Mayor pushing to ban plastic bags at Austin stores

statesman.com ^ | 25 July 2011 | Sarah Coppola

[smokingfrog]

Austin retailers and grocery stores could no longer offer plastic bags at checkout counters under a ban Mayor Lee Leffingwell and two other City Council members will propose today .

The ban would be phased in gradually, though it's not clear when it would start.

Leffingwell said Sunday that plastic bags pollute waterways, harm wildlife, clog drainage systems and take up landfill space, where they don't biodegrade. A January report from the city's Solid Waste Services Department said Austinites use 263 million plastic bags a year, and the bags cost the city $850,000 a year to put in landfills and to clean up as litter.

"I think there will be a cost benefit and a benefit to the environment of going down this road and coming up with a reasonable ordinance" that bans the bags, Leffingwell said.

To stave off a possible ban in 2008 , six large retailers agreed to try to voluntarily reduce the use of plastic bags, but that program hasn't been effective enough, Leffingwell said.

The City Council will vote Aug. 4 on a resolution from Leffingwell and Council Members Mike Martinez and Chris Riley that would direct staff members to propose a scope for the ban and a timetable for phasing it in. Staff members would have to present a plan to the council in November .

City staffers will work with retailers and other stakeholders to write that plan, the mayor said.

[FrankR]

Why aren't the sensible people of Austin out in force at the courthouse/Mayor's office about this nonsense. We all have enough to deal with by having a marxist in office on the cusp of destroying our nations credid rating, and this wee-willie-winky mayor now is playing the plastic-bag shuffle.

Europeans take their own bag to the store, but usually only buy a minimum number of items. My weekly groceries would take up 30 of those "personal bags" they hawk at the stores.

Not to mention the hundreds of other uses for plastic grocery bags.

I want all these enviro-nuts to move to a desert island, BAN everything, and biodegrade themselves to the light of a spaghetti bulb.

[dennisw]

Isn’t Austin where Whole Paycheck Markets got started? They’ve had a paper-only bagging policy for some time now. >>>>>>

You get ten cents back if you bring your own bag. I stuff an old plastic bag in my pocket to tote my items..... And always ask for the ten cents back. It seems to annoy them.

[DH]

What are they going to do about the plastic wrapped used pampers in the parking lots?

Use corn shucks?

[DH]

“...Why aren’t the sensible people of Austin...”

---

Sensible people of Austin? Are there any?

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Now, they are endorsing the reusable bag..

See also: E-coli.

All bubble-head liberalism causes unintended bad consequences. Every single component of the left's nanny state agenda, causes bad consequences.

All of it.

[MayflowerMadam]

Excellent post! LOL (although not all that funny, when you think about it.)

[MayflowerMadam]

“See also: E-coli.”

Yeah. I’ve seen reports showing that the re-usable shopping bags are teeming with all kinds of disgusting and seriously dangerous crud. The up-side is that it’s the greenies using the bags primarily; maybe it’s God’s way of culling out the weirdos.

If laundering the bags after each use would help with this safety issue, then we’re using more electricity, putting more used detergent into the ground water, etc. Then they’d complain about that and insist on using paper again.

[The Theophilus]

Should be fun next time I’m making fun of my Austin coworkers for this.

Ask them how they propose dog dung is to be reclaimed by the pet's owner - or is it now environmentally sound to allow the stuff to pile up and make unusable public parks and to permanently annoy the neighbors?

[RayChuang88]

I’m surprised they haven’t done this at least a decade ago.

[The Theophilus]

The reason for limited government is to allow people the CHOICE in how they want to live their lives.

The only choice Progressives want you to have is to end a life through abortion and euthanasia. Every other decision can only be made by a highly compensated government employee - and then only for other people, not for themselves.

[bert]

-------Sensible people of Austin? Are there any?-----

Yes.

At my wife's insistence, on our one month wandering around Texas, we visited Austin for two days. While hunting up a store she was intent on visiting, we walked a block or so down a main street. There were the usual signs and bills pasted to trash receptacles and light poles advocating all the leftist causes and advocacies.

To my total surprise, there were numerous editions of the Obama Joker photos. They were too numerous to miss. The message was delivered

So, there are in fact some sensible and dedicated people in Austin

[The Theophilus]

Isn’t Austin where Whole Paycheck Markets got started?

I lay odds these dopes are behind this new intrusion.

The plan is that you are to put the collective's purchases in a backpack and transport them to the commune on a city bicycle.

[JohnBrownUSA]

Sad, but oh so true... :(

[Condor51]

Twenty years ago these same NUTS were demanding we all stop using paper bags and switch to plastic. It was "for the environment".

morons.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Keep Austin Weird is more than just a slogan. It’s a way of life apparently.

[mbynack]

They’ve been doing this in Europe for a few years.

We lived in Germany for six years and they didn't have plastic or paper bags. You bought a cloth bag and reused it until it wore out. I've seen that tried here, but it hasn't caught on.

[bronxville]

I grew up there and we always had our shopping bags or baskets (shopping at the butchers etc was a daily excursion) but they introduced plastic bags when the supermarkets appeared. Now they’ve gone back to the old way and charge for the plastic bags which they believe will deter it’s use. I don’t know the stats, but I’m inclined to think it’s likely reduced useage, somewhat.

[smokingfrog]

I hate that!

[Lazlo in PA]

We use a ton of the grocery store plastic bags. 4 inside cats. The grocery size bag make perfect the size/price for multiple litter box collections. Paper bags won’t cut it.

[Ron H.]

Paper or Plastic sir?

Actually if the grocery stores I shop at really did offer me a choice between the two I wouldn't care about this issue. But since they don't (or better yet, won't) give me a choice at all I for one would prefer paper over plastic anytime! I'm not for government mandated (no) choice but I can reluctantly accept the 'carrot and stick' approach to a sensible solution of giving me the consumer, a reasonable choice of paper or plastic.