Plastics Industry Misleads Seattle Residents

The American Chemistry Council must really love Bag Monsters....As part of their $1.4 million campaign against the Seattle Green Bag Fee, they recently sent out mailers to Seattlites with false claims about how the fee would impact homeless shelters and food banks. This just in:

American Chemistry Council misleads public about Food Banks, Emergency Shelters and Referendum 1

SEATTLE - As part of their $1.4 million dollar advertizing blitz in Seattle to try to defeat Referendum 1, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and their backers in the oil industry are making claims that "there are no exemptions for food banks and homeless shelters" from the bag fee when in fact, food banks are not subject to the fee at all.

The City ordinance which will be confirmed or rejected by the voters as part of the August 18 primary ballot explicitly includes four categories of stores: drug stores, groceries, supercenters, and convenience stores. All other retailers, including wholesalers of bags, are unaffected by the ordinance.

The ACC is trying to use the Food Bank issue as a wedge to convince compassionate voters in Seattle that the ordinance is unfair. The City, however, plans to use 15 cents of the 20 cents fee to provide free reusable bags to all households and significant extra quantities of bags to low and fixed income citizens, potentially with a punch card, and also for Food Banks.

City staff has said that they are prohibited from talking about their low income assistance program because it would be an ethics violations if they were perceived as trying to influence a ballot measure.

In San Francisco, where a plastic bag ban has been in place for over two years, agencies distributing groceries on behalf of the local Food Bank generally do not hand out bags, but instead the clients bring their own bags. "New food programs often give out bags at first while participants get used to bringing their own bags," said Sean Brooks, Director of Programs, San Francisco Food Banks. "After an initial phase, the food programs no longer hand out bags, relying instead on clients to bring their own bags. Most of the food donated to Food Banks comes in boxes, bins, or barrels - rarely in bags."

Several food banks in Seattle have already begun encouraging their clients to bring their own bags, sometimes with incentives like providing an extra food item when someone brings in their own bag. Derek Wertz, Food Bank manager, Jewish Family Service, says that he has already seen an uptick of people bringing their own bags.

He adds, "I am personally motivated to vote for Referendum 1 not only for the obvious environmental reasons, as reusable bags are far more sustainable than plastic bags are, but also for the political reasons of eliminating our co-dependency on other countries. As most plastic products are petroleum based, it makes perfect sense why the ACC would be lobbying against the fee."

"Downtown Food Bank is doing what we can to provide reusable bags to clients and reduce use of paper and plastic bags, and we don't anticipate that a fee on bags would have much of an impact on our program or our clients," said Matthew Brouwer, Food Bank Manager, Pike Market Senior Center/Downtown Food Bank.

Bill Hobson, Executive Director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center of Seattle said, "From our perspective, this is misinformation from the American Chemistry Council. Homeless shelters are not negatively impacted at all."

"People who are low income care about the environment too and will be bringing their own bags just like the rest of the city" said Sharon Lee, executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute. "As a longtime advocate for low income residents in Seattle, I am distressed that the American Chemistry Council is trying to drive a wedge between environmental issues and low income issues. It shouldn't be a tradeoff."

Proponents of Referedum 1, led by environmental, small business, neighborhood and civic groups, aren't surprised by the ACC tactics.

"We knew big oil couldn't win by simply debating the policy, so they have engaged in a misleading campaign in order to try to win this election," said Heather Trim with People For Puget Sound. "If big oil and the chemical industry truly cared about food banks and shelters they would donate $1.4 million to provide food and supplies to them rather than to try to create a wedge issue with our Seattle voters who care both about the environment and about our low income residents."

"They also are telling voters that big box stores, like Walmart and Fred Meyer are exempted, when the ordinance explicitly includes these stores," said Brady Montz of the Sierra Club. "Seattle voters can send a message that our elections and commitment to human services are not for sale by voting to approve Referendum 1 on the August ballot."

Alaskan City Bans Plastic Bags

Many U.S. cities have spent the past year banning plastic bags. One city has succeeded, and refuses to let the thousands of miles of wild, untamed land stay polluted. The Bethel city government in Alaska decided to ban plastic bags and other single-use waste two weeks ago.

