BOWLING GREEN — A vision of a Bowling Green without plastic bags could become a reality before summer’s end as discussions of a citywide bag ban makes its way to city council.
Discussions for the ban were recently sparked at a public meeting when Joe DeMare, co-chair of the Wood County Green Party, learned about a proposed state law that would essentially ban cities and municipalities from taxing or applying fees to paper or plastic bags.
He said the proposed state law — House Bill 242 — is “part of a larger pattern” in the state and soon gained support for a local plastic bag ban from Bowling Green city council member John Zanfardino.
“We can live without [plastic bags] but I’m not sure that the Earth can live with them,” Mr. DeMare said.
The full seven-member council will gather for a special meeting at 6 p.m. June 11 to work out details about the proposal. Once a draft proposal is in place, it can be introduced to the full council as early as June 17 or July 1. It would undergo three readings and a vote that could happen as early as July 15.
The discussion was put under the community improvement committee, a three-member panel that Mr. Zanfardino sits on.
“I am very concerned about the environment and think that House Bill [242] is consistent with many disappointing efforts from the state,” said Mr. Zanfardino.
With the bill looming over the city, Mr. Zanfardino felt a “matter of urgency” and thought that if Bowling Green acted fast, the city’s actions against plastic bags could be “grandfathered in” should the state bill proceed from the Senate.
So far the city has held four public meetings about the proposal. Without reservations Mr. Zafardino said that the majority — he estimated 8 out of 10 — of the community’s comments were in favor of the bill.
Still, Mr. Zanfardino said he does not know how the proposal will fare among the entire council.
“I’m optimistic but uncertain,” he said.
On May 28 Cuyahoga County Council in Ohio passed a countywide ban on both paper and plastic bags that are not 100 percent recyclable or at least 40 percent composed of recycled material. To give time for retailers to adjust, the ban will go into effect on the first day of 2020. The ban includes some exceptions, including for restaurant leftovers or take-away orders, dry-cleaning, meat, and pet waste.
Other cities across the nation, including Seattle and Washington, have enacted bans or fees on plastic bags.
New York state legislators earlier this year passed a statewide ban on most types of single-use plastic bags. Counties also have the option of opting into a 5 cent fee on paper bags, some of which would go directly into the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. Hawaii and California and passed similar bans in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Research on the environmental impacts of plastic bag bans has not been completely settled. University of Sydney lecturer Rebecca Taylor found unintended negative consequences of enacted plastic bag bans in California, including sale increases for trash bags, which use more plastic than regular shopping bags. Other researchers have said shoppers use paper bags and reusable cloth bags as alternatives, both of which cause more environmental harm to manufacture than plastic bags.
“I feel like the state [of Ohio] is myopic in its disinterest in the environment,” Mr. Zanfardino said. “My belief is if anything is possible for the environment in the state of Ohio, it must be local initiatives.”
Nik Lewis, manager of Campus Market, a convenience store in Bowling Green, said his opinion on the initiative depends on how the ban is carried out.
He is unsure of the costs of the ban, namely if the person responsible for supplying bags with purchases, “will be put on the customers or if it will be on the store.”
For Mr. Lewis, plastic bags are already a sizable part of his store’s overhead costs, so he would be against the city forcing his business into a more expensive way of supplying bags. For now, he is waiting to see what city leaders choose to do.
Andrea Olivarez, who runs Rosita’s Latin Market in Bowling Green, said some of her customers come straight from work and are not always concerned with carrying reusable bags when they shop. For these storegoers, the availability of single-use plastic bags is very beneficial.
She is also seeing a common theme of many customers already bringing their own bags.
“It would be an adjustment for all business in Bowling Green,” Ms. Olivarez said. “But it wouldn’t be a change that would be impossible.”
Lia Ricci voluntarily made the change last year and banned single-use plastic bags in her holistic boutique, Asherah’s Garden, in Bowling Green. However, she is concerned about who will be affected by a citywide ban despite her support for it.
“We have to think about those folks in the community who are going to be most vulnerable to the legislation. Those already strapped, or living paycheck to paycheck or less,” Ms. Ricci said. “We cannot expect those members of the community to fork over $40 dollars for four reusable bags.”
To address this issue in her own store, she held a reusable bag drive where Bowling Green residents donated extra bags for customers who may not be able to buy them.
“The community came together — as it always does,” she said.
First Published June 10, 2019, 1:03 a.m.
