Press Room

Council Postpones Vote on Bag Ban
New Amendments Delay Decision

By Raymond McCaffrey
Washington Post Staff Writer

The Annapolis City Council will delay a vote until Nov. 12 on a proposed ordinance banning the use of plastic bags by grocers and other retailers.

The postponement of the vote, originally set for Monday, followed a request from Alderman Samuel Shropshire (D-Ward 7), who wanted to give council members time to review three amendments he added to the legislation since a July public hearing. Those provisions give smaller retailers more time to implement the changes and stipulate that the city would launch a campaign encouraging the use of reusable bags instead of plastic ones, Shropshire said last week.

The proposal, which has received considerable media attention, still appears to lack support from a majority of elected city officials interviewed recently. Several said they hadn't seen the amendments and were still considering the measure. But they seemed conflicted about whether such a ban would help the environment, and some questioned whether the city, rather than the state, should be dealing with an issue that has wider geographic implications.

"I just think we're the wrong place to leverage change, but I have promised Alderman Shropshire that I will keep an open mind on all this," said Alderman Ross H. Arnett III (D-Ward 8) .

Alderman Richard E. Israel (D-Ward 1) suggested that the city should push for voluntary change by retailers. "I am increasingly skeptical that we should be outlawing plastic bags," he said. "I think we should be encouraging the private sector to offer some alternative to paper and plastic."

Shropshire's legislation drew support during a July 23 public hearing from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Sierra Club Anne Arundel County Group. Supporters said the measure would help reduce the environmental impact of discarded plastic bags, which don't decompose like paper. They also said that fish, birds and turtles can die from intestinal problems when they ingest plastic bags.

But supermarket representatives and other opponents of the ban said they are not convinced that paper is better for the environment, and plastic is much more efficient to ship, reducing air pollution stemming from burning fuel. One supermarket spokesman said that consumers would have to absorb the increased cost for paper bags.

Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer (D) has said she wants to make reusable bags available. She said the city is looking at strengthening litter laws and would address concerns about plastic bags getting into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Yet, Moyer said, "I just think we're being fooled if we think that banning plastic bags has a tremendous impact on the environment around us."

The mayor said she is not yet supporting Shropshire's legislation but added:

"The emphasis is on the word 'yet.'"

Published Oct. 4, 2007, The Washington Post