On the Hit List

Environmental advocacy groups, at any given time, have more than one cause or focal point toward which to direct their efforts.

For the past several years, one of the causes that has gained momentum involves scrutinizing the widespread use of plastic bags in the retail sector.

The lightweight, sometimes colorful, carry-out bags can be an obvious blight on the landscape when they are discarded or when the wind whisks them away from a collection bin or truck.

Without any incentive in place to encourage their collection, loose bags too often become an eyesore on the branch of a tree or fencepost in a public right-of-way, or they become an unwanted task for a property owner who collects them.

Observers who prefer not to get their hands dirty cannot even count on a fairly rapid decomposition process to take care of the problem, as one might with a paper product.

This visibility has probably helped put plastic bags on the hit list for many advocacy groups and has led to a variety of reactions in different cities and states.

Some cities, such as San Francisco, have largely banned the use of the bags, with Portland, Ore., poised to follow suit. In Seattle, the issue was put to a vote, with the voters deciding to keep the plastic bag as a viable option rather than paying a 20-cents-per-bag tax. State legislators in Virginia also declined to enact a per-bag tax.

Retailers and manufacturers of plastic bags have not been idle as this debate has played out. Responses have included increased funding of collection programs to recycle the bags and substantial campaign spending when the issue appears on state or municipal ballots.

Supporting the collection, processing and end market infrastructure for recycling the bags is a goal of the Progressive Bag Affiliates division of the American Chemistry Council, which has a stated goal of a 40 percent recycling rate for the bags.

In the meantime, the pressure is likely to continue. In August, the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) stated its intention to keep urging municipalities to ban or tax the single-use plastic bag.

It’s a debate in which the outcome may have an effect not only on plastics producers and recyclers, but potentially on the paper industry, which may see its market share in the single-use bag market rebound as a result.