Monthly Archives: May 2013

Sample Letter Opposing Bag Ban and Carryout Bag Fees

May 28, 2013LandFill Impacts, Plastic Carryout Bag Ban, Recycling Impacts, Reusable Shopping BagsClean Water Act, Paper bag, Plastic bag, Recycling, Reusable shopping bag, Storm drain, Total maximum daily load, Waste containerAnthony van Leeuwen

Assembly Member <Enter name Here>

I am requesting that you vote NO on any plastic bag ban or bag fee. A plastic bag ban is worse for the environment than the status quo. Currently, under the Clean Water Act and the local Total Maximum Daily Loads program, trash excluder or capture devices are being installed in storm drain catch basins or outfalls. This will capture and prevent trash including plastic bags from getting into creeks and rivers and flow to the ocean. 80% of plastic in the ocean comes from land based sources via the storm drain; hence, trash excluders will prevent most bags from reaching the ocean. While the solution is not 100%, a 100% solution is not required since not all plastic bags are banned. Furthermore, reusable bags are not all recyclable. Continue reading Sample Letter Opposing Bag Ban and Carryout Bag Fees →

Plastic Bag Bans and Third World Nations

May 20, 2013Plastic Carryout Bag BanBangladesh, Bay of Bengal, Botswana, Flooding, Kenya, monsoon rains, plastic bag ban, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, ZanzibarAnthony van Leeuwen

Proponents of plastic bag bans frequently list a number of third world nations where plastic carryout bags were banned. For example, countries such as Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Rwanda, Botswana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Ghana where full or partial bans were adopted.

Most often cited is the severe flooding in Bangladesh that put most of the country underwater and blamed on plastic carryout bags. A careful examination of the issue will show that other factors are chiefly responsible. Continue reading Plastic Bag Bans and Third World Nations →