Will San Jose join the ban-the-plastic-bag team?

August 28, 2009 by Tom Guay

Posted in: Latest News & Views, News, Waste & Pollution

So what do you do when a really handy product ends up as one of the world’s largest pollution problems?

That’s the problem the San Jose City Council’s wrestling with as it decides how to reduce use of the ubiquitous plastic bags for produce and groceries. The council’s choices:

ban them
charge for each bag
spend millions on public education to encourage consumers to voluntarily bring their own bags, or
do nothing.

Each option has a problem. The first two will discourage use of the bags, but they will then increase demand for paper bags. According to the American Chemistry Council, paper making releases twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as plastic bags. The group’s Web site contains several myth-busting reports on the plastic bag controversy. For example: plastic bags are mostly made from natural gas, not oil (click here).

Educational campaigns costs millions and don’t quickly change behavior. Doing nothing won’t stop the current pollution problem, which according a report in The Mercury News, reveals itself after storms as litter along the Guadalupe River. Click here for the paper’s story.

Helping drive this municipal action is a recent report from the United Nations calling for the elimination of single-use plastic bags because the world’s oceans are littered with plastic, which is non-biodegradable, according to a report in the McClatchy Newspapers. The UN marine-litter report is here.

So far in the U.S., San Francisco has banned plastic bags, and Los Angeles will do the same in January. Washington, DC, is considering a ban. However, several cities have rejected the idea, including Seattle, New York City and Philadelphia.

Tags: GHG emissions, plastic bags, recycling

6 Responses to “Will San Jose join the ban-the-plastic-bag team?”

Donna Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:06 am
It seems like there is such a push for grocery stores to ban the bag, but not much said about department stores to go green. I don’t see people bringing their “green shopping bags” into the malls, and stores like Yonkers, Old Navy, Target, Sears, etc. Aren’t their bags just as bad for environment as the grocery stores? Some of the store brands are made of thicker materials – are they better…or worse? I don’t know, but have always wondered….
Wild in Westport Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Westport, Connecticut started its Plastic Bag Ban March 19,2009 and the response by it’s shoppers has been outstanding. The town even had a contest to design reusable bags for use not only at local stores but other places that Westporters shop.
Jeffrey Hansler Says:
September 4th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Bags don’t kill the environment, people do. Once again we’re working around inconsiderate and lazy individuals. The trash can is just too hard for people to hit. Recycling programs are dramatically improved regarding plastic bags once the bags are in the recycling system. Issuing citations and the fines for littering is immediate revenue, easy education, and sends a message loud and clear. Bags don’t kill the environment, people do.
Robbie A Says:
September 8th, 2009 at 3:36 am
I think there are still a lot of confused people out there regarding this issue. I think there are people that want to do the right thing but don’t have the right information. I currently use plastic bags for meat (in case it leaks) and any product that would make a mess if it broke during transport such as eggs. I use reusable bags for everything else. Then I either use the plastic bags for trash or take them back to the grocery store to the recycle bin. I use a few paper bags to put my shredded paper in that needs to be recycled so that it doesn’t fly out when it’s dumped by the recycle truck. I believe there is a place for each type of bag and that education will help people make the right choices. I don’t have any children in school but it seems that would be a good place to start the information flowing. Part of the assignment would be for the kids to “teach” the lesson to their parents. This would help the kids to remember what they learned and hopefully the parents will pay attention the information and start making some changes.
Donna Says:
September 8th, 2009 at 8:57 am
I re-use my plastic bags all the time – in fact, I have co-workers that bring their extras to me, since I am always running low. I always keep a few in my car, and use periodically to clean out my car, of the odds and ends that collect, garbage, etc. I use it when harvesting tomatoes, etc in my garden, to later bring veggies to work to give out. I throw a few in “green” grocery bags, and re-use them at the grocery store, especially when getting things I don’t want to go into the bag. (And if I ever “forget” my green bag, I can always take in to the store some of the plastic bags I have stored in my car!) Mostly, I use a few plastic bags every day to clean out my litter box – very handy, since you can tie it closed, before dropping it into the garbage, to prevent odors!
Red Neck Granola Says:
January 19th, 2010 at 11:44 am
I hate the plastic “t shirt” bags. They are some what handy for leaky items but they tend to rip easily. If left in the sun for a while they are a mess to clean up, the sun degrades them part way but they never seem to truly go away. Also if you bury them they last for eternity and beyond, they are a bag but nothing special.

Paper bags are more durable unless you grab them by just one corner and then the side just blows out. Biggest problem with them is that they usually don’t have handles, but at least they biodegrade eventually.

Reusable bags are a great idea if you remember to bring them. Down sides can be if you buy them from one store you may feel a little odd carrying them into another because they all seem to plaster advertizing all over them. (It’s kind of weird to walk into a K-ame A-part carrying a Wally World bag.) The other thing I hate about most of these are the bright colors and all the “green” messages printed all over them, real guys need something in plain beige, gray Khaki or black if you want them to use them more than once. (If you make them camouflage, some may not even notice they are carrying a handbag?)