Brownsville Bag Ban Eliminates 350,000 Plastic Bags Per Day!

It's amazing that with results like this, the Texas Legislature is attempting to ban plastic bag bans in Texas.

From May 7, 2011 New York Times.....

Mixed Reviews for Brownsville Ban on Plastic Bags

Ms. Orozco’s collection of tote bags stems from a recent ordinance in Brownsville, one of Texas’ poorest big cities: a ban on plastic checkout bags in virtually all businesses.The policy, which took effect in January, has eliminated more than 350,000 bags per day, according to Mayor Pat Ahumada, who said in an e-mail that it has “transformed our city from littered and dirty to a much cleaner city.

San Jose Knows The Way!

In the wake of the failure of a statewide legislative bag ban initiative (AB1998), the city of San Jose is another California burg taking matters into its own hands - moving to fashion an ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags, and to charge for paper bags.

...and those paper bags - YES, they have to be of recycled material...which pretty much harpoons the ACC's CEQA lawsuit strategy, which at face-value, appears to require cities to continue to pollute their environments via the scourge of the "urban tumbleweed".

So the landslide has begun - damn the ACC's penny-ante "solution" to the problem they've created for themselves...and the rest of us. We can only hope that other manufacturers are watching the ACC's un-neighborly litigious approach go down in flames. Meanwhile, pass the gasoline!

It's always exciting talking about California - but frankly, the "land of fruits and nuts" ain't proving to be that progressive at heart - I'm hoping for other states to push through some statewide bans - GO USA!

Details, particulars & minutiae:

San Jose Mercury News article.

Bay area TV news from KTUV.

Jeremy Irons Plastic Bag Vid

Brought to us by our friends at Heal The Bay, and complete with helicopter shot and night-vision cams, this is a high-quality production about the lonely trials and tribulations of a discarded plastic grocery bag, just trying to get through the day. You see them everywhere, everyday, but have you ever pondered their difficult "life" path?

Similar to the Werner Herzog vid of a previous post on this blog, this one has a touch more humor and well, is quite a tear-jerker - wait 'till you see the "deadly" teacup yorkie open a can (cup?) of whoop-ass on our bag/friend...not sure whom to weep for in that scene, but pass the tissues, pleeeez.

In Heal The Bay's words: "Filmed in the style of a nature documentary and narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this 'mockumentary', though lighthearted in tone, hammers home the stark reality of California’s plastic bag pollution situation. View on YouTube and share to help get AB 1998 approved by the Senate!"

CA Bag Ban - What's Next??

Ok…well…”What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is going on with the California Bag Ban bill?”, I ask myself everyday. To assuage my confusion of CA state government, I've contacted the experts, have sussed it all out, and, employing my superior desktop/spreadsheet/ninja-nerd skills, have created this handy matrix’d cheat-sheet (current as of July 2, 2010) - Click it to enlarge:


So, checking the smart-indicator color-keyed image – it looks like we may be more than half way there. It now sits in the trembling hands of the California State Senate. This is where YOU come in: this is the time to contact a California state senator to let them know that you support The Bill, The Ban and The Environment. Nice!

Here’s how you do it:

Click here to choose your senator.

Click here to sign Surfrider’s Action Alert.

Click here to explore Heal The Bay’s legislator contact options.

Click here to use Environment California’s Action Alert senator-contact tool (with example letter!).

Take your time, mix & match, tell yer ma to do it, but just do it - NOW IS THE TIME.

Meanwhile, for your "Friday-Lite" reading pleasure, our good friends over at the Plastic Pollution Coalition have compiled a list of supporters and opPOSERS of the bill. I have taken that list and eliminated crazeee environmental groups, and/or businesses that could make money on the ban and/or businesses who may lose money due to the ban and...the remainders are below – there are a few surprises (Steven Bochco Productions?)…cheque it out!!

