Statewide plastic bag legislation
Over the last several months,
This legislation has launched a much needed discussion on the scourge of plastic bags on Oregon’s environment and the damage they are doing to Oregon recyclers. This dialogue is more than we would have hoped for and several important facts have come into focus:
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Plastic bags are an increasing component of litter in Oregon. Today’s problem rivals that of the one that prompted passage of the Bottle Bill in 1971. The Tom McCall founded group, SOLV, says 12 percent of the garbage collected during their beach clean-ups are non-biodegradable plastic bags.
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Oregon recyclers have been slammed with exploding costs associated with plastic bags. The Association of Oregon Recyclers says 35 percent of operating expenses at material recovery facilities are directly due to plastic bags that jam sorting machines.
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The plastics industry has chosen a strategy of demonizing paper bags as a way to divert attention from the environmental damage plastic bags have on wildlife, beaches and oceans.
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The state has no plan to deal with this environmental problem. There is no litter plan. Oregon is losing the war against litter because we are not fighting a war against litter.
It was our hope that we could come up with a statewide solution before local governments move forward with their own plastic bag ordinances.
We’ve already gone through many drafts in an effort to reach consensus here. But it’s clear the clock will run out on us before we can find the magic mix. Without consensus, we cannot move the bill today.
Still, we’re committed to keeping this dialogue going with legislators, people with skin in the game and most of all with Oregon consumers — who are ultimately the critical component in keeping these bags from continuing to pollute Oregon’s rivers, mountainsides and beaches.
The common ground here is that supporters of this legislation as well as opponents agree plastic bags are a huge environmental problem. So let’s use this common ground as the building blocks moving forward. We have time. These bags will be around for a thousand years.
Mark Hass
FAQs
How long have plastic bags been the standard in grocery stores?
They first came out in 1977.They now account for four out of five bags handed out at grocery stores.
What are the problems with plastic bags?
First, they cannot be easily recycled. Plastic bags are difficult to recycle for the same reasons they are convenient to use. If they make it to a recycling plant, the bags tend to wrap themselves around machinery, gumming it up. So, most curbside recycling programs don't accept them. EPA research has shown that only 1 percent of plastic bags get recycled.
Second, they’re terrible for wildlife. Especially marine life and birds. Birds get caught up in these things. Animals eat them and get sick.
Third, plastic bags are made from fossil fuels. I thought we were supposed to getting away from this kind of energy. Isn’t that a national priority? Isn’t our dependence on fossil fuels one of the things that has created so much foreign turmoil for us?
How do plastic bags compare to paper?
Paper bags are biodegradable and easily recyclable. There’s still an environmental cost with paper bags, but it’s not the threat to the environment that plastic bags carry.
But aren’t paper bags just as bad for the environment?
This is part of the campaign by the plastics industry, to demonize paper bags so that we forget about the problem with plastic bags. The truth is paper bags are recycled at a far higher rate that plastic bags, which cannot be recycled in Oregon in any Material Recovery Facility. It’s true that paper bags have a larger carbon footprint. But that footprint shrinks considerably when paper bags are recycled. About two thirds of paper bags used in Oregon are recycled. This isn’t a debate over which bag is worse. It’s a question of how Oregon solves it’s litter problem. How about we don’t use paper or plastic bags?
What are better alternatives?
The best alternative is if every consumer voluntarily used canvass reusable bags – or no bags at all. And many people are beginning to go this route. I would love to see this occur without passing any legislation. Indeed, the use of plastic bags has slightly decreased in the past two years. But it’s still too high. In the US, we used 30 billion bags last year. In Oregon, we used 39 million bags. It takes 150,000 barrels of oil to provide the plastic bags used in Oregon alone.
Environmentally speaking, is a cloth bag the best option for grocery shopping?
The best option is no bag at all. But cloth bags are the best alternative when you have to carry a lot of groceries. They can be used hundreds of times. And they are recyclable, unlike plastic bags.
Who makes plastic bags? Who sells them to stores?
There are a number of plastic chemical companies who manufacture plastic bags. They sell them to stores at about one tenth the cost of paper bags.
Is the plastic grocery bag industry profitable?
Somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion bags are consumed worldwide each year. I doubt the manufactures would be making that many bags if they weren’t making money.
What stores have already implemented a ban on plastic bags?
Trader Joes and New Seasons don’t offer plastic bags.
Senator Hass and Theresa Barnes of Goodwill Job Connection share the stories they heard during the Senator's first Job Fair on May 14th, 2011.
