Champaign is looking at doing something no other Midwestern town has done: banning those plastic bags grocery stores dispense like parade candy.
Before this happens, the City Council would like your input on this survey. They will take residents’ thoughts and concerns into consideration before making a final decision on a plastic bag ban or fee. (Five cents per bag, paper or plastic, is an example of what that could turn out to be).
Make your voice heard regarding a possible plastic bag ban or fee. Credit: Flickr, jonathan.youngblood
This sort of begs the question: Is a ban on plastic grocery store bags really a hot-button issue?
You’d be surprised. Lobbyists from the oil industry-supported Progressive Bag Affiliates plan to attend the March 13 City Council meeting to voice their concerns about a plastic bag ban or fee. According to Angela Adams, the recycling coordinator for the City of Champaign, the group was integral in delaying a decision on a similar proposed ban in Austin, Texas.
As someone who works for a local retailer, I can say that there really are more sides to this issue than you might think — which is why taking the survey is so important.
To learn more about the proposed ban/fee, and the potential impact it could have, read on for an interview with Angela Adams (who encourages all area residents to take the survey before it closes at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26).
Why has this issue come to the City Council’s attention?
Angela Adams: The main reason this has come up is litter. Many businesses and residents have mentioned to council that something needs to be done to address this problem. Another goal is for Champaign to be an environmentally responsible city and to be a leader in sustainability.
What do we know of how fees/bans are received in other areas?
Adams: We would be the first in the in the Midwest to do this. Many cities that do this see reduction in litter; Washington D.C. saw 50-percent reduction in bags use with a 5-cent tax.
So far, how have area businesses responded to the proposed ban?
Adams: I sent letters to the largest businesses in Champaign and only a few came to the meeting, but overall they are fine with a fee but not a ban. The locally-owned businesses that attended are very excited for this, especially Champaign Surplus.
Can you impress upon us the importance of taking this survey? What weight will the information from the survey carry in the ongoing discussion?
Adams: The survey is very important because it is a way for residents to express their concerns or support. The survey only takes a few minutes and will be shared with the Council.
If residents want to see something like this happen the Council needs to see that support, especially since there is such large opposition from the plastic and oil industries.
Anything else you’d like us to know about the proposal?
Adams: I welcome all comments in form of taking the survey, letters to attach to the Council report, and attendance at the meeting on March 13 at 7 p.m. (at the City Building, 102 N. Neil St., Champaign). Also, you can email me at recycling@ci.champaign.il.us.
After you take the survey, come back here and tell us: What do you think about the proposed ban/fee?
Rachael McMillan just took part-time job number 5,482: teaching sixth- and seventh-grade history at Campus Middle School for girls. She also tutors at The Reading Group and serves as the education coordinator for Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retailer in downtown Champaign. She is totally in love with her Chambana life, which she shares with husband Scott, kindergartner Kate and first-grader Jack.
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Thanks for making this so easy to get to and take!
Won’t someone think of all the trees that will suffer at the hands of a plastic bag ban?
I’ve been using my own reusable bags for years. It’s not hard and after I got used to remembering to bring them with me, became very convenient! They are stronger and hold more than the plastic bags do, giving me fewer bags to carry in from the van.
I really don’t see a downside to a ban. I wish that were addressed more in the article, because I admit I can become very one sided on certain issues but do appreciate learning of the other side.
I think this is an important huge step for CU to take that could affect the entire state, and with the population Chicago brings to this state, could have massive impact on the country as a whole.
The downsides, as I understand them, are:
–A ban on plastic bags (which are less expensive than paper for retailers to stock) would be an unnecessary burden on area stores, as there is currently no push to also ban paper bags. That is why a fee per bag–paper or plastic–is perhaps the most likely form this legislation would take. HOWEVER…
–The plastic bag lobbyists would argue that a ban/fee is misguided as it demonizes plastics, which they feel are a benign resource if used/recycled properly. It’s true enough that there is a misperception about paper bags being somehow more “green” than plastic–they have about an equal carbon footprint. The plastics lobby argues that resources should be put into encouraging the recycling of all materials vs. a ban/fee (which, they have stated in the past, will cost jobs).
–Some area retailers may prefer to dispense their own bags to customers to make shoplifting more difficult.
The whole reason the issue came to the forefront is litter, and if you glance at our fields–now is a great time of year to do this–you can see the impact plastic bags have on that front.
I use my own bags it’s easy and they hold more. Have you ever counted the amount of plastic bags on the streets, in trees or caught in bushes while walking or driving? Astrounding….
Thanks for this info and the link to the survey.
If litter is the problem, then banning bags from Champaign grocery stores is not going to solve the problem, Why not go to the source of the problem? The overflowing dumpsters, the haulers who don’t cover the trash they haul, allowing it to blow all over? I reuse my plastic bags for all sorts of things, so if Champaign decides to ban them, I’ll just buy my groceries outside the City when I also buy my gas to avoid the annoying City tax.