Volume 4, Issue 5 | March 30–April 26 - Community Impact Newspaper

10 | NEWS | Community Impact Newspaper • Central Austin Edition
neWs uPdate
City officials approve 2013 bag ban
By Mitzie Stelte
After years of debate, the Austin City
Council unanimously passed a bag ban
ordinance March 1 that covers both paper
and plastic bags. The ban will begin in
March 2013.
The ban is one of the broadest in the
country to outlaw single-use bags, though
retail checkout counter bags are not
banned entirely.
Customers will be allowed reusable bags
from home or purchasable plastic bags
that are at least four millimeters thick with
handles, paper bags made of recycled content
with handles or other types of reusable
bags at prices set by the retailer.
Robin Scheider of the Texas Campaign
for the Environment said this was the
appropriate time to finally vote for a scheduled
ban.
“This is a huge step to clean up our communities
across the planet,” Scheider said.
Council members made some modifications
to the proposal before passage,
including the elimination of a transaction
fee for disposable bags as well as doing
away with a one-year transitional period.
Members also added an education campaign
on the new ban that is estimated to
cost between $1.5 million and $2 million,
according to Austin Resource Recovery
Director Bob Gedert.
There are a few exceptions to the ban,
such as plastic bags used at dry cleaners,
paper bags used in restaurants and disposable
bags provided by local food banks.
This is not the first time the city officials
have taken steps to reduce single-use bags.
In 2007, City Council ordered an evaluation
on strategies for limiting the use of
non-compostable plastic bags and promoting
reusable ones.
In 2008, a voluntary initiative was instituted
to cut the number of plastic bags that
flowed into the waste stream by 50 percent,
but the effort fell short.
“As we have seen over that four years,
you kind of go back to old habits,” Councilman
Mike Martinez stated last summer
as ban efforts were revitalized. “We believe
now it is time to move forward.”
According to Mayor Lee Leffingwell,
Austin residents use about 263 million
plastic bags every year, forcing the city to
pay more than $800,000 per year in pollution
and litter management costs.
“Single-use bags are both harmful to
our environment and to our economy,”
Leffingwell said. “The bags litter our rivers
and streams. They are harmful to our
wildlife—and because most of them aren’t
biodegradable—they are around forever.”
Several members of the public weighed
in at stakeholder meetings and public
hearings between August 2011 and March
1 when a vote was taken, including many
opponents.
Ronnie Volkening of the Texas Retailers
Association expressed concern about a
lack of emphasis on recycling. A complete
ban sends the message that “no collaborative
action on be taken to divert these bags
from landfills,” he stated.
Mark Daniels of Hilex Poly, a national
manufacturer and recycler of plastic bags,
pointed to effects on low-income families.
“I believe most families would agree
that they would much rather purchase
their food than bags to take them home
in,” he said.
Supporters were also vocal, including
Kimberly Flores, who said her grandfather
was one of the engineers who developed
plastic bags in the 1970s at a time when an
effort was being made to reduce the number
of trees cut for paper bags.
“Four generations later, my son is saying
that it is really sad to see a plastic bag
around a baby turtle’s neck,” Flores said.
“I have an inherited responsibility,”
she added. “What my grandfather created,
I would love to go full-circle and put an
end to it.”
Councilman Chris Riley said cities
such as San Francisco; Washington, D.C.;
Portland, Ore.; and Brownsville have all
enacted plastic bag bans that were not as
controversial as people might think.
“Habits are changing, and families are
adapting all across the country,” Riley said.
austin City Council passed a single-use bag
ban March 1, though retail checkout counter
bags are not banned entirely. Certain restrictions
apply, including bag type, weight and content.
there are also specified exemptions.
Reusable
bags from
home
no cost
Bag exemptions
Dry
cleaners
Restaurants
(paper bags only)
Purchasable
reusable bag
from retailer
retailer
sets price
Newspapers
Pharmacies,
veterinarians
(paper bags only)
For more information, visit
austintexas.gov/department/austin-resource-recovery
Bag Ban
Effective March 1, 2013
Permitted bags
Plastic bag
4 mm. thick
with handles
retailer sets price
Paper bag
made of
recycled content
with handles
retailer sets price
Packages of
multiple bags
For use as garbage,
pet waste or yard waste
Bags used to
contain or wrap
Bulk items such as
produce, nuts, grains, candy
or small hardware items
Frozen foods, meat or fish
Flowers or potted plants
unwrapped prepared foods
or bakery goods
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