All posts by Anthony van Leeuwen

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About Anthony van Leeuwen

I am an engineer and formerly was a civil servant who has a desire to see good public policy implemented that is based on facts and the truth.

Current List Of Articles Posted

The following is a current list of articles posted.  The articles are located under the “Documents” menu item.  You can click on the link to proceed directly to the articles.  All articles are published using Adobe Acrobat.  You are free to save the article to your own computer and print the article.

Be sure to click on the button to follow the  blog in the right column and enter your email address.  You will be notified of new postings when they occur.   A number of articles will be posted next month and you will not want to miss them!

Shoppers Reject 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. Continue reading Current List Of Articles Posted

Ventura City Council Votes To Proceed With Plastic Bag Ban

Ventura City Hall
Ventura City Hall (Photo credit: InSapphoWeTrust)

On 16 December 2013, the Ventura City Council voted 6 to 1 to go ahead and prepare a Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance and BEACON EIR addendum for consideration in six months by the City Council.   The council also voted to support the efforts of State Senator Padilla to pass a bill to institute a statewide single-use carryout bag law rather than a local ordinance.

Currently there are two bills going through the California State Legislature concerning plastic carryout bags.  SB-405 is authored by State Senator Padilla and AB-158 by Assembly member Levine.  Both bills appear to have started out with the same text which is being marked up as the bills goes through the different committees in their respective houses.

The full article can be read by clicking the following link: Ventura City Council Votes To Proceed With Plastic Bag Ban Preparation.

Issaquah Ballot Title Successfully Challenged

City Hall, Issaquah, Washington.
City Hall, Issaquah, Washington. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a petition filed on November 15, Mr. Craig Keller of Save Our Choice, challenged the ballot title that the City Council approved on October 21 for the newly qualified citizen’s initiative to “REPEAL of Plastic Bag Ban and Forced Bag Charge”.  The citizen’s initiative is on the February 11, 2014 ballot.  Save Our Choice objected to certain wording in the ballot title and description because they were ambiguous or were words of advocacy that could generate voter prejudice during balloting on the citizen’s initiative ordinance. Continue reading Issaquah Ballot Title Successfully Challenged

Santa Barbara County Supervisors Not Well Served

Official seal of County of Santa Barbara
Official seal of County of Santa Barbara (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the 15 October 2013 Santa Barbara County Supervisors board meeting, the Santa Barbara County Public works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division (RRWMD) requested Supervisors to receive and endorse the draft Single-Use Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance for the unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County and to direct staff to initiate review of the Ordinance pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  In addition, Supervisors were requested to designate the County Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division as the Lead Agency under the CEQA.  Supervisors approved the request by a vote of 3 to 2. Continue reading Santa Barbara County Supervisors Not Well Served

Plastic Bag Recycling Rate – A Non-Issue

Bag Ban Proponents like to point out that the recycling rate for plastic carryout bags is 5% or less and that because of the low recycling rate, plastic carryout bags should be banned.

Bag Ban Proponents totally miss the point.  When plastic carryout bags are reused as trash bags, waste can liners, to pick up pet litter, dispose of kitchen grease, dispose of dirty diapers, or the myriad of other uses and end up in the landfill filled with trash, they cannot be recycled.  Bag Ban Proponents appear to have a particularly difficult time comprehending this simple fact. Continue reading Plastic Bag Recycling Rate – A Non-Issue

Carryout Bag Fee Overturned By Voters In Durango, Colorado

Welcome to Historic Durango
Welcome to Historic Durango (Photo credit: Steven Conte)

On November 5, 2013 voters in Durango, Colorado voted to overturn the Carryout Bag Fee Ordinance by a vote of 2,674 to 2087 or 56.16% to 43.84%. 

In August, 2013 the Durango City Council voted 4-1 to adopt an ordinance that places a 10-cent fee on both paper and plastic bags distributed by the city’s three grocers and any other business that chooses to opt-in.  Under the ordinance, the 10-cent fee on paper and plastic carryout bags is collected by the retailer with 50% going to the city.  The funds collected by the city can only be used for environmental projects. (Hurst, 2013)  The fee was intended to encourage shoppers to purchase and use reusable bags instead of paper and plastic disposable carryout bags.  (Slothrower, 2013) Continue reading Carryout Bag Fee Overturned By Voters In Durango, Colorado

Bag Bans – Market Driven Solutions Superior

The movement to ban plastic carryout bags is growing as more and more California communities enact single-use bag ordinances.  These ordinances are very similar to one another and go beyond banning plastic carryout bags to implementing a very specific solution.   This solution attempts to change the shopping paradigm where shoppers supply their own reusable bags rather than receive store supplied disposable bags to carry their purchases.  To ensure that consumer behavior is changed, retailers are required by the local ordinance to charge a minimum fee for each paper bag issued. 

