Seattle City Council voted 6-1 to ban free bags at groceries, drugstores etc. staring in 2009. One councilwoman dissented, saying that the bags make great trashcan liners. This is a lame excuse because they can certainly be used more than once for purchases and still live on to line the trash can. Styrofoam takeout containers are also going to be verboten and soon after that, we'll stop seeing those meat and seafood trays made of the indestructible material. I considered buying some shopping bags but I actually have quite a few of those conventioneer bags that are given out at trade fairs that can be put to better use than sitting in the back of a closet.
Bags have also been banned in Los Angeles as of today, San Francisco earlier this summer (they were first) and also Ireland, Bhutan, China, several African countries and parts of Alaska. One man even has a mission to save the plastic bag, but despite their usefulness, there are hundreds of miles of bags and disposable diapers floating around in the ocean like archepelagoes.
Our local news featured your new law last night. They treated it like Seattle was doing some kind of experiment and the verdict was still out on whether people would accept it. The news didn't mention other places that have implemented the policy, including grocers in Holland.
Posted by: kayakbiker | July 30, 2008 at 08:33 AM
They are doing the same thing about our "experiment" with car-free Sundays that is coming up.
Posted by: Slugbug | July 30, 2008 at 09:42 PM
Our local news featured your new law last night. They treated it like Seattle was doing some kind of experiment and the verdict was still out on whether people would accept it.. I considered buying some shopping bags but I actually have quite a few of those conventioneer bags that are given out at trade fairs that can be put to better use than sitting in the back of a closet.
Posted by: Mark | September 14, 2008 at 04:10 AM
Conventioneer bags! That's what I'm going to do!
Posted by: Slugbug | September 14, 2008 at 09:59 AM