Well this will certainly cause consternation amongst the dog owning set of Westport. The RTM, in their overeagerness to jump on the bandwagon to ban plastic bags is looking to introduce an ordinance. From the Advocate:
The newly crafted ordinance calls for a committee appointed by the first selectman to enforce the ban and encourages stores to provide reusable cloth and recyclable paper bags.
“We’re very excited about it,” said Gene Seidman, an RTM member representing District 4 who is sponsoring the ordinance with three other district representatives. “It’s forward-thinking. We’re thinking globally and acting locally.”
The ban, which would be effective six months after it passed, would allow stores to dispose of existing inventory of plastic shopping bags. The enforcement committee would issue written notices to stores found to have violated the ban. A third notice would result in a hearing with the committee.
No fines would be issued; an original draft of the ordinance included a financial penalty.Seidman points to San Francisco, which successfully enacted a ban last year, and countries, including Ireland, that have cut the public’s use of plastic bags by placing a tax on them.
But such laws have faced challenges. A bill that would have banned plastic bags statewide, fining retailers up to $200 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for subsequent violations, died in the Judiciary Committee during the recent legislative session.State Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the bill had a number of logistical problems. It was unclear how the law would be enforced, and some committee members thought proposed penalties were too high.
Another problem included what McDonald referred to as an “unresolved debate” within the conservation movement about whether plastic bags, made with petroleum, truly are worse environmentally than paper bags.
“This was an idea that was floated without enough work to support its conclusions,” McDonald said. “Many on the committee including myself, thought that we needed to do a better job educating retailers and consumers.”
Some big cities, including New York City, have ended up forgoing a ban and instead are requiring large stores to set up plastic bag recycling programs. These initiatives have largely been supported by retailers and plastic-bag manufacturers.
Recycling plastic bags is the better effort here, because its not just dog owners that reuse the bags. Small plastic bags are good for cat litter removal, perfect to wrap shoes in that you plan to stick in your suitcase, and when quilted together can serve as a plastic sail to get you off the desert island. There was one point in my life when I never bought garbage bag because my apartment building had a trash chute and the little grocery store bags fulfilled the garbage bag purpose much better. Maybe I’m getting too old these days, but I seem to remember, to State Senator McDonald’s point, that trees were the thing we were saving when the 1970’s movement to ban paper products was introducing things like styrofoam cups, since banned. This issue is much like the compact fluorescent light-bulb fad that causes people to run out and by new light-bulbs to replace incandescent energy wasters that are perfectly good just so they can claim to be energy conservers or something. I say, what about just turning off the lights? Hybrid cars? Drive less, walk more. Which reminds me, yesterday I filled my gas tank for $50. The price of gas has seemingly gone up 25 cents in less than two weeks. I saw the first $5/gallon price sign for diesel in upstate New York. The weak dollar certainly isn’t helping things. source: Advocate, Is being green in the bag? Westport considers ban, By Lisa Chamoff, 05/16/2008
