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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4: Ordinance on Suspension of Paper Bag Pass-Through Charge ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Public Hearing: An Ordinance Concerning Suspension of Paper Bag Pass-Through Charge in Section 6.860 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Providing a Sunset Date Meeting Date: June 10, 2013 Agenda Item Number: 4 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Stephanie Scafa www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5652 ISSUE STATEMENT Section 6.860 of the Eugene Code, 1971, requires that a retail establishment offering a recyclable paper bag to a customer at the point of sale, charge the customer not less than five cents per bag and that the fee charged be indicated on the customer’s receipt. On May 13, 2013, the City Council voted to reevaluate the paper bag pass-through fee and bring back an ordinance to suspend the five-cent-per-bag charge during the reevaluation period. BACKGROUND and RELATED CITY POLICIES The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 20498, encouraging the use of reusable bags by banning single-use plastic carryout bags and requiring a five cent fee for carry-out, recycled paper bags, on October 22, 2012. The ordinance went into effect on May 1, 2013. Discussion Eugene is one of the over 90 cities nationwide and three within Oregon, that have adopted a ban on single-use carryout plastic bags. With regard to the use of a five cent fee in Oregon, Portland does not require a five cent pass-through fee on paper bags, while Corvallis does require the charge. Currently, the Corvallis City Council is considering an update to its ordinance that would require the five cent charge be applied only to large grocery-style bags. Public Comment This public hearing provides a forum before the Mayor and City Council regarding the proposed ordinance to suspend the five cent fee (Attachment A). Additional comments submitted to the City between May 1 and May 29, 2013, are included as Attachment B. TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE – SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC IMPACTS The staff analysis from the February 27, 2012, City Council work session provided overviews of the assumed environmental, social, and economic impacts of the proposed ordinance. Prior to ordinance adoption, City staff developed the “Bring Your Bag” outreach and education campaign, which continues to offer assistance to Eugene retailers on an as-needed basis. The objective of the S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130610\S1306104.doc campaign is to raise awareness of the purpose and function of the ordinance as well as provide information about where to obtain low-cost or free reusable bags. COUNCIL OPTIONS No action is necessary at this public hearing. Action on the ordinance is scheduled for a later date. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION None at this time. SUGGESTED MOTION No recommended motions at this time. ATTACHMENTS A.Proposed Ordinance B.Public Comment FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Stephanie Scafa Telephone: 541- 682-5652 Staff E-Mail: stephanie.scafa@ci.eugene.or.us S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130610\S1306104.doc ATTACHMENT A ORDINANCE NO. _____ AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING SUSPENSION OF PAPER BAG PASS- THROUGH CHARGE IN SECTION 6.860 OF THE EUGENE CODE, 1971; AND PROVIDING A SUNSET DATE. The City Council of the City of Eugene finds as follows: A. Section 6.860 of the Eugene Code, 1971, requires that a retail establishment making a recyclable paper bag available to a customers at the point of sale charge the customer not less than 5 cents per bag and that the fee charged be indicated on the customer’s receipt. B. The City Council would like to reevaluate the paper bag pass-through fee and has determined that the requirement to charge five cents per bag should be suspended during the reevaluation period. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY OF EUGENE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The findings set forth above are adopted. Section 2. Section 6.860 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is suspended. Section 3. Unless extended or made permanent by future Council action, this Ordinance shall sunset and be repealed on December 1, 2013. Passed by the City Council this Approved by the Mayor this _____ day of June, 2013. _____ day of June, 2013. _______________________________ _______________________________ City Recorder Mayor Ordinance - Page 1 of 1 ATTACHMENT B Public Comment on five-cent pass through charge on paper bags This document is a compilation of comments submitted to the City between May 1 and May 30, 2013. From: City of Eugene [mailto:DoNotReplyToThisEmail@ci.eugene.or.us] Sent: Monday, May 27, 2013 7:43 PM To: Eugene PDD Code Compliance Inspectors Subject: Nuisance or Zoning Complaint A Nuisance or Zoning complaint has been submitted from the web: Violation Address - Walmart on Green Acres Location Description - I'm not sure if this is the right place to file a complaint about the plastic bag ban and new .5 cent charge for a paper bag, but hopefully you can forward it to the right place. I find it ironic that people with food stamps should have to pay for bags. Many do not have cars and are Now forced to pay additional fees just to