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California Localities Temporarily Reverse Plastic Bag Ban – This article reviews the viral health impacts of using reusable bags and how a tiny virus has gotten the attention of bag banning politicians and their supporters.

The Nonsense of Plastic Straw Laws! – This article talks about how California’s new plastic straw law will do nothing for the environment and will not prevent harm to marine wildlife.

10-reasons-why-small-businesses-should-oppose-bag-bans – This article gives 10 reasons why businesses including small businesses should oppose bag bans.

Eliminating Competition Is the Real Reason behind Bag Bans – This article discusses how plastic bag bans are nothing more than crony capitalism and designed to generate and protect bag revenue from competition.

Santa Barbara County Passes Plastic Bag Ban – This article discusses the new Bag Ban passed by Santa Barbara County Supervisors and why that bag ban will come back to bite supervisors in the rear.

Austin’s Plastic Bag Ban a Colossal Failure – This article discusses why Austin’s Bag Ban failed to achieve its primary objective to reduce the amount of carryout shopping bags dumped into the landfill and the cost of the bag ban to Austin residents.

San Jose Miscalculates Plastic Bag Litter Reduction in Storm Drain System – This article shows that the 89% reduction in storm drain litter reported by San Jose is actually only 62%.  The spreadsheet error resulted in misinformation being communicated worldwide.

Bag Bans Waste of Time & Money – This article discusses the small impact a bag ban has on litter and cost consumers a disproportionate amount of money.  A waste of time and money when traditional litter abatement methods are more effective and less costly.

Why California City Councils Must Not Pass Bag Bans With a Statewide Vote Pending – This article talks about how passing bag bans now is an abuse of power, the public trust, and a blatant attempt to change the meaning of the statewide vote on the issue.  Not to mention depriving voters of the opportunity to weigh in on the matter in the most meaningful way possible – through their own vote.

San Jose Litter Surveys Examined – Plastic Bag Ban Completely Unjustified – This article shows that San Jose’s own Litter Surveys show the litter problem associated with single-use plastic carryout bags is Insignificant and that reported reductions of these bags are inconsequential.

San Jose Discovers Bag Ban Does Not Solve Litter Problems – This article shows that San Jose’s bag ban did nothing to solve the city’s serious litter problems and the city’s own litter surveys show that the bag ban was not needed.

The California Plastic Bag Ban Scam – a new article that exposes the methods used by bag banners to push for bag bans at the local and state level through deceitful scheming, lies and distortions, backroom deals, one-sided media, and politicians succumbing to a heavy dose of political correctness.

Why You Should Oppose Bag Bans – This article discusses from a philosophical point of view why you should oppose bag bans and the implications that bag bans have on personal freedom and liberty.

A Case For The Repeal of Bag Bans – This article shows that consumers have been saddled with an inconvenient, inefficient, and costly method to carry groceries home rather than a convenient, efficient, and economical method.

Referendum Puts Bag Banners on Defensive – An article that shows that the referendum process is as American as Apple Pie and designed for orderly governance and preservation of civil rights and liberty for all.

Bacterial and Viral Health Hazards Of Reusable Shopping Bags – This is an updated article of a previously posted article.  In addition to format changes, coverage of the potential that a reusable bag could transmit the Ebola virus was included.

California Legislature Fails Its Citizens with Draconian Bag Ban – A downloadable article that includes references about how the California legislature failed its citizens by enacting a solution pushed by environmental groups when simpler solutions are available.

Banning Bottled Water – Wrong Solution – A article that looks at  banning bottled water and why that is not a good idea.

Ventura Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance Decision Delayed – A summary of city council and public discussions regarding implementation of a plastic bag ban.

Statewide By City Plastic Bag Ban Cost Increase Estimate – A summary of the cost impact that a plastic bag ban will have on residents in cities and counties of California.

Statewide By City Plastic Bag Ban Cost Estimate – An Excel Spreadsheet showing the cost impact of a plastic bag ban that residents of cities and counties in California will experience. (Requires Excel 2010 or equivalent)

Huntington Beach City Council Rejects Placing Plastic Bag Ban Repeal on Ballot – This article examines the recent action of the City of Huntington Beach to reject putting the plastic bag ban on the November ballot in response to a grassroots effort to overturn the bag ban.

Shoppers Reject Using Reusable Bags – This article explains that shoppers reject using reusable bags about two-to-one.

Plastic Bag Bans and Californias Drought – This article explains why plastic bag bans and the use of reusable bags is the wrong solution in areas where droughts are frequent.

