In 2011, Plastic Bags Are So Last Decade

Disposable plastic bags are so last decade. At least, that'll soon be the case if the bag ban movement keeps gaining ground.

The West Coast, where plastic bags litter coastal waterways and create disposal headaches, is leading the charge. Momentum increased at the end of last year, when San Jose became the largest U.S. city to ban disposable bags. Environmental activists at Save the Bay in San Francisco enabled that victory and now expect that Marin County will go next today (sign their action alert if you're in the area, because the ban only covers large grocers). Meanwhile, Long Beach is also considering a ban, and soon groups may mobilize a second attempt at a statewide ban in California. Last year, a similar effort went as far as the state legislature, at which point lawmakers yielded to intense pressure from the petrochemical producers of plastics to nix the proposal.

Not to be outdone, this week Oregon lawmakers announced they would try to beat out California and become the first state in the country to ban plastic bags. The proposal they introduced to the state legislature, similar to many city bag bans, would prohibit stores for giving out disposable plastic bags and impose a small fee for paper bags, to encourage customers to bring reusable options.

What's more, previously enacted citywide bag bans are now going into effect everywhere from Maui, Hawaii and Brownsville, Texas to the nation of Italy—which now joins the growing list of countries that have taken this action.

Change.org can make a difference in this movement by empowering citizens to fight for bag bans in their own communities. In December, I encouraged members of our site to create their own petitions for plastic bag bans. In response, Maureen Berwing of Yucca Valley, California started a petition to Mayor George Huntington advocating for a local ban. Her petition has so far received nearly 200 signatures. Similarly, Christopher Constantine started a petition to target New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a petition that recently topped 200 signatures.

Bag bans are controversial. One big reason for this is the mistruths spread by the plastic industry lobbyists who, according to environmental groups in California, have devoted huge resources to fighting bans in the states (Please read Save the Bay's site for an account of why disposable plastic bag bans make environmental and fiscal sense).

But while these lobbyists can outspend activists in a few key state battles, they will have a much harder time overpowering a diffuse grassroots movement fighting for local plastic bag bans in towns and cities across the nation.

That's not to say they won't try. So join this movement, sign onto existing plastic bag ban campaigns for your community (here are a few I know of: Marin County, Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, Oregon, and Yucca Valley). If there is no campaign yet for your community, you can start a petition at this page.

GOT A TIP FOR US? Is there a story or campaign in your area that we'd want to know about? E-mail us at environmenttips@change.org. Please also follow Change.org's Environment page on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credit: How can I recycle this via Flickr