Carry their food home, yet people with WIC vouchers do not have to pay. Please revisit this option. Thank you * From: Brenda Brainard [mailto:brendalee.brainard@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 1:44 PM To: CLARK Mike Cc: *Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Subject: paper bags Good Afternoon Councilman Clark: I read your Letter to the Editor this am re: paper bags. I would like to add my thoughts for your comments and am asking that you share them in discussion with the City Council as they revisit the plastic bag ban. I am okay with the plastic bag ban, but here is my point of contention: Until May 1 all grocery, etc. bags were "free". Well, not really free, but the cost of using bags (plastic and/or paper) had been included in the price of the good being sold. However, after May 1, when the City allowed the outlets the opportunity to charge for bags, the bags became .05. However, I have not noticed a drop in prices of goods in light of the fact that money is now being charged above the price of the items for the inclusion of the sack. Additionally, 1,000 bags at Cash and Carry cost less than $9.00. That is .0009 for each bag, leaving the store a .0491 profit ON EACH BAG. Times this by the thousand bags a day at Walmart and see how much money the City Council is putting into big corporation's pockets (or Fred Meyer or Safeway or whomever). So, who wins from this. Of course, the grocery/outlet item. Certainly not the consumer or the overall good (for whom the ban is to protect and help). To me, it feels like City Council is looking out for the retail (mostly giants) with their decision. 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 By banning the bags, you’ve started a chain reaction for the people of Eugene. I cannot stress how important it is to realize these bags are NOT single use. People use them to line trash cans in their homes, to carry their lunch to work, to pick up dog droppings, to dispose of used kitty litter, in place of packing materials and for freezing food, just to name a few of the dual purposes of these now coveted bags. What they don’t use, they recycle. Sure some of the bags get thrown away by this, but isn’t it better than causing us to resort to buying trash bags, doggie bags and smaller trash can bags that really are completely intended for single use? When I clean my cat’s litter box, it makes me sick to think of how the bag I am using is partially wasted because it is too big for merely the contents of the litter box. The plastic grocery bags were just the right size and when I used them it was at least the second time they were used. It’s just silly to buy things that are intended to literally be thrown away. How’s that for eco-friendly? The City of Eugene’s personal website makes a failed attempt at trying to convince residents 2 that they can still conveniently “line the garbage can” and “deal with pet waste.” They claim using the plastic bags that are still in circulation is one solution. That’s a bit hypocritical, is it not? Other offered solutions include using produce bags, bread bags, bulk or cereal bags. The only slightly logical alternative in the lineup is produce bags, but it also seems a tad bit ironic that these bags are ok while the shopping bags aren’t. As for lining the trash can, it suggests newspaper and rinsing periodically, which is a disgusting substitute and a horrible mess to clean up. Most astonishing of all is the duplicitous suggestion of buying “thin, reusable bags.” There’s something missing here. The five cent expense for each paper bag used at the check out is atrocious. I see clearly that this is, once again, intended to encourage (force) us to use allegedly reusable bags, but they were free before. Not to mention, most people preferred plastic. So now you have two choices: conform to cloth bags or pay five cents for a bag that you never used to use and don’t even prefer. Plus paper is a byproduct from trees. That means more trees harvested than before. While I realize trees are crops, a renewable resource, there are so many more important things for which they should be used. The sole use of cloth or reusable bags is not the answer. While it might work for some people, these bags are not people-friendly to the majority because they require a lot more effort to maintain than what most people would like to put forth. While, due to their single use as a means of food transportation, it can be concluded that plastic and paper are the most sanitary grocery bags, whereas cloth/reusable bags can harbor harmful bacteria. This can be avoided by washing them…preferably 2 http://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?NID=2390 3 after each use. It is also recommended to keep meat products, produce and non-food items in separate bags respectively. There are several problems here. First off, it’s difficult to remember to bring the bags to the store. Sure maybe some people will eventually conform, but only because they feel it’s a hopeless lost cause. Keeping items in separate bags is a frustrating inconvenience. Using labels may sound like a good idea (and if it works for you, great!), but not everyone is that organized. Lastly, and most importantly, washing the bags after every use (or nearly every use) is almost impossible for most people. With their busy schedule they can barely budget enough time to go shopping, let alone spend extra time washing their grocery bags. Not to mention, the