walmart getting rid of bags

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Meanwhile, the plastic bag industry is fighting back, claiming that studies in Los Angeles show that a municipal bag ban has hurt sales and cost jobs as compared to nearby jurisdictions that don't prohibit single-use plastic bags. The plastic bottle industry is also fighting the spread of bans, citing health concerns. Read more in this .   

Other towns around Colorado have already established bans and local business owners say it hasn't affected sales significantly. Read about bag bans in Telluride and Aspen in this .

Breck gets a step closer to single-use bag banCouncil plans to seek community input before drafting ordinanceTara Flanagan | Tue., September 25, 2012 @ 10:06 pm A single-use plastic bag from Walmart is stranded on the shore of Dillon Reservoir, several miles away from the store. Bob Berwyn Photo. BRECKENRIDGE—Breckenridge Town Council affirmed on Tuesday that it is serious about getting rid of single-use plastic and paper bags. Now, as in most things, the devil is in the details. Not a single person at the afternoon work session stood up to declare single-use bags as an inherently great thing for the planet. Roughly 3 million of them get used every year in town, with the larger grocery/liquor stores, especially City Market and Kingdom Foods, comprising at least 60 percent of the use. In the broader scope, the United States uses roughly 100 billion plastic bags a year, with Colorado accounting for 2 billion. Nationwide, that’s 12 million barrels of oil used to produce the bags. Here in Breckenridge, it’s now a matter of process. Does the town create an ordinance focusing solely on the larger grocery stores? Does it go after plastic bags first, then phase out paper bags? Or would bag fees alone be a sufficient reminder for people to go back to their cars for their reusable totes? And what about tourists, most of whom arrive in town without shopping bags? Would “bag banks,” visible places to snag free or low-cost reusable bags, be part of the equation? The 90-minute discussion aired recommendations by town staff and the SustainableBreck Business Task Force – a volunteer group representing retail, restaurants and lodging in the community. In June, council directed the group to come up with a plan for reducing the use of plastic bags, with the idea of having a final plan by year’s end. As they stand, the recommendations call for an ordinance to be drawn up, and plastic bags at the larger grocery stores would be phased out six months after its passage. Paper bags would be available for a fee, then banned in two years. Smaller retailers would agree to have reusable bags for sale, as well as promote the town’s bag-use reduction program. All of this, naturally, will be subject to adjustment, depending on input and the mood of the community. Council hopes to have a decision on final recommendations by the end of 2012, with an ordinance drafted early in 2013. Mayor John Warner said the single-use plastic bag issue has its roots in 2008, when it was examined in the wider scope of sustainability, and as part of the genesis of SustainableBreck. “It’s something that’s been bubbling up for the last four, five, six years,” he said, noting that it’s time to move ahead. Council member Jen McAtamney said awareness has helped somewhat, but agreed that it is time for more action. “We have moved the needle,” she said, noting that people’s habit changes in bag use are a good first step toward addressing the larger “throwaway mentality” in the United States. She noted that some places in the U.S. are doing particularly well in changing people’s bag habits. She said that as a visitor to Hawaii, the bag ban was easy to navigate. Reusable bags were simple to locate, and lodges issued them to guests – taking advantage of the logo advertising. “We’ve got to tackle it,” she said. “We’ve got to find a way to do it.” Council member Mike Dudick agreed. “I think we should be getting rid of these things,” he said, but emphasized that the retail, restaurant and lodging communities need to be heard, and that the recommendations need to be strong enough to get people out and talking. Council member Wendy Wolfe said she’d like to try a voluntary approach first. “I would not like to see it done with an ordinance or legislation,” she said, adding that Breckenridge does not necessarily need to copy Aspen or Telluride, which have enacted plastic bag bans. And in Aspen, an anti-tax group is suing the city, claiming that the 20-cent fee on paper bags amounts to a tax that violates a state law (TABOR) that requires voter approval for all tax increases. The next step in Breck? A community engagement process is likely for October and November, allowing the town time to come up with a final plan by year’s end.

Breck gets a step closer to single-use bag ban