Spring&Summer ~~~ Has your state implemented a ban or reduction plan for Plastic Bags?

  

We all know that warm weather means shopping more often and …

Though there is a ban on plastic bags for many Retailers in many states, you wouldn’t know it. The ban or reduction of plastic bags was implemented on July 1 of 2012 in Seattle, WA.  It’s now 2013 and springtime, a time when folks are out shopping.  I get it, it is not lucrative to ask for reusable bags or to inform the public about the .5 charge for each bag, but given the idea that we all should be concerned about the environment; I do expect a little more effort to push reusable bags.  Some states have implemented their Ban or Reduction plans on Plastic Bags as well, but not much information is available about who will or is enforcing the new rules or how they are measuring the reduction rate, if at all. The struggle to clean up our environment should not be this complicated or hard and hopefully our city councils will keep at it with great zeal as the plastic industry has big $$ incentives to stall or stop it … They need to think about the next generation …  the Seattle City Council rules and regulations on plastic bags are below

 

How will the plastic bag ban work?

It’s simple – retailers are prohibited from offering plastic  carryout bags to customers. Paper bags may still be provided to customers for a  minimum of five cents – stores keep the nickel to help cover the cost of  providing bags. Everyone is encouraged to bring, sell and use reusable bags.

What bags?

Banned Bags Include: plastic bags provided at checkout of all  retail stores (bags less than 2.25 ml thick and made from non‐renewable sources). Exclusions: bags used by shoppers in a store to package bulk  foods, meat, flowers, bakery goods or prescriptions; newspaper, door hanger  bags and dry cleaning bags.

What stores?

Where the policy applies: all retail stores including but not  limited to grocery stores, corner and convenience stores, pharmacies,  department stores, farmers markets, restaurants and catering trucks. Where it’s not applicable: for take‐out food where  there is a public health risk if a bag is not provided.

What about paper?

Retailers may provide paper bags made of at least 40% recycled  paper for a minimum 5 cent pass through cost that retailers keep to offset the  cost of providing bags. Low income customers who qualify for food assistance programs  shall be provided paper bags at no charge.

 

If you would like to support me & my business buy  a reusable bag at www.beaseedforchange.org Get Our Eco-Friendly 100% Organic Bag ! Great for Shopping& the Beach- @ http://www.beaseedforchange.org

THE Plastic Bag Ban STORY by City Council Member Mike O’Brien

first posted - Nove.2011

What’s the Problem?

Washingtonians use more than 2 billion  single-use plastic bags  each year, and Seattle alone uses approximately 292  million plastic  bags annually and only 13% are recycled.  Too many plastic  bags end up  in Puget Sound where they do not biodegrade.  Plastic bags break down  into smaller and  smaller pieces that remain hazardous as they are  consumed by filter-feeders,  shellfish, fish, turtles, marine mammals,  and birds. PCB levels in Chinook  salmon from Puget Sound are 3- to  5-times higher than any other West Coast  populations. In 2010, a  beached gray whale was  found to have 20 plastic bags in its stomach!

Data source: Keeping Plastics Out of Puget Sound,  Environment Washington Report, November 2011

How would the plastic bag ban work?

It’s simple – retailers are prohibited from offering plastic   carryout bags to customers.  Paper bags  may still be provided to  customers for a minimum of five cents – stores keep  the nickel to help  cover the cost of providing bags.  Everyone is encouraged to bring, sell  and use  reusable bags.

What bags?

• Banned Bags Include: plasticbags provided at checkout of all  retail stores (bags less than 2.25 ml thick and made from non‐renewable  sources).
• Exclusions: bags used by shoppers in a store to package bulk  foods, meat, flowers, bakery goods or prescriptions; newspaper, door  hanger bags and dry cleaning bags.

What stores?

• Where the policy applies: all retail stores including but not  limited to grocery stores, corner and convenience stores, pharmacies,  department stores, farmers markets, restaurants and catering trucks.
• Where it’s not applicable: for take‐out food where there is a public health risk if a bag is not provided.

What about paper?

• Retailers may provide paper bags made of at least 40% recycled  paper for a minimum 5 cent pass through cost that retailers keep to  offset the cost of providing bags.
• Low income customers who qualify for food assistance programs shall be provided paper bags at no charge.

Joining cities on the West Coast and around the world

Seattle would join cities along the West Coast, hundreds of cities  across the country and twenty nations worldwide that have already taken  action to reduce the use of single use plastic bags.

• San Francisco, CA – Banned plastic bags in 2007.
• Los Angeles County – Banned Plastic bags November 2010; includes a 10 cent fee on paper bags.
• Portland, OR – Banned plastic bags in summer 2011.
• Edmonds, WA - Banned Plastic Bags in 2009; law was implemented in August 2010.
• Bellingham, WA - Banned plastic bags in 2011, in the model outlined in this document;  legislation to be implement in summer 2012.
• Washington DC – Implemented a 5 cent fee on paper and plastic bags in 2009; reduced  disposable bag use by 80% citywide in first year.

Background in Seattle

Approximately 292 million disposable  bags are used in the City  of Seattle annually.   In 2008, the City Council passed an ordinance that  would have placed a 20 cent fee on disposable plastic and  paper bags  at grocery, drug and convenience stores in an effort to reduce  waste.   The ordinance passed the Council  in a 6-1 vote and then opposing  parties collected enough signatures to refer  the ordinance to the  ballot, where it was over-turned by the voters (53%-47%)  in the  November 2009 primary election.   The American Chemistry Council spent  over $1.4 million opposing the law  during the ballot measure campaign.

Party time for Orangutans

The palm oil branch of Sinar Mas, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), just unveiled a plan to stop destroying forests and peatlands in Indonesia. For years their plantations fueled rainforest destruction across Indonesia, but this week they promised to change all of that.

A giant palm oil company in Indonesia just unveiled a plan to stop destroying the forests. We need to make sure they keep their word. Help Greenpeace make sure they follow through with their plan by making your most generous contribution right now.

I honestly can’t believe I just wrote that sentence. This is something that a year ago would have been unimaginable. But here we are. If properly implemented, the plan announced by GAR could be an historic step toward full forest and peatland protection in Indonesia and could also mean the survival of endangered wildlife like the orangutan.

For the last three years Greenpeace has been pressuring GAR by convincing large palm oil buyers to cancel their contracts. It worked. Together we got the world’s largest food company (Nestle) and the world’s largest bank (HSBC), a global restaurant brand (Burger King) and one of the largest buyers of palm oil on the planet (Unilever) to take action. Thanks to supporters around the world, we now have a ground-breaking commitment from GAR.

However, this commitment will mean nothing without implementation. Help Greenpeace make sure Sinar Mas follows through with their plan to save the forests by making your most generous contribution right now.

In many ways, our work has just begun. We can’t protect the orangutan and other endangered species and achieve our goal of zero deforestation in Indonesia by 2015 if Sinar Mas doesn’t follow through with their plan. That’s why we have to make sure they do it. This piece of the work is every bit as important as the campaign that got us here.

And while this is a moment to celebrate, we aren’t out of the woods just yet with Sinar Mas. It’s a massive conglomerate and this deal is only with its palm oil branch. Their paper arm — Asia Pulp & Paper — is still destroying the forest unabated. That is unacceptable, and it is something we intend to change with your help.

Without your support to we cannot continue our work in Indonesia and keep the pressure up on Sinar Mas. Please send us your most generous contribution right now. Together we can save these precious forests and the amazing creatures and people who depend on them.

For the forests,

Rolf Skar

Greenpeace Forest Campaigner