Plastic Bag Ban: Our Viewers Respond

We said the legislature let us down when they failed to pass a state-wide plastic grocery bag ban, and our viewers responded.

Here is the complete response from The Save The Plastic Bag Coalition:

RESPONSE TO YOUR EDITORIAL:

California would not save a penny by banning plastic bags.

Think about it. If plastic bags are banned, cleanup crews will still have to pick up other kinds of litter along the same streets and at other locations. For example, bottles, cans, cigarette butts, newspapers, etc. That is why San Francisco and Palo Alto have not saved any money by banning plastic bags.

Before banning something, you must consider the alternatives. In San Francisco, most people have switched to paper bags. Sure some people bring reusable bags, but not that many.

Paper is much worse for the environment than plastic.

14 million trees are cut down each year to make the paper bags that we use in this country.

Paper bags produce up to 3.3 times more greenhouse gas emissions than plastic bags. Banning plastic bags in California would INCREASE greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equivalent to adding more than 200,000 cars to our roads. That is a serious concern.

The Legislature was right to reject the bill to ban plastic bags as it was environmentally unsound.


Regards,

Stephen L. Joseph, Counsel
SAVE THE PLASTIC BAG COALITION
350 Bay Street, Suite 100-328
San Francisco, CA 94133
Website: www.savetheplasticbag.com
E-mail: savetheplasticbag@earthlink.net
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