Buncombe County's Environmental Advisory Board met Friday morning, Oct. 21, to consider prospects for reducing or even banning plastic shopping bags here, among other initiatives.
"It's on our policy direction list from the Commissioners to evaluate plastic bags, and different ways the county might be able to reduce the amount of bags" that end up in the environment, says Maggie Ullman, energy coordinator of the City of Asheville's Office of Sustainability, which assists the county board. Ullman explains that the group has been asked to investigate the prospect informally, but adds, "There would be a lot of willingness in this community."
In similar actions across the United States, such bans are an effort to reduce the amount of the lightweight plastic bags that end up blowing around area parking lots, getting trapped in vegetation, and ending up in area rivers and streams and eventually in the world's oceans.
Ullman points out that officials in other communities in the U.S., including Portland, Oregon, have enacted bans on the bags in recent years. Portland officials have reported that they considered banning plastic and placing a five-cent fee on paper, a proposal area grocers were willing to support. Portland went with a straight ban, ramping up its outreach efforts to encourage reusable bags, educate the public about plastic vs. paper bags and support merchants who must purchase the bags their customers use.
"Portland's approach is a ban, but I'd be surprised if we went in that direction," reports Ullman. "We get good results through volunteerism on environmental stuff in Buncombe County." Ullman adds that the approach here is intended to be collaborative and voluntary. As Ullman put it, "That's the way environmental change happens best in the long run."
The Environmental Advisory Board studies and recommends environmental initiatives, and performs special duties and projects related to the environment. Its sixteen members serve at the pleasure of the Commission, and meet the third Friday of every month in the Mountain Area Job Training Conference Room in the Maple Building on the campus of A-B Tech. The Board presently has several openings it is seeking to fill. For more information, contact Maggie Ullman at 271-6141.
"It's on our policy direction list from the Commissioners to evaluate plastic bags, and different ways the county might be able to reduce the amount of bags" that end up in the environment, says Maggie Ullman, energy coordinator of the City of Asheville's Office of Sustainability, which assists the county board. Ullman explains that the group has been asked to investigate the prospect informally, but adds, "There would be a lot of willingness in this community."
In similar actions across the United States, such bans are an effort to reduce the amount of the lightweight plastic bags that end up blowing around area parking lots, getting trapped in vegetation, and ending up in area rivers and streams and eventually in the world's oceans.
Ullman points out that officials in other communities in the U.S., including Portland, Oregon, have enacted bans on the bags in recent years. Portland officials have reported that they considered banning plastic and placing a five-cent fee on paper, a proposal area grocers were willing to support. Portland went with a straight ban, ramping up its outreach efforts to encourage reusable bags, educate the public about plastic vs. paper bags and support merchants who must purchase the bags their customers use.
"Portland's approach is a ban, but I'd be surprised if we went in that direction," reports Ullman. "We get good results through volunteerism on environmental stuff in Buncombe County." Ullman adds that the approach here is intended to be collaborative and voluntary. As Ullman put it, "That's the way environmental change happens best in the long run."
The Environmental Advisory Board studies and recommends environmental initiatives, and performs special duties and projects related to the environment. Its sixteen members serve at the pleasure of the Commission, and meet the third Friday of every month in the Mountain Area Job Training Conference Room in the Maple Building on the campus of A-B Tech. The Board presently has several openings it is seeking to fill. For more information, contact Maggie Ullman at 271-6141.
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Plastic bags bags were forced on businesses by the "save a tree" enviromentalists who ignored the fact that paper bags which escape the landfill cycle will quickly and naturally biodegrade. Plastic bags require a diligence which too many do not possess to recycle them, and use too much water for that process. Those that are not recycled are too easily swept by wind from the trash into the woods where they linger forever as visable, ugly pollution.
Get rid of plastic bags and give away some of the cloth reusable (and made from recycled materials) bags!
By Big Al
10/21/2011
If banning plastic shopping bags is being considered, why is the city handing out free plastic bags for leaf removal. For some reason the city has decided that the vacuum truck that has sucked up the leaves in the past will not be used this year. Instead everyone in the city must bag their leaves. Loose leaves will not be removed.
How can we implement the use of plastic bags in one area, and ban them in another.
By Steve
10/21/2011
It is time for Asheville to make this move and be a leader in the region in outlawing plastic bags .... and while we are at it maybe all the bottled water at meetings held by the various City and County departments (fire, police, council, commissions etc) should be the next banned item ....
By LOKEL
10/22/2011
Is it possible to recycle plastic bags with other plastic recyclables that go in the green bins we all use? If not, why not? Could Curbside Management handle them if they were put in separate bins?
By Curious
10/22/2011
If you research what is actually done with recyclables collected curbside across the country, the sad truth is the program is a failure. The only solution is to cut unnecessary packaging out of our daily lives. I support the ban, volunteerism would be high in this community but never enough. Old habits are hard to break, an half the people opt for immediate convenience in most situations.
By Selene22
10/22/2011
Oh Asheville powers that be...once again you contradict yourself and leave me wondering just who in the hell manages this city. You want to ban plastic grocery bags but at the same time now are requiring residents to bag their leaves in order to save money while destroying the environment??? Save money? Unbagged leaves decompose in only a few months. Bagged and piled leaves even in biodegradable bags take years. If it really is a cost saving measure why is it other larger cities in NC such as Raleigh still vacuum leaves?
By Ouverette
10/23/2011
What happens to plastic when you throw it away?
What happens to plastic? We trash it every day
What happens to plastic? It's with us everywhere
Some bury it in the ground. Some burn it in the air
It's plastic. It's plastic. It's catching up quite fast
It's plastic. It's plastic. How long can it last?
How long can it last?
By bobdurivage
10/23/2011
Retailers, as much as consumers, are concerned about protecting the environment in which we live, work and play. And, while I applaud the sentiment the suggested ban is not the solution. The North Carolina Constitution specifically prohibits the regulation of commerce by local acts and therefore any County ordinance prohibiting retailers’ use of plastic bags would likely be deemed unconstitutional. Similarly, the North Carolina Constitution prohibits our state legislators from regulating commerce on a local level, instead requiring regulations to be implemented on a statewide basis. In the words of the North Carolina Supreme Court, to do otherwise would create a patchwork of laws from county to county. While many point to the Outer Banks ban on plastic bags as a model, this ban is also likely unconstitutional though it has not yet been challenged in the courts. Regardless of the constitutionality of the Outer Banks law, the ban has not proven successful in changing consumer behavior with many retailers having less than five percent of their transactions involve a reusable bag. In other words, consumers on the Outer Banks are not using reusable bags but are instead using the paper bags provided by retailers which pose similar environmental concerns. What’s more, the implementation of this well-meaning law cost some retailers in excess of $30,000 to comply - money that could have been used to hire additional employees or invest in their business.
Retailers have focused on consumer education and a campaign to “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” through a program called “A Bag’s Life.” Consumers, including those in Buncombe County, can go to http://www.abagslife.com, type in their zip code to find retail locations in their area that recycle plastic bags as well as find alternative uses for plastic bags. The Retail Industry, North Carolina’s largest private employer, looks forward to working with local officials to educate consumers about reducing, reusing and recycling
By elon123
10/24/2011