Plastic Bag Bans – A Community Could Do So Much Better & For So Much Less – This article identifies traditional litter control and removal measures that would be more effective than a plastic bag ban and cost local jurisdictions and their residents much less.

Bag Bans and Obamacare – Cut From the Same Cloth – This article compares plastic bag bans with Obamacare and shows that there is a lot in common and that both come from the same type of political mindset.

Lake Tahoe Passes Bag Ban With A Twist – This article looks at the plastic bag ban that was passed in Lake Tahoe and how that bag ban is different.

Plastic Bags In Landfill – Not a Problem – This article debunks the concern that many have about plastic bags in landfills.

Bag Bans – Trading One Problem For Another – This article looks at how a plastic bag litter problem that did not affect you in your personal life becomes an “in your face” problem you have to deal with each time you shop.

Using Reusable Bags Not That Easy – This article looks at the challenges families face when using reusable bags and that despite bag banners saying that using reusable bags is easy it turns out not to be that easy but an inconvenience to be avoided.

Plastic Bags – Greener Than Alternatives – This is an article that looks at all of the environmental impact categories to show that plastic bags are better than the alternatives for the environment.

Paper Bag Fee Setting A Bad Precedent – This is an article that looks at tax issues around the paper bag fee including sales tax issues and court rulings regarding the paper bag fee as an end around California’s Proposition 26.

How To Fight Back Against Bag Bans – This is a new article that answers the difficult question of what can we do to fight back against plastic bag bans.  And provides a number of suggested actions.

Bag Bans Defrauding The Public Of Reasonable Alternative Solutions – This controversial article looks at how the public is defrauded from more reasonable solutions to the windblown litter problem presented by thin film plastic carryout bags and how someone else’s solution is being shoved down the throats of the American Public.

California Landfills Impacted By Bag Bans – This article is an update of the article previously titled “Fact Sheet Landfill Impacts LASBVTA“.  The article now looks at the impacts to landfills across the State of California along with Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

Ventura City Council Votes To Proceed With Plastic Bag Ban Preparation – This article discusses the City Council decision to move ahead with the ground work required for a plastic bag ban and the agenda item prepared for the City Council.

Santa Barbara County Supervisors Not Well Served – This article discusses erroneous and misleading information about bag bans and associated issues in a viewgraph presentation made to the Santa Barbara County Supervisors.

Plastic Bag Recycling Rate – A Non-Issue – This article exposes the truth about the 5% plastic bag recycling rate and why that recycling rate is so low and why the low recycling rate is not a reason to ban plastic carryout bags.

Carryout Bag Fee Overturned By Voters In Durango – This article tells the story about how citizens in Durango, Colorado overturned the bag tax in their community.

Citizens of Homer overturn bag ban – This article tells the story about how concerned citizens in Homer, Alaska overturned the bag ban in their community.

Bag Bans – Market Driven Solutions Superior – This article looks at bag bans, some of the thinking behind them, and that the government mandated solution is part of a managed economy rather than a free economy locking inadequate and failed solutions in place.

Bag Bans: A Failure – Not Success As Claimed – This article examines how well bag bans live up to the stated objectives.  There are five key objectives common to all bag bans that are widely publicized in Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs).  A critical look at all five objectives shows that results are marginal if not outright failure.  This is a must read.

San Jose Bag Ban Report Rebuttal – This article is a critical analysis of San Jose Bag Ban litter reduction results and claims of success by the City of San Jose.  The report identifies the cost to citizens of San Jose and the failure of the city to do a reasonable analysis.

Santa Barbara City Council Votes in Favor of Plastic Bag Ban – This article talks about our experience in challenging the certification by the Santa Barbara Planning Commission of an Environmental Impact Report we deemed that needed to be rewritten.

Bag Bans Wrong Way To Control Litter – This article talks about the negative impact to the environment, the impact on landfills, the cost to local jurisdictions, and the cost to the public.  The article concludes that hiring people to pick up 100% of litter is a much better solution than just banning bags that eliminates only 0.6% of litter.

The Lies Myths Half Truths and Exaggerations of Bag Ban Proponents – This article talks about all the lies, myths, misinformation frequently repeated by proponents of bag bans.

Bag Bans Officials Neglect Homework – This article discusses how officials neglect to do due diligence when passing a bag ban that forces residents to adopt the green lifestyle even though they have a right not to.