The town has taken a step farther than any other U.S. city by also banning the dispersal of foam to-go containers from restaurants. The measure goes into effect next September 2010.

In the small town of Bethel, with a less than 6,000 people, the measure was incremental. The city has no structured waste management system. The people who live there take their garbage to local dump sites, where trash is at the mercy of wind and animals, dragging it miles into pristine habitats and disgracing the overall landscape.

This is not the first time citizens and government have made objections to the single-use waste. Eight years ago, a similar measure was proposed, but was struck down by businesses that were opposed to it.

One Bethel citizen, quoted in the Anchorage Daily News, said she was not surprised by the bag ban due to rising awareness of plastic waste affecting the environment and the rise of reusable products on the market.

"It's throughout our food chain now. It's in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, it's in the plankton,” said Bethel citizen Kathy Hanson.

Bethel isn’t the first city in Alaska to bring plastic bags to the political forefront. Hooper Bay banned plastic bags earlier this summer due to its overwhelming presence in the local environment. Plastic waste has washed up on the coast and many have found pieces of plastic weaved into bird’s nests.


Beyond the environmental impact of plastic bags, there’s one plain truth that everyone can agree: they’re unsightly.

David Stovner, of the Bethel recycling center said, "It looks like white geese out there. Eight million of them.” (Anchorage Daily News)

Portland Citizens Ask Council to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags

Bag Monster's days in Portland, Oregon may be numbered...this just in:

Citizens Ask the City Council to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags

Portland, OR (July 29, 2009) - Members of the Portland Chapter of Surfrider Foundation and Leave No Plastic Behind today requested the Portland City Council to pass a ban on single-use plastic bags in Portland.

Both organizations are members of Portland's 'Ban the Bag' coalition which is seeking to reduce consumption of single use plastic bags in Portland to prevent waste, encourage use of reusable bags, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

During testimony to the City Council, the Surfrider Foundation presented a letter signed by 43 local businesses, environmental groups, and neighborhood associations in support of such a policy.

Surfrider Foundation and Leave No Plastic Behind also presented the City Council with over 2,700 petition signatures in support of a plastic bag ban or fee, collected by volunteers throughout the city.

"Banning single-use plastic bags is an important step toward sustainability for the City of Portland", said Pete Stauffer of the Surfrider Foundation. "Using a product that lasts hundreds of thousands of years for a single use makes no sense; especially when reusable bags can provide the same function and save both consumers and businesses money."

Portland Mayor Sam Adams was among those who expressed support. "I applaud what Surfrider is doing nationwide to bring attention to this issue. Single-use bags represent an important opportunity to rethink our consumption patterns. People look to Portland as a leader in sustainability, and I think it's time to take the helm and reduce unnecessary waste in disposables and excessive packaging."

The consumption of single-use plastic bags has a major impact on the environment. Around 100 billion petroleum-based plastic checkout bags are used each year in the United States, requiring an estimated 12 million barrels of oil each year. Sadly, less than 5% of these bags are recycled each year and cities, counties, and non-profit organizations must pay million of dollars each year to clean up the litter.

Further, it is estimated that 60-80% of all debris in the ocean is plastic. Plastics take hundreds of years to break down at sea, and most types never truly biodegrade. As a result, marine animals often get entangled in the debris or mistake it for food.

For the past two years, the Surfrider Foundation and Leave No Plastic Behind have been working to raise community awareness about the impacts of plastics on the environment and encouraging people to switch to reusable bags.

Their volunteer driven efforts have included sponsoring outreach events, beach cleanups, art shows, school assemblies, water festivals, neighborhood association presentations, and distributing over 3,000 free reusable bags in Oregon through school programs and community outreach.

In addition, both Surfrider Foundation and Leave No Plastic Behind are participating in the Mayor's Reusable Bag Outreach, Education, and Distribution Task Force, which includes members of local nonprofits, government, businesses, and community partners. The campaign is working to reduce single use bag waste through a broad public outreach and education campaign with the mass distribution of a durable, usable grocery tote bag.