majority of the so-called reusable bags sold in stores are only good for a few uses until they get holes in them. They are also not exactly intended to be washed, so even “re-usable” bags go to the landfill. My attitude on cloth or reusable bags has always been the same, even before this outrageous law was passed: to each their own. I’m never going to be the person to tell people what type of bags they can and cannot use. That’s an invasion of rights. What gives only a few people the entitlement to take away a whole city’s freedoms, especially without a public vote? If pollution of plastic bags really is a legitimate concern, measures should be taken to encourage recycling. Bag recycle bins could be set up at places people frequent, like the mall and all grocery stores, to make it more convenient to dispose of them in a truly eco-friendly way. Do you really think outlawing plastic bags will help the environment and reduce litter? Some people will always litter, even if it isn’t plastic bags. It doesn’t change a thing. Also, although I’m not at all advocating for the banning of paper bags, I have to ask: Is it really better for the environment to continue producing paper bags as the only alternative to cloth/reusable bags? Sure 4 they are biodegradable, but it takes much more energy to make a paper bag than plastic, and paper bags aren’t easily reusable. In a town where there are so many more important issues to worry about, like homelessness, theft and road maintenance, just to name a few, why target plastic bags? Doing so has turned something so miniscule into a huge issue. It’s not right that something that effects and offends so many be imposed on us. We should have been granted a public vote, at the very least. I assume you’ve supposedly heard all the complaints before, but you’re listening with closed ears. If you really, truly cared and heard what people are saying, you might actually quit thinking about what you, yourself believe will solve the problem, and consider some alternatives that just might suit the entire city better. Remember, there are more of us than of you. 3 http://townhall.com/columnists/debrajsaunders/2013/02/10/wash-your-bags--or-else-n1508589 4 http://ducktv.uoregon.edu/plastc-bag-ban-hits-eugene-controversy-over-usefullness/ * From: Dan Cragun [mailto:dan.cragun@yahoo.com] Sent: 16 May, 2013 15:38 To: Eugene PSO Subject: Cragun: paper bags This comment is for the City Council ... Because of the 5c per paper bag charge, and because I live close enough to either Eugene or Springfield Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores, I will now be shopping in Springfield. Dan Cragun dan.cragun@yahoo.com * 5/16/13 – Email sent through “Contact Us” ‘With the new plastic bag ban, did you intend to penalize those of us who have been shopping with reusable cloth bags for years? You are! At Winco, before the ban, I used to get a credit of 6 cents per bag. Now, I don't. So the people who never brought reusable bags before but now do break even. The people who never brought them and still don't are charged 5 cents a bag, raising the price of their groceries. The people who always brought them and have stopped lose 11 cents a bag (the 6 cents they used to get + the 5 cent charge). And people like me have had the cost of their groceries go up. I'M BEING PENALIZED BY YOUR ORDINANCE EVEN THOUGH I HAVE BEEN REUSING BAGS FOR YEARS. THANKS FOR PUNISHING THOSE OF US WHO ALREADY WERE TRYING TO CUT DOWN ON WASTE.’ Contact information: Susan Iverson Email: ronlybonlyjones@yahoo.com Request Tracker #: 1698 * From: Lin Marie [mailto:hiketheworld@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:59 PM To: *Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Subject: Plastic bags Dear Mayor, council and city manager; I was so glad when Eugene decided to ban the plastic bags, for so many environmental and animal causes!!! 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 * From: Winter Hekimyan [mailto:whekimyan@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 5:21 PM To: NELSON Ethan A Subject: Questions to answer please... Hi, I am very frustrated with this new ban and that you keep telling everyone that this was best for Eugene but the reasons you say it's best doesn't make sense. 1) Most, if not all the plastic bags used were recycled already and weren't impacting the environment like they used to year ago when recycling wasn't as important. 2) So we have to pay for paper bags as well? Why? Because they also go to the dumps eventually? The thing about that is, they are so close to being recycled material, they practically fall apart before you get them home, so I have a hard time believing they sit in a dump in such a way that really impacts anything. 3) You spoke about reusing bags (any bags, plastic, paper, cloth). So many people DO reuse plastic bags. I used them for diapers, dog droppings, trash in general, etc. I also used to reuse them repeatedly for other situations (shopping, going to the park, etc.). I would think reusing the recyclable plastic bags for trash, especially, would be better for the environment than having to buy more of the larger bags you buy at the stores (such as Glad or Hefty) to use for trash. Are they as recyclable as the plastic bags we used to get from the grocery stores? There are two other issues that I would like to address about this ban: 1) I didn't realize that anyone else was having the same problem I was with the loss of plastic bags (or free paper bags). I am also disabled and for me, having plastic bags was easier for me to carry instead of the paper bags. Cloth bags don't seem as easy for me to carry. 