Do Californian’s Really Use 20 Billion Plastic Bags Per Year? – This updated article discusses the origin of the 20 billion plastic carryout bags number and why that number is wrong and overstated.  Includes new material.

Statewide Bag Ban Will Cost Residents $1 Billion – This article examines the cost of a Statewide Bag Ban if implemented by Sacramento.  Analysis shows the added cost is over $1 Billion or 12 cents per plastic bag eliminated.

What Will A Plastic Carryout Bag Ban Cost Your Community -This article analyzes the cost of a plastic bag ban to residents in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and incorporated cities.

Reusable Bags and Ergonomic Issues – This article examines ergonomic issues related to reusable bags and risk of injury from lifting and handling reusable bags that can weigh more than the plastic bags they replace.

Plastic Bag Alternatives Much More Costly To Consumers – This article compares the cost, cost of bags and the value of personal time, of different bag options available to the shopper under a plastic carryout bag ban in the local community.

Campbell Initiative Press Release – This is the press release about an initiative that has been filed to amend the Campbell Municipal Code to prohibit carryout bag bans and fees and would overturn any laws passed prior to the vote by the public.

Plastic Bag Bans and Third World Countries – This is an article that talks about flooding in Bangladesh blamed on plastic bags to show there were other contributing factors that were more directly responsible than just plastic bags.

Bacterial and Viral Health Hazards Of Reusable Shopping Bags – This article discusses bacterial and viral health hazards of Reusable Shopping bags and the necessity of regularly washing and sanitizing reusable shopping bags.

Response to BEACON Draft And Final EIR – This article is a collection of letters submitted in response to the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Report for a plastic bag ban in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

Is A Plastic Carryout Bag Ban Justified – This article discusses the fact that other projects to eliminate trash and plastic bags in waterways are successful and that a ban on plastic carryout bags is not required.

Plastic Bag Ban Creates New Administrative Regulatory Burdens – This article discusses the administrative costs associated with a plastic carryout bag ban on both the retail establishment but also the county and the city.

Shopping Will Cost More With Plastic Bag Ban – This article discusses the cost of supplying plastic bags to the shopper and the costs to the shopper after a bag ban.  The article discusses various strategies to keep costs down.

Plastic Bag Ban Creates New Welfare Benefit – This article discusses the fact that certain classes of people are allowed to receive paper bags or reusable bags free of charge while the rest of us pay.

Plastic Bag Ban and Store Security – This article discusses that a plastic carryout bag ban changes the security posture of a store and leads to more shoplifting.

Attention Will The Real Single Use Plastic Bag Step Forward – This article discusses that trash bags are the real single use bag since once used as a trash bag will never be reused, unlike plastic carryout bags that are reused for a multiple of uses.

Plastic Bags Today And Bottled Water Tomorrow – This article discusses the mindset that today will ban plastic bags and tomorrow will ban bottled water.

Pro-Choice on Shopping Bags – An article that discusses the nuisance of plastic carryout bags and more appropriate measures to deal with it than an outright ban.

Bag Quantity Assumptions – An older article about the quantity of plastic carryout bags used by Californians.

Landfill And Recycling Impacts – Using bag quantities from the BEACON Environmental Impact Report and some other data show the impact of a bag ban on both recycling and landfills for the proposed ordinance and each of the alternatives.

Fact Sheet Landfill Impacts LASBVTA – An article that shows the Landfill impacts for both the City of Los Angeles and also for Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

A Discussion On Project Objectives And Goals – A discussion of project goals in the BEACON EIR and why those goals should be reformulated so that a better solution could be chosen.

Shopping Bag Quantity Assumptions – A short article discussing the assumptions of shopping bag quantities.

The Downside of Reusable Shopping Bags – A short article discussing the disadvantages of reusable shopping bags.

Why Not To Ban The Plastic Bag – An extensive article that looks at the environmental aspects of plastic bags including myths and explores causes of plastic bag litter.  A must read.

The Upside of Plastic Carry Out Bags – A short article discussing why plastic carryout bags are a better choice.

Negative Health and Environmental Impacts of Reusable Shopping Bags – An extensive article about the health and environmental impacts of Reusable Shopping bags including the use of water, energy, and greenhouse gas generation when users wash and sanitize their reusable shopping bags.

Fact Sheet – Landfill Impacts – An older article about the landfill impacts of a bag ban that shows that for every ton of plastic bags before the ban will be replaced by more than three tons of plastic bags, paper bags, reusable bags, replacement bags, and other plastic.