By implementing a specific solution, mandated by the government, innovation is stifled and businesses are no longer free to pursue alternative solutions that are in their best interests.  Government officials and their staffs simply do not have the expertise and time to investigate alternative solutions to solve the underlying problem or have the motivation to improve retailer customer service, therefore the government mandated solution locks an inadequate and antiquated solution into place.  Furthermore, freedom of choice on both the part of retailers and consumers is unnecessarily sacrificed, restricted, and infringed.

To read more, click on the following link: Bag Bans – Market Driven Solutions Superior.

Bag Bans: A Failure – Not Success As Claimed

As more and more communities pass ordinances to ban plastic carryout bags, a key question remains: Are these bag bans successful?  Proponents of bag bans are quick to point out that once the bags are banned, fewer plastic bags will be found as litter in the environment.  Of course, that is true.  If the use of plastic carryout bags is sharply reduced by a bag ban then the quantity of plastic carryout bags found as litter will be similarly reduced and reflected in litter surveys.  But does that single measurement signify the success of the ban?  Or are there other factors that must be considered before a bag ban can be declared a success?  In this paper we will look at this question and attempt to provide a reasonable answer.

To read more please click on the following link: Bag Bans: A Failure – Not Success As Claimed.

Repeal Of Issaquah Bag Ban On The Ballot In 2014

City Hall South, Issaquah, Washington. The bui...
City Hall South, Issaquah, Washington. The building houses the council chambers and municipal court. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On October 21, 2013 the Issaquah City Council voted to put the newly qualified citizen’s initiative to “REPEAL of Plastic Bag Ban and Forced Bag Charge” on the February 11, 2014 ballot.  Giving citizens the opportunity to resolve the ban’s fate.

Thanks to the hard work of Craig Keller, co-founder of Save Our Choice, and a small team of volunteers. More than 15% of all Issaquah voters signed the petition to force the city council to either repeal the ordinance or refer the decision to voters.

Earlier in October, the King County Department of Elections concluded that enough valid signatures were collected to qualify the initiative for the ballot and issued a Certificate of Sufficiency for the Save Our Choice petition to Issaquah City Council.  A total of 2626 out of 4266 signatures collected were found to be valid to qualify the initiative.

According to Craig Keller, there is mounting dissatisfaction with ban and the majority on the city council had the power to correct their earlier bad decision.  In fact, once the King County Department of Elections certified that the initiative had collected enough valid signatures, the city council could have repealed the ordinance but instead voted to put the issue on the ballot in 2014.

Now residents of Issaquah, Washington will have a voice on whether the plastic bag ban and fee on paper bags will be repealed.

Rebuttal of the San Jose Bag Ban Results

English: Montage of San Jose, California pictures.
English: Montage of San Jose, California pictures. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In November of 2012, ten months after implementation of the San Jose Bag Ban, the city issued a report claiming success.  The memorandum contained an analysis of litter surveys and claimed a reduction of on-land plastic bag litter of 59%, 60% in creeks, and 89% in storm drains.  The latter figure is widely used by bag ban proponents as proof the law works.  However, problems with the underlying data as well as the methodology used indicate that these reduction figures are questionable.  Other factors such as a cost analysis was never done by the city nor were other less costly alternatives investigated.

In an article “San Jose Bag Ban Report Rebuttal” the authors respond to the claims of success in a stinging rebuttal.  The authors claim that the wrong parameter was measured, measurement methodology was unscientific and flawed, bag usage observations were not taken at a broad cross-section of stores, no cost/benefit analysis was conducted, and serious negative impacts were never addressed.

The authors present an analysis of plastic bag litter reduction calculations by the city as well as supply their own.  Also presented is a pre ban and post ban cost analysis of carryout bag use showing the cost increase that is incurred by consumers.