charge five cents per paper bag, encourage (force) us to bring our own “reusable bags”? Make up all the excuses you want, but you won’t be able to hide from the truth forever. The reality is that plastic bags are more practical than wasteful, and the truth is people are mad. 1 http://www.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/29811144-75/bags-plastic-ban-bag-businesses.html.csp