People Who Make Plastic Bags Want You To Like Plastic Bags
Last week, Councilmember Mike "Credit Union" and the rest of the City Council floated a big idea: banning plastic bags in the city of Seattle. The idea came just after a report Port Townsend Marine Science Center, which estimated that people in Washington State use 2 billion plastic bags each year. But now, the Seattle Times reports, the decision is being criticized--by the people who make plastic bags.
Calling the proposal a "rush decision", Hilex Poly, the country's biggest manufacturer of the single-use bags is complaining that the decision targets their product, instead of other forms of plastic waste. According to the Times, Hilex Poly has said that they "strongly believe that punishing consumers is the wrong approach to reducing plastics litter."
Unfortunately for Hilex Poly, deferring attention away from plastic bags probably won't be hugely helpful in gaining empathy--particularly in the Puget Sound, where residents are already concerned about the health of the oceans. And while other plastic and trash are concerns, plastic bags are one of the easiest targets, with one of the clearest solutions. Who can forget the beached whale whose stomach was filled with single-use plastic bags?
In 2009, voters in King County narrowly defeated a tax on plastic bags--which was not a ban, but rather a small fee for use of the bags. And while many supported the idea of cutting down on the use of single-use plastic sacks, the tax was largely seen as regressive and harmful to poor people. An all-out ban, however, may gain more traction...and it's not getting put to the voters.
Additionally, other cities have already pioneered the trail (Portland and Bellingham among them)--and research is showing that Seattle (and Washington as a whole) are ready to follow suit.
