Brownsville expected to pass plastic bag ban

BROWNSVILLE — The City Commission is expected to give the final nod today to a citywide ban on plastic shopping bags during its first meeting of the New Year.

The commission meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1001 E. Elizabeth St.

The ban would be voluntary through the end of this year and it would become mandatory Jan. 1, 2011.

National grocery chains like Wal-Mart and H-E-B support the city’s effort to reduce plastic bag waste.

"At Wal-Mart, our goal is to reduce our global plastic bag waste by one-third by the end of 2013," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kellie Duhr told The Brownsville Herald. "Moving to reusable bags will certainly help accomplish that goal. At Wal-Mart, we believe that being an efficient and profitable business goes hand in hand with being a good steward of the environment. "

H-E-B’s Susan Gartner told the commission in October that the food store would support the city’s decision, but she also suggested that many customers might not be able to afford reusable bags. She also noted that education and outreach is important.

The commission passed the first reading of the ordinance regarding the ban on Dec. 15 and the second and final reading is slated for today.

The ban does not apply to plastic bags to bag meat, fish and poultry products.

Wal-Mart is familiar with bans.

Duhr pointed out that the business is complying with a similar state law in three counties of the Outer Banks of North Carolina that require the business to stock only paper or reusable bags.

North Carolina’s General Assembly, or state legislature, passed a bill in its 2009 session which was signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue in June that bans plastic bags because they threaten wildlife and marine life.

The ban only applies to large retail chains that have five or more stores within the state and retailers that have more than 5,000 square feet of retail or wholesale space. Like the Brownsville proposal, plastic bags can be used only to bag fresh fish, meat, poultry and produce.

The ban went into effect Sept. 1 and only applies to Currituck, Dare, and Hyde counties, which have a barrier island or barrier peninsula.

"The barrier islands are most relevant in that they are where sea turtles come to nest," the law states.