2) You and others claim you put this ban in place to help the environment but I have made a conscious effort to go to Springfield to do my shopping from now on, so not only is Eugene losing the revenue from myself and many others who have vowed to not shop in Eugene, but my car's emissions have increased because I now drive to Springfield rather than going less than a mile down to the local Eugene Walmart I live by. How does that help the environment? I hope you and the city council take a closer look at the faulty decision you have made with this ban and at the VERY LEAST make paper bags free or get rid of the ban all together, which would benefit many more people out there who did indeed reuse the recyclable plastic bags. * From: Clayton Pauer [mailto:claytonpauer@live.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 8:42 AM To: *Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Subject: Plastic Bags I'm a manager in a big box retail store in Eugene and the plastic bag ban with the .05 charge is perfect. We too get a small amount of complaints about the "inhumanity of it all." Generally speaking, we americans hate to be inconvenienced and will cry and whine until we get used to it and then we'll be fine. Because we charge .05 people won't buy a bag unless they absolutely need one. If we don't charge for a bag most people will take a bag whether they need one or not and then we've accomplished nothing. People have so many reusable bags not being used in their homes and cars. Instead of lifting the bag charge encourage retailers to start a reusable bag bin their stores (customers leave their unwanted reusable bags in the bin). If people (poor people) need a bag they can take what they need from the bin. Again, the system is perfect. Please don't cave to the minority loudmouths. We'll figure out a way to get bags to those that can't afford them. Regards, Clayton Pauer 541.842.0886 * 5/14/13 – email to Mayor, City Manager, and City Council It might be wise for some of you to look at this. What you have put into place is about as crazy as this city can get. I really cannot believe the lack of common sense on this. I always recycled and reused these bags. I will now carry my own plastic bags. And answer me this, who get the $.05 stupid charge for the paper bags. Harold Greer – who has lived in Eugene for 60 years and I was once proud of this city. Included forwarded email from Hilex Poly: When lawmakers across the country discuss plastic shopping bag bans and taxes, it's because the public perception of plastic bags is often based on junk science and distorted claims. However, our brand new infographic will help set the record straight. Here are the facts about plastic bags:  Plastic bags are environmentally friendly. They're 100% recyclable and 90% of consumers reuse them. Plus, the rate of recycling is increasing thanks to the 30,000+ recycling drop-off locations across the country.  Alternative grocery bags are worse for the environment. Manufacturing paper bags requires 70% more energy than plastic bags -- and for every 7 trucks needed to deliver paper bags, only 1 truck is needed for the same number of plastic bags. So- called "reusable" bags are no better. A standard cotton grocery bag must be reused a whopping 131 times to ensure it has lower global warming potential than a single-use of a plastic bag. And other types of reusable bags are made from foreign oil and cannot be recycled.  Bag bans and taxes are causing local businesses to suffer. In fact, a store in California reported a 25% decline in sales after a bag ban was implemented, and another store owner reported 300 plastic baskets stolen after a bag ban passed. You can help spread the truth by sharing our infographic with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. Speak up today! * 5/14/13 – email to Mayor, City Manager, and City Council Dear City Council Members, I have recently been informed that several of you would like to revisit the fee associated with the recent bag ban. I imagine you have been hearing a lot of negative feedback about the fee, and I am sure you will continue to hear this feedback for some time. It will no doubt take that time for people to adjust. But why is the fee important? First and foremost, it helps local businesses offset the higher cost of paper bags. The paper bags can cost from 6 to 12 cents a piece. If the ban stays in effect without a fee, local businesses will be negatively impacted. Also, one key element in considering the environmental impact of a consumption-related decision is the embodied energy in a product. Paper bags, because they take more energy to produce and ship, actually have more embodied energy than plastic bags. If the fee is not maintained to encourage use of reusable bags, then the bag ban will have done very little to help avoid the environmental cost associated with single use bags. I urge you to keep the fee for paper bags. It is better for local businesses and better for the environment. Many cities have passed bag bans without fees. Eugene has an opportunity with its bag ban to be a leader. Please keep the fee. Regards, Clayton Stilwell Oregon League of Conservation Voters Oregon Leadership in Sustainability * From: Diana Bus [mailto:dbus@efn.