Bostonist: City Council Follows Hot Plastic-Bag Ban Trend

Elias

Wed, 02 May 2007 15:40:55 -0500

Total hogwash, plastic bag bans. Hear, hear! the gentle fluttering sound of the bags in the trees lulls me to sleep at night. And - let's face it - wasn't the real genius in "American Beauty" the proud consumer discarded the bag in the first place? Without him, that dopey kid would have nothing to film! Kudos to you, George, for standing up to this emotional hogwash about plastic bags with your cold hard logic and the facts you presumably read to come to your opinion. Long, long live the non-toxic plastic bag!

robin..

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:44:25 -0500

Too bad neither George nor Camille bothered to back up their assertions with citations... This is a fine ban, but I don't necessarily think the hysteria is justified. The people who are against plastic bags already don't need a ban to convince them; people who don't care probably still won't care. I'm definitely surprised that Boston is thinking of this ban, though, given that it's the kind of city in which the Whole Foods near MGH can offer only plastic bags to begin with.

George

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 01:31:12 -0500

The sky is falling. Total hogwash, plastic bag bans. Remember 15 to 20 years ago the cries of "we're running out of landfill space"? Total hogwash, then, as are the "reasons" for plastic bag bans, today, as sound science will ultimate prove. For example, "smaller and smaller pieces, which are toxic" is absolutely incorrect.

camille

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:36:20 -0500

I'm for it ... I don't think this is hyperbolic. Internationally, we use 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags every year. This is mindboggling. They don't biodegrade, they merely break down into smaller and smaller pieces, which are toxic. Yick. People that pick up their pet's poops might want to get into using a more environmentally friendly option, like biodegradeable bags made for that purpose.

egt

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:25:22 -0500

I think the city should put a small tax on the bags - like 15 cents - that would give shoppers an incentive to bring their own bags to the store. This is the policy used in countries like Ireland and it is really effective.

Frank

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:57:52 -0500

Are we starting to go overboard with predicting environmental disaster and the effect of the evil plastic bay? Maybe. Would people pay attention otherwise? Umm, probably not. Unfortunately in this world of sensationalism, if it's not a national threat, or a grave danger, people will just go about their lives in blissful ignorance. I mostly agree with your points, but if public officials need to scream, "the sky is falling" to pass, arguable, good measures, then so be it.