Surfrider Foundation is also participating in the West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health through implementing priorities of the Marine Debris Action Team. These regional efforts help build consistency between Surfrider's local outreach and advocacy efforts and the shared ocean policy agenda of the Governors of Washington, Oregon and California.

About Surfrider Foundation: The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world's oceans, waves and beaches. Now in its 25th year, the Surfrider Foundationhas grown from a small group of dedicated surfers in Malibu, California to a global movement made up of over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide. For more information visit www.surfrider.org

About Leave No Plastic Behind: Leave No Plastic Behind presents art exhibits and creative events year round to raise awareness about the damaging effects of single use plastic and offers alternative suggestions on how to reduce and reuse. It is a project of the non-profit organization Create Plenty. For more information visit http://lnpb.org/

Learn more about the Portland chapter of Surfrider Foundation here.
Live in Portland? Sign the petition here.

American Chemistry Council Spends Over $1 Million to Fight Seattle Green Bag Fee

As the city of Seattle continues to push a fee on plastic bags to reduce urban litter and clean the environment, the oil industry spoke up by dumping over one million dollars into their own campaign to keep the plastic bag free. They’ve also pledged to add an additional $300,000 by the end of this week (Seattle Times).

On Tuesday, The American Chemistry Council spent $500,000 in direct mail and radio ads to be issued throughout the weekend to persuade Seattlites to vote against the ballot measure, which would put a fee of 20 cents on every bag issued to a shopper. They contributed another $300,000 to the campaign the very next day. According to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission staff, this is the largest contribution to any ballot measure in the last decade. (Seattle Times)

Within the ACC, a lobbyist group called the Progressive Bag Affiliates was designed to stop cities from enacting plastic bag bans or fees. On the ACC’s web site, their mission reads, “The Progressive Bag Affiliates promotes the responsible use, reuse, recycling and disposal of plastic bags.” (American Chemistry)

The ACC can throw money toward their campaign without batting an eye, when they’re backed by corporations like ExxonMobil and the Dow Chemical Company-- two corporations with less-than-perfect reputations in the environmental world.

Dow Chemical, the creator of herbicide Agent Orange, caused cancer and birth defects to humans exposed to it during the Vietnam War. In 1989, ExxonMobil caused ecological havoc, when they spilled over 10 million gallons of crude oil off the coast of California, dirtying the sea and killing marine life.

Recycling and keeping the earth clean is not their motivation—they want to keep the plastic bag business alive. The ACC hopes it will garner support by spinning the fee legislation, saying it’s directly discriminating against the low income and elderly who can’t afford to buy bags. This argument assumes the low income and elderly don’t have the faculties to carry reusable bags, which seems unreasonable, especially given that Seattle’s bag fee legislation includes a free reusable bag program for the elderly and low income.

This is not the first attempt by the ACC to stop the Seattle legislation. Over the past year, the lobbyist group has recruited and paid workers to go to Seattle and collect signatures to petition the bag fee and place the measure on the ballot as a referendum. Last year, the ACC gave $239,000 to fight the bag fee.

The American Chemistry Council is backed by the oil industry and wants plastic bags to proliferate to keep their supporter’s pockets full. It is wrong to think a low-income citizen cannot reuse a bag, or choose to not take a bag. Rich and poor alike—no one wants to live in a city trashed with plastic bags.

Support the Seattle Green Bag Campaign and vote YES on Referendum 1 to protect our environment and save resources!

Paper or Plastic?

Small Australian Town Bans Bottled Water

As many cities around the world continue pushing single-use bag legislation, one city in Australia has implemented a ban on another source of plastic waste: water bottles.

The small town of Bundanoon near Sydney, a town of 2,500 people, banned plastic water bottles Thursday, July 9 to help save money and the environment, in what is called the "Bundy on Tap" campaign.

Citizens of Bundanoon have been hostile toward the bottled-water industry for a long time. Over the past few years, an Australian beverage company has tried numerous times to extract city water, which would be transported to other places in Australia.

