Once Again, Colorado Rides to the Rescue

From the state that brought us bars we can actually breathe in, we have another coup. On Feb 12, a Colorado state senate committee voted 4-3 for a bill that would ban plastic bags in large retail stores within three years. To fears that the bill would drive consumers to paper bags, supporters said the idea was to get customers to tote reusables.

The bag ban was proposed by a teacher and a group of students at Kent Denver School to two Colorado lawmakers, Sen. Jennifer Veiga and Rep. Joe Miklosi, both Denver Democrats, who agreed jointly to sponsor the measure. Kent teacher Paul Gilden and his students sat through the 21/2-hour hearing, and four students testified on behalf of the measure.

A food industry spokesperson questioned why the bill only pertained to retail stores over 10,000 square feet. That made no sense to me either. Colorado lawmakers should take that out. Although large businesses produce the bulk of the plastic bag waste, each store that allows them contributes.

David Allen, of Telluride, Co reported that 26 mountain towns in the West are collaborating on a voluntary initiative to reduce consumption of plastic disposable shopping bags.

Here are the pros and cons raised about passing a plastic bag ban. Some proposed by the senators do not hold water. My comments illustrate why.

Those supporting the plastic bag ban say:

* Global consumption of plastic bags is approximately 5 trillion annually.

* 12 million barrels of oil are required to manufacture 100 billion plastic grocery bags.

* The average family accumulates 50 plastic bags in four trips to the grocery store.

* It costs $4,000 to recycle 1 ton of plastic bags (note: and only $34 to make them, making recycling a totally uneconomical decision).

* Ninety percent of all grocery bags are plastic.

* Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to degrade.

* Millions of fish, seabirds and mammals die each year because of plastic bags.

Those against the ban say:

* Plastic bags require 40 percent to 70 percent less energy to make than paper bags (translate: cheap for the manufacturer).

* For every seven trucks needed to deliver paper bags, only one truck is needed for the same number of plastic bags (note: no disposable bags = no trucks).

* It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than a pound of paper (note: but costs beaucoup bucks).

* The manufacture and use of paper bags generates 70 percent more air emissions than plastic (And why are we making either?).

* Making plastic bags requires less than 4 percent of the water needed to make paper bags (See argument above).

* Plastic bags are fully recyclable and can be made into dozens of products, including fencing, decking and new bags (Again, the economics are against them: $34/ton to make versus $4,000/ton to recycle).

*The main point here is not to compare paper and plastic, but to compare throw-away bags to reusables. All the arguments above result from the plastic bag lobby.

Case Study for Going bag-free

Colorado-based Vitamin Cottage has long banned plastic bags in its stores. By Earth Day, April 22, 2009, all of its 29 stores will be bag-free. Starting in April, customers at all the stores in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and Utah will have to bring their own reusable bags or take their groceries home in recycled boxes.

Heather Isely, executive vice president for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, stated: "Grocery bags in general are a huge burden on the environment. We tried incentives. Unfortunately that didn't work. It seems like people respond to the negative. Imposing a bag tax (in Ireland and elsewhere) has produced significant results." During each of two walks yesterday in the city, I can home to find a (different) plastic bag on my front lawn. Naturally, I used it to pick up the other trash. Is that an argument for having them? We can use them to hold all the other trash discarded along our sidewalks and streets?