SALEM — Banning plastic checkout bags would either write another proud chapter in Oregon’s green heritage or create a costly and even potentially hazardous nuisance for consumers, state legislators heard Tuesday…. The legislation, Senate Bill 536, has won powerful support from a bipartisan group of legislators, environmental groups and the grocery industry. They’ve crafted a proposal that outlaws the single-use plastic bag for retail check-out while offering consumers the alternatives of paying 5 cents for a paper bag or bringing in their own reusable bag. The bill offers some exceptions, including pharmacies and restaurants.
Before all y’all begin chattering about what a bunch of granola-eating tree huggers those of us who live here in Oregon are…well, the truth is that we’re pretty much a bunch of granola-eating tree huggers…and I, for one, am pretty OK with that. We’ve got something pretty special here. Most Oregonians recognize that, and they recognize it enough to actually want to take steps to protect what we have.
No one is going to make the argument that plastic grocery bags represent a significant portion of our pollution problem. Not so very long ago, however, we had a similar debate over the plastic rings that held six-packs of aluminum beverage containers together. Once it was established that wildlife could and often did wind up strangled by the plastic rings, they were outlawed in Oregon. Now, it’s as if they never existed, and I don’t think anyone is the poorer for their absence. A problem was identified, a solution was proposed, and it was passed into law with nary a complaint and precious little notice. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the same thing will likely happen with plastic grocery bags.
No, plastic grocery bags don’t represent an overwhelming proportion of Oregon’s pollution problem, but neither do you have to walk very far to notice the scope of the problem. You see them along hiking trails, on riverbanks, on ocean beaches…pretty much anywhere and everywhere humans travel. They’re not necessarily ubiquitous, but they are a nuisance. Since there really is little in the way of effective recycling programs available for the bags, there’s little incentive for Oregonians to do much of anything positive and/or useful with them. There’s been a movement afoot to ban plastic grocery bags for some time now, and the Oregon Legislature is finally considering a bill that would ban them almost completely. From my perspective, I have a hard time seeing this as a controversial issue. It’s less about convenience than it is about changing behavior and protecting our environment. Really, it’s kind of a no-brainer.
But officials from the plastics industry — worried that Oregon could be the first state in the country to ban the ubiquitous featherweight plastic bags — have mounted a full-court press against the bill, hiring lobbyists and presenting studies critical of the ban.
Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, one of the bill’s chief sponsors, repeatedly tangled with Mark Daniels, a vice president at Hilex Poly Co., one of the country’s largest plastic bag manufacturers.
“These bags have been hard on Oregon’s environment and even harder on Oregon’s economy,” said Hass at a hearing held by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. He said that the last time Oregon faced a similar litter problem — in 1971 — it became the first state in the nation to pass a bottle-deposit law. He also said the plastic bags have largely eclipsed the use of paper bags, which are produced in Oregon and create jobs here.
Daniels insisted that several studies show that plastic bags account for less than 1 percent of the litter problem and that his company is making major strides in boosting recycling for plastic bags. Some 30,000 retailers around the country now have recycling bins for the bags, he said.
At least in Portland, many people (myself included) do their grocery shopping with reusable cloth bags. Frankly, I find the arguments against the bag ban to be specious and steeped in the self-interest of those who manufacture plastic bags. I bought three cloth bags at Whole Food when I moved back to Portland from Houston 3+ years ago. I still have two of the three bags, and while I don’t always remember to take them with me when I shop, I’d hazard a guess that I’d be more cognizant of them if I knew that plastic bags were no longer available. It’s really all a simple matter of changing behavior; the inconvenience factor to shoppers would be minimal, and the arguments about the unsanitary nature of reusable cloth bags is frankly crap.
When the Oregon Legislature outlawed smoking in public places, people changed their behavior…and there are many other instances of when people were required to change and did so with a minimum of disruption. Banning plastic bags represents a similar challenge, and if the benefit is no longer seeing bags along beaches, rivers, and hiking trails…well, sign me up, eh?
At the same time, the bill has become a target for several conservative groups, including Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, the Cascade Policy Institute and the Taxpayers Association of Oregon.
In this economy, having government increase the cost of going to the grocery store “is not a wise move,” said Josh Culling, an official from Americans for Tax Reform. He said a ban would particularly affect low-income Oregonians who are already struggling to pay for their groceries.
This argument has the feel of desperation…like the opponents of the bag ban have no real argument, but they feel they need to keep fighting because…well, just because. Let’s be real here, shall we? Most reusable cloth bags cost anywhere from $.99 to $1.99 and can be reused for years. The proposed bag ban would impose a $.05 charge for paper bags. Can anyone seriously argue that this represents an onerous mandatory burden placed on the shoulders of poor, downtrodden, and overtaxed Oregonians?? Really??
Banning plastic grocery bags is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it. The costs will be minimal, and the benefits should be noticeable…and soon. There simply is no rational reason to oppose banning plastic grocery bags. Oregonians will adapt and move on, and before long it will be as if nothing had happened.
That’s just how we roll here….