Bundanoon is one of the only places to ever ban plastic water bottles. (Associated Press) The city suggested retailers who will lose profits from the sale of bottled water could sell eco-friendly reusable water bottles instead. The citizens hope this reduction in single-use water bottles will bring people back to drinking out of the tap.

As consumers all over the world become more privy to the environmental cost to their consumptive behavior, new businesses have emerged. Reusable water bottles companies are now becoming household names as more consumers say no to the disposable water bottle. Companies like Sigg and Klean Kanteen have grown successful from the support of eco-conscious consumers.

In 2008, Australians spent $390 million on bottled water. Although Bundanoon is just a small city, its water bottle ban will have a ripple effect through the entire country. (Associated Press)

Meanwhile, in the United States, some measures have been taken to reduce the amount of bottled water consumed within state and federal governments. Several U.S. Cities have put a stop to spending tax dollars on bottled water, which is often consumed at government meetings and events.

Food & Water Watch, a U.S.-based non-profit, does just what its name tells you - examines the environmental and health problems with food and water. Their mission says, "We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink." (Food & Water Watch)

Take Back the Tap is the non-profit's campaign to bring awareness about the harmful environmental effect of disposable drink bottles, as well as encouraging people to choose tap over bottled water. Here are some facts from their web site:

• Worldwide bottling of water uses about 2.7 million tons of plastic each year.
  
• About 86 percent of empty plastic water bottles in the United States land in the garbage instead of being recycled.
  
• Manufacturing the 28.6 billion PET water bottles in the United States takes the equivalent of 177.6 million barrels of oil. (Take Back the Tap)

Many companies are also finding ways to divert plastic water bottles from landfills. Most water bottles are made from PET, a resource that can be easily recycled and turned into fabric as well as other items. The fiber can be used to make carpet, shoes or insulation. Patagonia uses recycled PET to make clothing and ChicoBag™ offers a reusable bag made of PET called the ChicoBag rePETe™.

With all the waste produced from plastic water bottles and plastic bags, the city of Bundanoon may be a microcosm of a globally conscious shift to keep our earth a clean place for future generations.

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Penang, Malaysia Implements "No Plastic Bag Day"

Penang, Malaysia successfully launched "No Plastic Bag Day" last Monday, and despite industry pressures, will continue the campaign each Monday from here on out.

In an effort to preserve the environment and become the first "green" state in Malaysia, over 300 Penang retailers are on board and charging 20 sen (approximately six US cents) for each plastic bag given out on "No Plastic Bag Day". The program will eliminate single-use bag waste while giving back to the community. All proceeds from plastic bag sales will benefit the Partners Against Poverty Campaign. (The Star)

Following the launch of the program last Monday, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng received a request from the Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Association (MPMA). Lim Kok Book, president of MPMA wrote, "We propose that the state government replace the 'No Plastic Bag Day' campaign with a more comprehensive programme." (Bernama)

In April, a public forum was held to discuss the pros and cons of "No Plastic Bag Day" and a final decision was made to go forward with it. Lim has not looked back and despite MPMA's plea, "No Plastic Bag Day" will continue each Monday as planned. (Bernama)

Hong Kong Instates 50-cent Bag Fee

On Tuesday, Hong Kong rolled out a 50-cent bag fee for all major retailers. Hong Kong---the compact city notoriously known for bright lights and crowds, will help its citizens adopt a reusable bag habit where plastic bags have traditionally been thrown away by the millions every day.

The fee currently applies to over 2,000 retailers. After testing the fee for one year, the Hong Kong government plans extend the fee to all retailers in the city. (Channel News Asia)

The fee was pushed by Secretary of the Environment, Edward Yau, who acknowledged that Hong Kong has flippantly used and disposed of plastic bags.

"The levy...provides a direct economic incentive to discourage the indiscriminate use of plastic shopping bags," Yau said. (Environmental Protection Dept.)

