FocusMore US cities mull plastic bag bans

30 April 2007 20:39  [Source: ICIS news]

By Al Greenwood

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A growing number of US cities are considering restrictions on the some 90bn or more plastic bags that are produced each year, sources said on Monday.

The restrictions if applied could have a significant effect on bag makers, said Andy DeVilling, vice president of sales for StarPak. DeVilling was speaking on behalf of the Progressive Bag Alliance, a trade group representing StarPak's parent company and other bag manufacturers.

The bag alliance and the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) are hoping that the proposals do not get far by encouraging cities and states to adopt recycling programmes instead of bag restrictions.

California is one state where the industry has managed to preempt restrictions with a state-wide bag recycling programme to begin in July.

However, San Francisco -- one of the state's largest cities -- approved on 20 April a law banning plastic bags that cannot be composted, that could remove some 150m-180m bags per year, according to the plastics society.

Elected officials in Boston, Massachusetts, Portland, Oregon, Santa Cruz, California, and other places are also considering laws that would levy fees on the bags or ban them altogether.

Massachusetts State senator Brian Joyce plans to file a bill that will place a fee on plastic bags, his office said. If approved, the bill could become law by the end of the state's legislative session in July 2008.

State and municipal governments aren't the only groups seeking to wage war on plastic bags.

Since March 15, retail chain Ikea has charged customers 5-cent fees for each plastic bag they use, said Mona Astra Liss, spokeswoman for the company.

Ikea placed the fee to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags and thereby cut its bag consumption by half, to 35m annually, she said.

The trade groups say they plan to lobby governments to choose recycling programmes over restrictions.

"These bags are 100% recyclable. That is the message we are trying to get out, " DeVilling said. "For these states and cities, recycling would be much easier than these proposals they are making."

The Film and Bag Federation of the Society of the Plastics Industry is spreading the word to other cities about the difficulty of copying San Francisco's law.

"We are trying to get the information out there," said Donna Dempsey, the federation's executive director.

San Francisco can pursue such a project because it is one of few cities in the US with a curb-side compost program, Dempsey said.

However, the supply of biodegradable bags might not be large enough if other cities follow San Francisco's example, she said. Biodegradable bags also cost 6-8 cents more than plastic bags.

If cities want to reduce solid waste, there is existing infrastructure to recycle the bags through grocery stores, which can collect and sell them to be ground into resins for use by bag producers, DeVilling said.

"Recycling is definitely the answer," he said.
By: Al Greenwood
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