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:50 AM To: *Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Subject: 5 cent bag fee Good morning. What another beautiful spring day we are having. I just read this mornings paper and saw that the council may reconsider the 5 cent fee for paper bags. I think that's a great idea. I strongly support using reusable bags, but i also think the 5 cent fee is quite a burden. Eliminating the fee would certainly would make it easier for the folks running the cash registers as they wouldn't have to wait to close out the receipt until all the groceries were bagged. And most retailers had already included the costs associated with bags into their overall costs. By eliminating this fee the council could show both support for using reusable bags, but also streamline the process a great deal. Thanks for listening. Diana Bus * 5/13/13 – email to Stephanie Scafa What is the purpose of the bag fee? a. If it is to re-emburse the store for cost of paper bags, then it is an over charge. All traders then stores from time imemorial have always added to the price of the goods they sell the cost of doing business. Supplying paper bags is a cost of doing business. The fact is stores never lowered their prices when they shifted to plastic unless paper requested, so they have actually been collecting money to pay for paper bags they never sold for decades. Now the public is faced with being charged another nickel on top of what they have already been paying for bags. If you know different then I'd like to see both pricing models for before and after the advent of plastic bags as I never noticed the decrease in price for the cheaper bags. You need a different motivator. I suggest having no bags to offer the public at all. Advertise it widely then and no one gets ripped off and resentful over paying extra for something they already paid for. That is how you drive innovation and change not by stealing money for a corporation that is not going to incerase its tax payments to the city voluntarily for the favor of incrteasing its profits. b. If the nickel were sent on to the city, still not a great idea, the city should buy reusable bags with it and give them away free. * 5/7/13 Mayor Piercy, I had a bad couple of experiences as a result of the bag ban. I went to Albertsons on Royal and Danebo and I go to the self checkout and I see no paper bags out. I am informed that I have to personally find someone on duty and request the number of bags I think I will need, they will come over personally and escort the bags to the self-check out area and ensure they got added to my bill before I could access them. If I am short one (because I don't want to get more than I need), I have to repeat. On the same day, a few minutes earlier, I had to go to the front part of the store where they sell cigarettes so I could buy a lighter and pay for the candles I was buying for my wife's birthday cake. I had to have a bag, I realized, because I forgot I still had to go the back of the store to get the cake, and without a bag it would look like I didn't pay for it, but I had to pay before leaving that counter and so there I was, stuck. So after I was rung up, I gave a $1 and they rang up a separate 5 cents and gave me 95 cents change, and then handed me a full size grocery bag for two objects I could have cupped in my two hands so you couldn't see them. I feel exactly the same as when I go to a gas station and have to ask for a key to the restroom and then return it. I feel exactly the same as if the carts were removed from grocery stores and I had to rent one and someone had to accompany me at all times to make sure these particular leased carts did not leave the property. I feel like raising my hand in class to say I have to go potty or something. I suggested they stock the bags by the self-serve with just bar codes and pricing so I could scan a bag, load it, if I need more, scan another and load it and then ring up my final total. They said they couldn't because they HAVE to make sure EVERY bag is paid for. This is turning their lives and my self-serve life upside down over paper bags. I suggested they get some bag dispensing device where I press a button and it spits out a bag and adds it to my bill if the bag gestapos need this level of security and scrutiny. Got any ideas? I can't stand this treatment. I think that Albertsons values their products very highly and has systems in place to reduce shoplifting, but somehow it is a big penalty to them if they let paper bags be purchased on the same honesty system as the rest of the stuff and someone messes up (a customer fails to add it). Never mind that they could look at a receipt before you leave (like Costco) without the humiliating of making you beg for a bag and have to have it escorted to your self-serve checkout center and not released to your hands until and unless they enter the price for it... It is wasteful not having a selection of bags to fit the size of merchandise I need . It is wasteful to have small bags cost 5 cents like a big one because the incentive is to get the biggest one since you are already paying for it anyway. I see how wasteful it is for the store to turn their cashiers into little police at the self-checkout, the wasted manpower, and then the wasted person time from my life having to go beg for bags and have them escorted by Brinks to my self-checkout. I'm wondering if you have any ideas on how this could be improved? And soon.. Bill Northrup * 