Plastic Bags to be Banned in LA!
Wow, more good environmental news:
Los Angeles is gearing up to ban plastic bags, joining 48 other California cities who have phased out plastic bags in stores. LA is the largest US city to ban plastic bags, but one of many cities around the world to start eliminating this huge waste of resources and source of trash. According to Salon, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags every year after they’ve been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.
On Wednesday, 5/23/2012, the Los Angeles city council voted 13-1 to ban single use plastic bags.
“It is a threat to the coastal economy,” H. David Nahai, a former top executive of the city’s Department of Water and Power told the council. “It is a danger to marine life and it is an unconscionable burden to taxpayers who have to foot the bill for cleanups year after year.”
The proposed ban still has to undergo a four-month environmental study and then a final vote and signature from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Here are some of the other cities around the world that have taken this step:
United States
- Seattle, WA – Banned plastic bags starting July 1, 2012. Read more »
- San Francisco, CA – Banned plastic bags in 2007.
- Portland, OR – Banned plastic bags in summer 2011.
- Edmonds, WA – Banned Plastic Bags in 2009; law was implemented in August 2010.
- Bellingham, WA – Banned plastic bags in 2011, in the model outlined in this document; legislation to be implement in summer 2012.
- Washington DC – Implemented a 5 cent fee on paper and plastic bags in 2009; reduced disposable bag use by 80% citywide in first year.
England
In 2007, Modbury became the first town to ban the plastic bag in Britain, where 13 billion plastic bags are given away every year. If customers forget to bring their own, reports the Times Online, “a range of bags made of recycled cotton with organic and fairtrade certification will be available. Other cities have followed suit, some just a few months ago, and there are efforts to make London plastic bag-free by the time the Olympics come around in 2010. According to the Daily Mail, “Londoners use 1.6billion plastic bags a year – for an average of just 20 minutes per bag.”
Mexico
Mexico City adopted a ban last summer—the second major city in the western hemisphere to do so.
India
India seems to be taking the lead in bans on plastic bags, although enforcement is sometimes questionable. Cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Karwar, Tirumala, Vasco, Rajasthan all have a ban on the bag.
Burma
A ban went into effect (with little notice) in Rangoon late last year. In neighboring China, the use of plastic bags is restricted.
Bangladesh
Plastic bags have been banned in Bangladesh since 2002, after being found to be responsible for the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged most of the country.
Rwanda
The country, which has had a ban on plastic bags for years, has a reputation for being one of the cleanest nations not only on the continent, but in the world.
Australia
Sydney’s Oyster Bay was the first Australian suburb to ban plastic bags. Twelve towns in Australia are now said to be plastic bag-free—an effort to cut down on the estimated 6.7 billion plastic bags used in Australia every year.
Taxed, not banned
Plenty of other places have chosen not to ban plastic bags, but to discourage them through financial means. There have been taxes on plastic bags since before 2008 in Italy, Belgium, and Ireland, where plastic bag use dropped by 94 percent within weeks of the 2002 ban. In Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, the bags come with a fee.
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Here is an article regarding the LA ban:
Los Angeles says NO! To single use plastic bags!
Source: The Go Green Guy
The city of Los Angeles has become the largest US city to show that they are headed down a greener path.
On Wednesday, 5/23/2012, the Los Angeles city council voted 13-1 to ban single use plastic bags.
A major step forward in the fight to Green Our Planet.
“It is a threat to the coastal economy,” H. David Nahai, a former top executive of the city’s Department of Water and Power told the council. “It is a danger to marine life and it is an unconscionable burden to taxpayers who have to foot the bill for cleanups year after year.”
The proposed ban still has to undergo a four-month environmental study and then a final vote and signature from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
LA’s program will be similar to that already in place in some 48 other California cities.
The outline of the Ban is:
It will start with a six month educational period where no ban is in place. After six months larger stores must phase out single use plastic bags and after twelve months, small stores will also ban these bags. For those who do not bring their own bags, paper bags will be made available and retailers will be required to charge 10 cents per bag.
Bring your Own Bags! It may seem as a small and simple, yet it is truly major leap in the beautifying and preservation of Planet Earth.
As the city of Los Angeles adapts so will the rest of the Country, we HOPE!
This is just one more step in the right direction, to save the planet and all who call it home!
Thank you Los Angeles for doing the right thing!