Annapolis to Begin Debate on Plastic Shopping Bags

ABC News
July 23, 2007

Plastic shopping bags are either an environmental hazard or a recyclable alternative to bulky paper, depending on who you ask. Monday night, Annapolis city council members will hear both sides as they begin work on a proposed ordinance to ban all plastic shopping bags in city limits.

If approved, the ordinance would make Annapolis the first East Coast city to enact a ban.

San Francisco and Oakland, California, also have bans on some plastic bags.

The sponsor of the Annapolis proposal - Democratic Alderman Samuel Shropshire - says the bags are hurting the Chesapeake Bay and clogging storm drains.
 
But an industry group will argue that the bags are completely recyclable and that the city should work on encouraging recycling instead.

A vote on the ban is NOT expected until October.

A similar ban is being considered in Baltimore.