"Mayor Rob Ford asks council to scrap plastic bag fee; council instead scraps plastic bags" Toronto Star, Canada (Jun 6 2012)

Original article found at http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1207073--toronto-city-council-votes-to-ban-plastic-shopping-bags?bn=1

Votes against a plastic bag ban in Toronto were cast by Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti and Mayor Rob Ford. The plastic bag ban, however, did pass. Photo: LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR

by Daniel Dale, Urban Affairs Reporter

Mayor Rob Ford asked council to get rid of the bylaw that requires stores to charge 5 cents for plastic shopping bags.

Instead, council got rid of plastic shopping bags.

In a major embarrassment for Ford, his effort to kill the fee boomeranged on him in stunning fashion on Wednesday, when council voted 24-20 to prohibit retailers from giving out or selling any plastic shopping bags, “including those advertised as compostable, biodegradable, photodegradable or similar,” as of Jan. 1, 2013.

The vote — on a surprise motion from Councillor David Shiner, a conservative Ford ally — would not have occurred if Ford had not brought the issue to the council floor. To the consternation of other conservatives, it was imposed without any consultation with major retailers or study by city legal or economic officials.

Ford earned a consolation victory: council also approved his original proposal to eliminate the fee bylaw. That means retailers will be allowed to hand out plastic bags for free between July 1 and Dec. 31 this year. But they will then have to distribute non-plastic bags or no bags at all.

Fort McMurray, Alta.; San Francisco and Seattle, among other U.S. cities; and countries including Italy have already imposed plastic bag bans. Toronto is the first major Canadian city to do so.

Ford appeared upset after the vote, blinking rapidly, though he told reporters he had succeeded in doing “what people wanted” by getting the fee bylaw scrapped. When it was pointed out that he had also inadvertently gotten plastic bags banned, he said council’s decision “doesn’t make any sense.”

“I think we’re gonna get sued. I don’t see how we’re gonna win that. It’s gonna be very difficult. It’s not a smart move by council to ban plastic bags. I don’t think it’s gonna hold up,” Ford said.

The Retail Council of Canada did not respond to a request for comment late Wednesday. A spokesperson for Loblaw said the company already has eight stores across Canada where bags are not offered, including a Real Canadian Superstore in Milton.

“We have good experience in the area of bagless stores,” said the spokesperson, Julija Hunter, in an email. She would not say whether Loblaw would go bag-free or offer paper bags in Toronto.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association immediately blasted the decision, though executive Marion Axmith said it was too soon to say whether the group would challenge the ban in court.

“We’re pleased that council rescinded the bag fee bylaw because bags are not an environmental problem. We’re shocked, however, that they moved to ban bags, because there will be no winners here. The residents of the city, the environment, the industry, no winners whatsoever. Jobs in the city will be lost, and investment in the city will be lost,” said Axmith, director general of issues.

Shiner, one of Ford’s most loyal allies, said he spontaneously came up with his motion in the middle of Wednesday’s meeting. A Ford opponent, Councillor Anthony Perruzza, had already proposed a ban for 2014; that proposal failed on a 22-22 tie before council approved Shiner’s proposal to begin the ban in 2013.

Shiner (Ward 24, Willowdale) served as Mel Lastman’s budget chief and ran for provincial office in 2007 as a Progressive Conservative. Citing environmental concerns and calling plastic bags “junk,” he told reporters that the ban is “the most progressive move that this council has ever had.”

Shiner dismissed criticism of its sudden imposition, saying it is simply the right thing to do. And he attempted to frame the move in fiscal terms. “Less plastic use equals less plastic in the garbage, less litter in the street, and ultimately less cost to taxpayers,” he told council.

Ford did not campaign on eliminating the bag fee bylaw, which has cut plastic bag use in half. He has said that he was persuaded to pursue the matter by people who have called him to complain about it.

“Has it been a success? Absolutely, it has. But it’s really irritating people,” he told council.

Councillor Gord Perks, a Ford opponent and former environmental activist, said the mayor has only himself to blame for the defeat. He said Ford was “reckless” in asking council to make a decision on the fee without study or consultation.

“He continues to block good governance,” Perks said. “Typical of this mayor — thinking and public policy don’t seem to go together.”