5/7/13 I was just reading the article on the bag ban that states "Wic" holders are able to get free bags. Either paper or reusable. Maybe it wasn't made clear to ALL participants, as Friday while checking out at WalMart the gal told me that anyone with Food Stamps was able to get free bags. The article says they are not eligible. Maybe a little more training is needed. Either way, it is totally a rotten deal that anyone gets free bags while I'm having to pay for them! If they can afford Beer and Cigarettes they can pay the bag!!! Oh and I had a clerk at Albertsons tell me, if I needed a bag to get one from the produce or meat department. Jackie DesChamps * 5/2/13 From: adamsdaddy123@gmail.com [mailto:adamsdaddy123@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 11:10 AM To: *Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Subject: Plastic Bag Ban in Eugene Hello to all concerned, I am an ordinary man, father and husband who lives in Eugene very close to Gateway Mall. I am not political and couldn’t even tell you what Ward I am in. I just wanted to pass on my opinion about your new plastic bag ban. I’m no fan of plastic bags. I worked as a grocery sacker when plastic bags took over as the main bag in stores. I thought they were silly though the company pushed how they were cheaper to make, produced less harmful toxins in production and how they took up less space in landfills. I’m no fan of plastic bags. Your decision to remove the plastic bags is fine with me but you have managed to do something I never thought would happen. You have driven most of my business out of Eugene and into Springfield. I have a handful of reusable bags I keep in the car for when I go shopping. I don’t always have enough and use the extra bags from the store. Your 5 cent “fee” makes me feel like I am the bad person and am being punished for not owning enough reusable bags, or driving the correct car with the reusable bags in the trunk, or riding the bus and stopping by the store for a few things without my bags. stnd As I said, I live very close to Gateway Mall. Yesterday and today, May 1 and 2, I visited 5 stores in Eugene. Every cashier politely explained to me how I will be charged 5 cents for a bag. I asked each cashier what they thought about the change. Not a single one liked it. I asked loudly enough for the other customers to hear. Quite a few responded with negative responses. Nobody seemed to mind the plastic bags going away as much as the 5 cent charge for using a paper bag. In 3 of the stores I carried the groceries out in my hands. The reusable bags were either in the other car or I accidently left them in the trunk. I am approximately half way between stores I generally shop at. This would include Wal-Mart, Winco, Fred Meyers, Safeway and Walgreens. I roughly estimate I spend around $20,000 to $25,000 a year on food and supplies for a family of 4 with teenagers in the house. Today I decided to change where I shop. For me it only changes the roads I drive on, the distance and fuel usage is roughly the same. This will not affect the stores I shop at as I will still go to Wal-Mart, Winco, Fred Meyers, Safeway and Walgreens. They will be the stores in Springfield now. I’m sure this will affect other things as well. I’m guessing I will now go to the Les Schwab in Springfield rather than the one by Fred Meyer on River Road since I won’t be shopping there anymore. I’m also guessing this will affect where I buy fuel as well. I generally purchase fuel at Fred Meyer on River Road. As I spend more time in Springfield I see myself finding a gas station close to one of the places I shop. Do you see the ball rolling here? Again, I’m not a fan of plastic bags. With that said my family and I reuse our plastic bags multiple times before they are no longer fit to use. My daughter uses them as lunch bags. My son throws his workout clothes from school in them and ties the top shut. We use them for pet droppings and we use them in our bathroom trash cans. I’m sure we can find other ways to do these things though it will cost us more as a family. I now have to purchase lunch bags or a lunch pail for my daughter, a reusable bag for my son’s gym clothes (he absolutely refuses to use a green Winco bag to put his clothes in). I can always buy bags for my trash cans and come up with something different to pick up after the pets. I don’t find you’ve changed my plastic usage much as I will be buying (more money out of my pocket) heavier plastic bags to replace the (free) plastic bags I would get from the store. So as long as Springfield doesn’t put a fee on their bags, paper or plastic, I will be shopping there. Add up the $20,000 or so from the people that didn’t write or call you but have chosen to do the same thing. This will affect Eugene poorly. I would even meet you half way and start shopping in Eugene again if you lift the required 5 cent fee from the bags and allow the customers the choice. Allow the companies the choice to charge for the bags or not. Companies were paying for bags, paper and plastic, long before you put the ban in place. I would guess they would offer free bags again if it kept people like me in their stores. I am only one voice and I rarely take the time to speak up on issues like this. This issue got me to sit down and write this letter. I hope you take my voice and my choice to shop elsewhere into consideration as you address this topic in future meetings. Thank you for your time, Joseph Green