I was with you up until you said, "We do not fight the fact that plastic bags are bad for the environment."

What exactly are you basing this assumption on? Obviously not actual facts. Sure, most of what us humans do is bad for the environment. But to presume and imply that plastic bags are somehow a major player in environmental issues is just plain ignorant.

All the evils that get associated with plastic bags are exaggerated or taken out of context, and some are patently false.

Let's talk about oil consumption - or should we say, petroleum consumption, since plastic bags are made from waste created from refining natural gas (waste that would be burned off if not converted). The average person uses about 600 grocery bags per year. If bags were made from oil, that would be equal to less than a gallon of gas. It's widely stated that bags require 12 million barrels of oil per year. But consider that the United States uses 20 million barrels every day, and the number pales by comparison. Get out your calculator and run the numbers.

What about recycling - plastic bags are easier and more efficient to recycle than paper, by a long shot. And recycling programs are growing all the time. Seattle has one of the highest plastic recycling rates in the country.

Pollution - production of paper bags creates tons of water and air pollution, many times more than plastic production. Ever drive past a paper mill - stinks doesn't it? You could be living next to a plastic bag manufacturer and not even know it.

Landfills - based on the average consumption of plastic bags, and assuming that all of them get thrown into the garbage, and aren't recycled, 600 bags are about the same mass as a phone book. Think for a moment about how much of your garbage is plastic grocery bags.

Litter - if bags end up as litter, it's because they aren't disposed of properly, not because they exist. Do we also ban beer cans, glass bottles and all fast food packaging?

The foam container ban on this law makes a little more sense, but the new allowed compostable containers (made of food, by the way), will only decompose if sent to a composting facility. Many people who get take out containers full of food don't have access to a yard waste bin, so most of these will just end up in the landfill, where the other foam containers landed.

Sign the petition, and then vote the bag tax down. All it will accomplish is added tax revenues for the city. I feel better about stores charging me for the bags than the city getting involved."

Ken Holmes

Marketing Director

American Plastic Manufacturing