ENDQUOTE

Italy Bans Plastic Bags in 2011

from http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/31/italy-bans-plastic-bags-in-2011/
by Lauren Frayer

Zunino Celotto, Getty Images.
"Italy, which uses more than 20 billion plastic bags a year, is starting 2011 with a ban on the non-biodegradable bags.

"Starting Saturday, Italians will have only one answer to the question, "Paper or plastic?"

"Shops and supermarkets across Italy are doling out their last plastic bags today, before a nationwide ban forces them to swap plastic for more environmentally friendly paper or fabric bags.

"Italy is Europe's biggest consumer of plastic bags, using more than 20 billion annually.

"Every year each Italian uses 400 plastic bags, and Italy in total is responsible for 25 percent of all plastic bags that are used and produced in Europe," Eva Alessi, a spokeswoman for the World Wildlife Fund, told Euro News.

"The new ban on plastic bags has been phased in gradually since 2006, when Italian lawmakers first approved the measure. But an original deadline of January 2010 was postponed because of opposition from industry groups, who complained that the ban could create chaos in supermarkets and hurt local plastics manufacturers.

"The full ban will now go into effect on Saturday. It requires all retailers to offer customers only special biodegradable plastic bags, or ones made of paper or fabric. The emphasis is on reusable bags, which the Italian government is promoting as fashionable as well as earth-friendly.

"Sponsored LinksSupporters of the law say plastic bags use too much oil to manufacture and take decades to break down in landfills. The Italian environmental group Legambiente estimates that the plastic bag ban will save Italy 180,000 tons of CO2 emissions, according to The Daily Telegraph.

"This marks a key step forward in the fight against pollution, and it makes us all more responsible in terms of recycling," Italy's environment minister, Stefania Prestigiacomo, told Agence France-Presse.

"Other European cities have implemented similar measures, but Italy's is believed to be the first nationwide ban on plastic bags on the continent. Many countries charge customers for plastic bags."

Mexico City Bans Plastic Bags

Reported at
http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/mexico-city-bans-plastic-bags/



"Earlier this week, Mexico City became the second largest metropolis in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw the distribution of plastic shopping bags.

"Hailed as one of the fastest ways to cut down on solid waste, the new ordinance will affect thousands of retail stores and almost 19 million people living in the district and surrounding communities that make up greater Mexico City.

"In good circumstances, high-density polyethylene will take more than 20 years to degrade. In less ideal circumstances (landfills or as general refuse), a bag will take more than 1,000 years to degrade, according to Reusit.com.

"Mexico City is just one more in an ever-growing list of large urban areas banning plastic bags, which are costly to produce, environmentally destructive, and toxic when buried in a landfill.

"In March of 2007, San Francisco enacted an ordinance that gave supermarkets six months and large chain pharmacies about a year to phase out the bags. Los Angeles is set to impose a similar ban if the state of California does not enact a statewide 25-cent fee per bag by July.

"Around the world, plastic bags are either completely banned or significantly taxed in: South Africa, Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, several cities in India, China, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. Both the United Kingdom and Australia are considering similar measures.

"People who might like to recycle their plastic bags find that they are unable to mix them in with normal curbside materials. In many cases, bags can be recycled at the store from which they originated, but many doubt that these actually make it to a recycling facility.

"Although recycling bags is on the rise in the United States, an estimated 90 billion thin bags a year, most used to handle produce and groceries, go unrecycled (McClatchy)."

AWESOME!!!

Marin County Bans Plastic Bags (USA, California)

from http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/marin-county-looking-to-ban-plastic-bags/


"Editor's Note: The wonderful trend continues, as more and more cities have put bans on plastic bags in place, and other areas follow suit. This post originally appeared on Plastic Pollution Coalition.

"On January 4th, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will vote on a single-use bag ordinance. While it’s certainly not the first of such ordinances to be considered, particularly in California, it is unique in one important way: Marin County plans to rely on a categorical exemption to CEQA (click here for more info) and not prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

"The City of Oakland attempted a similar approach last year and lost a lawsuit challenging its ordinance on the grounds that it had not done an EIR. In Oakland’s case, however, the city’s bag ordinance simply banned plastic bags.

