In the Know: _LA city council plastic bag ban_
By Nicole Mirea
May 23, 2012 11:21 p.m.
The question “Paper or plastic?” may soon become nostalgic in Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles City Council voted on a single-use plastic bag ban on Wednesday, accepting the proposal to completely ban plastic bags over a 12-month phase-out period. The ban will also levy a 10-cent tax on paper bags after the phase-out period.
The ban is noble in its intentions, but the policy it will implement may be too idealistic for 2012.
By nature, a prohibition takes personal choice out of the equation. By not giving customers at least the semblance of a choice, the Los Angeles City Council creates a situation in which people no longer buy reusable grocery bags because they care about the environment, but because they are obeying the law.
In order for real change to occur, Angelenos must be educated about the consequences of their choices.
While actions can be legislated, the ideas behind them cannot be mandated. If the choice is in the hands of consumers, perhaps they will be more motivated to make other ecologically conscious decisions in their daily lives.
A tax on paper and plastic bags would be a better way for the city to save the planet. Given their more detrimental impact, each plastic bag could be taxed at an extremely high rate ““ much steeper than the 10-cent paper bag tax, which would also have to be raised in order to have any real effect ““ discouraging customers from using them while still allowing them a choice at checkout.
Furthermore, the term “single-use” brings up an important question: What if the plastic bag in question is used more than once? According to an informational presentation about the ban prepared by the Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation, a reusable bag is not necessarily made of biodegradable materials and can be made of plastic as long as it is at least 2.25 mils thick. This leaves a loophole open for plastic bag manufacturers to simply produce thicker plastic bags that will still ultimately spend aeons in a landfill before decomposing.
“Single-use,” however, is just a minor detail. The main issue is whether Los Angeles County is ready for a complete ban on plastic bags in the first place.
Los Angeles has already made its decision. The state of California, however, has yet to formulate a uniform policy on single-use bags.
As more and more cities outlaw plastic bags, the issue is fast approaching the scope of the California legislature. In 2010, the state Senate rejected a similar measure completely banning plastic bags.
Because of the nature of representative democracy, which encourages compromise over extreme action, a statewide tax would be more likely to pass than an all-out prohibition. Although it might not have as dramatic an impact as a ban, a tax will still be a step in the right direction.
Email Mirea at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected] or tweet us @DBOpinion.
