Yet another plastic bag ban to save the world

It’s all the rage today, sweeping the nation from coast to coast. As we reported back in March, municipalities across the country are saving the world, one shopping trip at a time, by banning the use of plastic grocery bags. And now, despite some spectacular failures by others who paved the way, Los Angeles is poised to leap into the fray. But the industry is fighting back this time.

With Los Angeles on the verge of becoming the nation’s largest city to ban single-use bags at supermarkets and convenience stores, the plastics industry is beginning to fight back.

With a series of radio and television commercials along with a website (www.bagtheban.com) the American Progressive Bag Alliance also is lobbying city lawmakers to try to head off the plans to outlaw use of the bags.

“We are engaging in the process of dialogue on lots of different fronts,” said Donna Dempsey, spokeswoman for the alliance. “Each city is different, each municipality is unique and we are trying to design our message for Los Angeles.”

They tried it in DC and wound up losing more than 100 jobs and realized a net drop in disposable income. They passed the same ban in San Francisco in 2007 to cut down on their plastic waste. The net result was that the city’s percentage of plastic waste went from .6 percent to .64 percent.

Los Angeles doesn’t just use plastic bags. They also make them and recycle them. The workers in that industry come forward in the following video to talk about what the ban will mean to them and their families. Give it a look.

But hey… they’re saving the world, right?

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