Bellingham Learns From Edmonds for Its Own Plastic Bag Ban

Last week, Bellingham became the second city in Washington to ban single-use, checkout line plastic bags in grocery stores, getting some valuable assistance from the first: Edmonds.

“The effort in Bellingham was very impressive,” said Edmonds City Council president Strom Peterson, the driving force behind the ban locally. Bellingham City Council members had solicited Peterson’s advice on the successes and failures of Edmonds’ ban, which took effect Aug. 27, 2010.

“I think it’s great that other communities are realizing the importance of this,” said Peterson. “The more cities that do it, the more people realize it’s not a difficult transition.”

The Bellingham council voted 7-0 on the ban, which will take effect in a year to allow shoppers and business a period of adjustment. (Edmonds’ vote was 5-1 in favor, with Council Member Ron Wambolt against it.)

As in Edmonds, Bellingham’s ordinance allows plastic bags for produce, meat, prepared and bulk food at groceries and for restaurant take-out food. And the ban effects all retail establishments, not just grocery stores.

The main difference between the two cities is that Bellingham retailers will be able to charge at least 5 cents per paper bag used by customers, with retailers keeping the money. The incentive-fee is not one that is in place in Edmonds. (In 2009, the city of Seattle attempted to charge a 20-cent fee on plastic bags, a measure soundly defeated by voters.)

The bans in Edmonds and Bellingham are part of an environmental effort to reduce litter and pollution problems. Opponents, including Wambolt, say the bags are a small percentage of the litter problem and that consumers should have choices.

Edmonds grocery and retail stores have switched to paper bags, and consumers are enocourage to use multiple-use cloth bags.

Although Peterson and the Edmonds council have yet to conduct studies on the ban’s success or failure, Peterson said he will be informally gauging retail and public opinion closer to the one-year anniversary late next month.

Peterson says the ban is small step, but one that can lead to big results if adopted by more cities statewide and nationwide.

“It’s pretty clear that we’re reducing significant amount of our waste stream,” he said. “For a community of Edmonds’ size, it’s estimated it can go through eight million bags a year. That’s a lot of absolute garbage. This is something we can do to reduce a really kind of frivolous item.

“Here in the Puget Sound, we have a special obligation and connection to nature. Plastic bags have proved to have harmful effects on wildlife. In the broader picture, plastic bags in general have great impact on toxins that get into our food system, especially through rivers, lakes and the ocean.”

The band on plastic bags in check-out lines is gaining steam, and not just in Washington. Just last week, Portland, Ore. Mayor Sam Adams proposed a ban at the city’s larger grocery stores. Adams is hoping for an eventual statewide ban.

In addition, the California Supreme Court upheld the right of cities to ban plastic bags, ruling that full-scale environmental reviews might not always be needed to prohibit stores from giving bags to their customers. Many cities in the state have plastic bag bans.

Peterson hopes the state will eventually adopt a ban, allowing all cities to follow the same rules.

“It’s such a simple thing to do,” said Peterson. “I don’t realize see any negatives. These plastic bags haven’t been a staple of American society. They are a recent invention that is wasteful."

Even with the ban approaching its one-year anniversary in Edmonds, Peterson admits it can still take some getting used to.

“The other day, I was at PCC, and was just about the front door," Peterson said. "I had to stop myself, turn around, and walk back to my car to get my reusable bag. I was distracted somehow. But it’s that simple to just grab your bags.”

You can find out more about Edmonds' ban on plastic bags at the checkout counter by going to the city's "Bring Your Own Bag" web page.