Supporters:
California Grocer’s Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Association of Communities United of South Los Angeles
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California State Lands Commission
City of Burbank
City of Del Mar
City of Long Beach
City of Newport Beach
City of Pasadena
City of San Buenaventura
City of San Clemente
City of Solana Beach
City of Ventura
Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market Inc.
Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/ Integrated Waste Management Task Force
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Neighborhood Market Association
Planning and Conservation League
PW Supermarkets Inc. (San Jose)
Rite Aid
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Save Mart Supermarkets
Solid Waste Solutions Inc
Alameda County Waste Management Authority
Steven Bochco Productions
Super A Food Inc. (Commerce)
State Lands Commission
Washington Elementary PTA
Western States Council of the United Food & Commercial Workers
WinCo Foods Inc.
Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists
Youth Opportunities for High School and Associations of Communities United of South Los Angeles

Opposers:
Californians for Extended Producer Responsibility
Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Corona Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce

Have a trash-free July 4th beachy weekend!

Refuse the Bag!

This is pretty nifty, funny and informative all at once. Created by the accomplished fashion illustrator, Julia Durgee, for a plastic bag awareness event in New York City's Union Square...she has graciously given us permission to drop it on you here, for your use.

Click on it (to enlarge), then right-click the image on the next page, and "Save as...", print it up, tape it onto your chest, smile wide and let your freak-flag fly!

DC Bag Fee Report – Great Tips for Other Cities!

Officially referred to as “Skip the Bag, Save the River”, Washington DC’s bag “ban” – actually a $0.05 fee per shopping bag…paper OR plastic – went into effect one month ago and Julie Lawson, the DC "Capital" Surfrider Chapter Chair provided this recent update:

“…news stories have been covering the results. Most of the articles have a negative slant ("oh, what a hassle this is! oh, how confusing!") but they also readily report that it's working. Working beyond any of our expectations.

In only three weeks of the five-cent fee, demand for bags at grocery stores dropped 50-60 percent!

Reports from our members indicate that most cashiers have been well trained--and if that's not the case, members have been educating them. ;) Personally I have yet to pay the fee since I always have several cloth bags on me, but I've been pleased to hear cashiers ask "Do you need a bag?" before every transaction, rather than just bagging automatically. Signs about it are posted everywhere, and I definitely see more people carrying reusable bags than plastic. Public opinion on blogs and community sites has definitely turned in support. We're monitoring the implementation process and look forward to seeing the receipts from the businesses hopefully around the end of the month.”

The bottom line is that a simple, minuscule charge for any bag can hopscotch the EIR lawsuits that California is dealing with, AND initiate a wholesale (no pun) change in shopper actions. NICE ONE JULIE AND DC!!

Following are a few links about the DC effort’s progress – lots of good info on what works and where the friction may manifest itself upon taking an action like this – great for planning your own action:

1) The official Washington DC government “Skip the Bag, Save the River” bag fee site, explaining the particulars of the fee and where the money goes.

2) Washington Post article detailing the new phenomenon of “parking lot jugglers”!

3) Wall Street Journal article listing fringe business gripes about just which establishments should be charging the fee. These kinds of early adjustments can be expected for any type of positive change like this. Processes will change to adapt and all will be well...aahhhhhh... :)

4) Finally, even our gravy-slurpin’ politicians are finding merit in the ban, by trying to suck more money (can you say: $25/”free” bag) out of the electorate!


GO TEAM GO!

Brownsville, TX Bans The Bag!

Brownsville, Texas has become the first city in the state of Texas to successfully pass a plastic bag ban ordinance. I will be the first to admit that I was blown away when I heard that they had actually pulled this off. It took them two years of hard work to do so and I would like to congratulate the City for their efforts!

The ordinance (below) sets up a one year voluntary compliance with a mandatory compliance to go into effect in 2011. It allows for the use of reusable cloth bags, approved biodegradable plastic bags and recyclable paper bags to be used in the place of the traditional plastic bags that we have become accustomed to. It also sets up an advisory committee to oversee the implementation and enforcement of the new ordinance.

After talking with local Lower Laguna Madre area officials in the City of South Padre Island and Port Isabel, it seems that they are very interested in moving forward on a similar law in order to protect our Laguna Madre, Gulf of Mexico and their beaches from the dangers and negative effects of what has been popularly called Texas' new tumbleweeds.