"Marin County’s ordinance includes a ban on plastic carryout bags and 5-cent charge on paper bags. County supervisors believe that by imposing a charge on paper bags in addition to banning plastic bags, the ordinance neutralizes the argument that if consumers just switch to paper it can be as bad or worse for the environment than plastic, and thus also bypasses the need for an EIR.

"Since most cities and counties view EIRs as a mandatory part of passing a bag ban, and the reports can potentially cost tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars for each municipality, other cities will be closely watching what happens in Marin. No doubt the American Chemistry Council will be watching as well. "

Plastic Bag Wrap (Video)

I love it.

LA county bans plastic bags

I heard about this from care2.com's website, who got their information from a LA Times story.

I copied and pasted the original story as follows from the LA Times website, including their photo, link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/la-county-passes-sweeping-ban-on-plastic-bags.html

L.A. County passes sweeping ban on plastic bags

November 16, 2010 12:46 pm

Enacting one of the nation's most aggressive environmental measures, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban plastic grocery bags in unincorporated areas of the county.

The vote was 3-1, supported by Supervisors Gloria Molina, Mark Ridley-Thomas, and Zev Yaroslavsky, and opposed by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Supervisor Don Knabe was absent.

The ban, which will cover nearly 1.1 million residents countywide, is to the point: “No store shall provide to any customer a plastic carryout bag.” An exception would be made for plastic bags that are used to hold fruit, vegetables or raw meat in order to prevent contamination with other grocery items.

"If grocers choose to offer paper bags, they must sell them for 10 cents each, according to the ordinance. The revenue will be retained by the stores to purchase the paper bags and educate customers about the law.

“Plastic bags are a pollutant. They pollute the urban landscape. They are what we call in our county urban tumbleweed,” Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said.

Mark Gold, president of the Santa Monica environmental group Heal the Bay, said previous county efforts to promote recycling of plastic bags at grocery stores was a failure.

“You cannot recycle your way out of the plastic bag problem,” Gold said. “The cost of convenience can no longer be at the expense of the environment.”

The measure is a significant win for environmental groups, which suffered a major defeat in Sacramento at the end of August with the failure of the state Senate to pass a sweeping plastic bag ban that won the support of the state Assembly and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger amid heavy and costly lobbying by plastic bag manufacturers.

But the ban could cause confusion. The action by the Board of Supervisors only covers the unincorporated areas of L.A. County, covering some neighborhoods like Altadena, Valencia and Rowland Heights, but doesn't cover 88 cities in L.A. County. City councils could adopt a similar ordinance.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich raised the prospect that small mom-and-pop shops could suffer financially because they won’t be able to buy paper and reusable bags in great volume, and could force low-income people to buy bags to pick up pet waste or carry their lunch.

“At a time of economic uncertainty, with a large number of businesses leaving our state and community this would not be an appropriate time ... to impose this additional regulation,” Antonovich said.

Opponents of the ban told the supervisors that a legal challenge to the ban is still a possibility.

With the Tuesday vote, L.A. County’s measure is more stringent than similar bans adopted elsewhere in California, Gold said.

San Francisco’s ban, which passed three years ago, is less restrictive because it still permits grocers to offer bioplastic bags made from corn starch, which are imperfect because they also do not degrade in the ocean, Gold said. Bans in San Francisco and Malibu also do not add a surcharge on paper bags, Gold said, which does not give consumers an incentive to switch to reusable cloth bags.

Washington, D.C., decided to tackle the issue not with a ban on any kind of bag, but a 5-cent surcharge per any item of disposable bag.

Gold, however, said an outright ban will be more effective on reducing the 6 billion plastic bags that are used in L.A. County every year, which according to the county, account for 25% of the litter picked up here.

Government figures show that just 5% of plastic bags are recycled.

Last week, the American Chemistry Council, one of the chief opponents of the ban, warned L.A. County leaders that the proposed ordinance and fee on paper bags fall under the voting requirements of Proposition 26. The initiative, which passed this month, reclassifies most regulatory fees on industry as "taxes" requiring a two-thirds vote in government bodies or in public referendums, rather than a simple majority.

County Counsel Andrea Ordin said Tuesday that the 10-cent surcharge on paper bags is not a fee covered by Prop. 26 because the revenue is being kept by the grocers and not directed to a government agency.

--article ends--