One Annapolis alderman wants to ban plastic checkout bags from stores because of their harmful effects on the environment.
“They are clogging our [Chesapeake] Bay, and they are a danger to animals and species of plants,” said Alderman Sam Shropshire, D-Ward 7, based on information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“When the plants are gone, we?ll lose our wildlife. A total ecosystem is being destroyed.”
After the success of San Francisco?s ban on nonbiodegradable plastic bags at supermarkets and drugstores, Shropshire wanted to push reform a step further.
His legislation supports a ban on all plastic bags ? including biodegradable plastic bags that can?t be reused to make other products ? from any Annapolis retailer. If successful, he plans to push for a statewide ban.
Because they fall apart, the biodegradable plastic bags also get stuck in recycling machines and disrupt the recycling flow of nonbiodegradable plastic bags, said Greg TenEyck, Safeway grocery store spokesman, who is against the proposed ban. Past concerns about cutting down too many trees encouraged plastic bag use, and now some question returning to the biodegradable paper bag. But environmental activists now say that?s a choice between the lesser of two evils.
“We really shouldn?t be using paper bags either. We don?t want to carry our groceries around in the remains of our forests,” said Anne Pearson, director of the Alliance for Sustainable Communities in Edgewater.
Canvas bags are the best alternative, and many stores offer discounts to shoppers who bring one, Shropshire said. Canvas bags cut down on consumption and can be used for years, Pearson said.
“If stores charged customers for bags, they could show people, over time, that bringing a canvas bag is better than paying for a paper or plastic bag every time,” Pearson said.
COSTS AND BENEFITS OF PLASTIC BAGS
DOWNSIDES:
» Plastic bags are responsible for the deaths of 100,000 marine animals each year.
» Manufacturing plastic bags from petroleum uses 12 million barrels of oil each year.
» Compared with paper bags, manufacturing plastic bags generates 70 percent more air pollution and 50 times more water pollutants.
» About 90 percent of plastic bags are not recycled.
ADVANTAGES:
» Conventional plastic bags cost about 1 cent each and paper bags cost about 3 cents.
» Plastic bags reduce food waste by more than 1.5 pounds for every pound of packaging.
» Plastic bags reduce the amount of fuel used to transport goods because they are lighter and can be carried in greater bulk.
» Plastic bags can be recycled to make goods, such as plastic lumber used in construction.
Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Society of the Plastics Industry
IF YOU GO
» What: Annapolis City Council hears legislation to ban plastic checkout bags
» When: 7:30 p.m. Monday
» Where: Annapolis City Council, 160 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis
