Edmonds Sounds Off: “Banning Plastic Bags May Be Overkill”

Last week, Edmonds Patch gave readers a chance to sound off on the of the single-use, checkout line plastic bags in stores.

It was on Aug. 27, 2010, that Edmonds became the first city in Washington to ban the bags. Edmonds' ordinance allows plastic bags for produce, meat, prepared and bulk food at groceries and for restaurant take-out food. The ban in Edmonds and in other cities nationwide is part of an environmental effort to reduce litter and pollution problems.

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

The ban effects all retail establishments, not just grocery stores.

If you’ve spent any time in Edmonds, you know that plastic bags are the bag of choice for pet-poop disposal. “This makes it more difficult to find bags to pick up after my dog ... creating another problem?” said Greg Jones.

Crafty Edmonds residents have found a way around this, of course, hoarding plastic bags from shopping trips outside city limits.

Ironically, you can also pick up plastic bags for your dogs at the at Marina Beach. The bags are, however, intended for park use only.

Many residents are certainly mixed about the ban. They appreciate the effort to clean up the environment, but miss the convenience of plastic.

“Plastic bags are useful for cleaning out cat litter boxes, storing odds and ends that you want to keep clean, and are easy to handle when shopping in grocery shops,” said Gillian Hall. “My main dislike of plastic bags are that they are scattered on the beach, in parks, etc., which sometimes means the death or injury of fish and birds. However, paper bags are also useful as garbage bags in the kitchen.”

Myron Phillips, a veterinarian in Shoreline, says he’s always used plastic bags on his walks to pick up other people's trash. “I’ve used plastic bags for dog poop as well. Banning plastic bags may be overkill. With modern chemistry, it should be possible to have plastic bags that are biodegradable. Killing trees to make paper bags is worse in my opinion.”

Joleen Sims wrote that she’s OK with paper bags now. But she wasn’t at first.

“Now that QFC returned with the full-sized paper bag with handles, it's fine. Early on, due to cost, they'd bought the smaller, no-handled paper bags—horrible.” 

Patch reader Libby certainly didn’t mince her words.

“Can you say stupid?” she wrote. “The city council wasted their time on this. A bit more research and they would have found that there are biodegradable plastic bags that decompose in seven to 10 days.”

(Editor’s note: in Edmonds, , Petco, Costco and other stores all carry biodegradeable bags).

“There is also a greater cost to the merchants for paper, and they need more storage room for paper,” Libby continues. “For example, let’s say you buy one million paper bags that would take two trucks to transport, meaning more fuel, more wear on the highway. You order one million plastic bags, and that would take one truck to transport, meaning less fuel and less wear on the roads.”

Because Edmonds Patch can be read all over the world, even those who don’t live here can express their opinions. And they did.

“I’m for it!,” wrote Gary Ocher, who owns COMQuest Research in Mount Laurel, NJ. He praised the efforts of Edmonds City Council President Strom Peterson. “Kudos to Strom for initiating this and getting it passed.”