With seven million people living within 425 square miles, Channel News Asia reports that the average citizen uses three plastic bags per day. With numbers like those, Hong Kong citizens have been throwing away over eight billion shopping bags every year.

Pollution has plagued Hong Kong for many years. The city sits on the southeast shore of China near the Greater Pearl River Delta, where over 55,000 factories create air and land pollution. (CNN)

Three years ago, a survey was taken by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce regarding Hong Kong's pollution. Some of the results revealed people were disinclined to visit or live in such a polluted city. Of those surveyed, 78 percent of people who lived in Hong Kong wanted to leave because the lack of environmental quality. (CNN)

Now the Hong Kong government is taking measures to reduce waste and clean up the city. The government hopes the bag fee will create a decline in landfill waste by 50 percent.

All participating retailers will feature a universal sign displaying a bag and a 50-cent fee to make shoppers aware of which stores charge for plastic bags. As part of the educational component to the fee, Hong Kong's environmental department will issue magnets in four languages to citizens to ensure people remember to bring their own bag.

Bag Monster at High Sierra

The High Sierra Music Festival up in Quincy, CA was a blast this last weekend; I had such a great time! There were great bands, great people, and great times to be had. I made a few friends and spread the message of single-use bags but unfortunately had quite a few run-ins with the pesky ChicoBag Company.

I mingled with some cool musicians like Dr. Dog (below), got a little bit of stage time after the Tea Leaf Green performance and even had time to relax in an early morning Yoga class!

A ChicoBag representative was there educating people on the harms of single-use bags and was giving away compact, reusable ChicoBags as an alternative. Don't people realize I will cease to exist if they continue to use reusable bags?













Everyone waltzed around proudly carrying their ChicoBags with them. Even big wig, Casey Lowdermilk (left) proudly carried his ChicoBag around with him. The hopeful ChicoBag representative (above) snuck a few ChicoBags into my plasticy layers in hopes that I would change my ways and kick my single-use lifestyle.

Feeling slightly discouraged, and somewhat insulted by the overwhelming number of reusable ChicoBags around, I knew I had to get on stage to spread the word of Bag Monsters. The colorful and compact ChicoBags I was given earlier were eating away at my plastic core - I had to get rid of them!

I got on stage and unloaded the ChicoBags on the crowd who went wild for them - not exactly the reaction I was hoping for! It wasn't a total loss, I did manage to get a few good words in on the wonderful attributes of plastic bags...













I was exhausted after my stage time and thought I would sneak out to find some relief from the sun. I was greeted by a glorious pool of water! As you know, I love swimming in rivers and oceans! I hopped in and started to relax when out of nowhere ChicoBag fans attacked!!I barely escaped and figured I should gather my things and be on my way soon...these people were serious about fighting single-use!

Inspired by Ireland, Wales Considers Bag Fee

On June 27, the Welsh Assembly asked for public opinion on instating a 15-pence bag fee in Wales. The fee is part of the country's goal to eliminate waste by five percent in 16 years, and get rid of landfill waste entirely by 2050.

As part of the bag fee, the Assembly has asked retailers to volunteer to reduce the amount of single-use bags they hand out to customers with hopes of reducing bag waste by 50% this spring.

Like most U.S. cities attempting to pass bag fees, the Welsh Assembly wants to emulate Ireland's bag fee - which reduced bag waste by 90% since the induction of the fee seven years ago.

Plastic bags continue to be a menace to the landscape in Wales. Last year, 9.9 billion plastic bags were taken home from stores. That's the equivalent of 400 plastic bags per household (BBC News). The Welsh Assembly calculated that it costs about £1 million per year to clean up plastic waste from the environment.

If the fee is approved, the Assembly plans to appropriate the money raised from the fee on environmental conservation.

Wales has set a goal to establish environmental initiatives for the future. What they're calling "One Wales" is a series of programs to help the country become more sustainable. Along with eliminating landfill waste by 2050, the country hopes to boost their recycling program and look to renewable energy sources for power (Guardian). The Welsh Assembly is the first government in the United Kingdom to make an effort to reduce single-use bag waste.