Ald. Moreno Introduces Ordinance to Ban Plastic Bags

shookiemookie

Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1st) introduced an ordinance today that would ban plastic bag use by large retailers in Chicago. He introduced the ordinance during today's city council session, and it proposes fining stores larger than 50,000 square feet $150 to $250 when not complying. Moreno says it focuses on large stores so as not to burden small stores with an additional expense.

That fee doesn't seem quite large enough to us, though. Stores use plastic bags because they're cheaper than the alternatives. We imagine it might be easier for a Jewel or a Dominick's to pay the fine rather than change over to different bags.

That may be why Moreno has a back-up plan to charge retailers $0.10 per plastic bag, if the ordinance he proposed does not pass.

Moreno floated the idea three weeks ago, saying it could also save the city money on clean-up costs. “I went out and talked to the guys that actually do it,” Moreno said. “They pull out hundreds of plastic bags out of our sewers. So, it’s costing the city money.”

The city would be join several cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin is also. Earlier this year Jewel-Osco announced they would start training their baggers not to double-bag groceries to cut waste. Plastic bags have been banned from farmers' markets since 2008. Our neighbors to the north in Evanston are considering a ban, also.

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By Samantha Abernethy in News on November 2, 2011 5:20 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

ccbayer

they should also train baggers to put more than one thing in each bag

ScooterLibbby

Moreno's proposal was deliberately written to be unconstitutional!
By exempting smaller stores, he's written a law that violates both the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, but also Article 1, Section 2 of the Illinois Constitution.

This wretched aldercreature is just doing this to get good publicity for himself.

remyngtin

cut down more trees instead

magooisim

if plastic bags are banned i will protest by not picking up my dogs crap.

Mimihaha

Plastic bags are banned from the farmers' markets? Most of the vendors at the one at the MCA used them. It's almost impossible to get any of them to *not* bag my produce but let me put it in the canvas bag I carry when I'm shopping.

Peg Wolfe

Yup. I shop at the Lincoln Square market weekly, and have for years, and every vendor uses plastic bags. Heck, nearly every vendor at the supposedly green Evanston market does, too!

If there is actually a ban, I have yet to see any evidence of it. It's rather like the supposed ban on hand-held cell phones in Chicago - a myth in practice.