July 3 - Corvallis, Second City in Oregon to Ban Plastic Bags
The City Council of Corvallis has voted 8-1 to enact a citywide ban on single use plastic bags for retail stores. Corvallis joins the city of Portland, which enacted their plastic bag ban in October of last year.
The ban orders that businesses with more than 50 employees eliminate the use of plastic bags within six months, while smaller businesses get a year to phase out the plastic shopping bags.
Prior to its passage, an amendment was made to the bill that will require that paper bags come with a 5 cent fee. A lobbyist for the Northwest Grocers Association notes the need for a mandatory fee
Without it, many shoppers would never make the switch to reusable totes and stores that did charge a fee would be at a competitive disadvantage
While the bill faced concerns from citizens who felt it was too stringent, members of the Corvallis City Council explained that most of their constituents supported the ban and that the overall environmental effect outweighed the opposition.
Read more about the Corvallis bag ban.
California's ban on single-use plastic bags just passed in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. Read more about AB 298.