Panel Discusses Banning Plastic Bags and Styrofoam at Retail Stores in Arlington
| Apr ’11 |
| 3 |
| 4:00 pm |
What: A Panel Discussion on Reducing Plastic Bag and Styrofoam Use in Arlington County
A panel of speakers discussed alternatives to single use plastic grocery bags and styrofoam food containers in Arlington food stores and restaurants on April 3, at the Arlington Central Library. A videotape of the 1 1/2 hour discussion with a question and answer period with audience members will be shown on Arlington Independent Media cable channel 39 in June 2011.
Panel members
included
Julie Lawson of Surfrider’s DC Chapter, on the DC bag tax and the Trash Free Maryland Alliance that is pushing a Maryland bag fee.
Audrey Clement of the Arlington Greens on plastic bag and Styrofoam ban ordinances adopted by San Francisco in 2007.
Miriam Gennari, who successfully spearheaded a ban on Styrofoam in Arlington public schools, moderated the discussion.
Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE), the Arlington Green Party (AGP), and the Mt. Vernon Chapter of the Sierra Club are co-sponsoring the event, which is free to all. The public is warmly encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 300 billion plastic bags are used in the U.S. annually, including about 100 billion single use plastic shopping bags, which cost retailers $4 billion each year.
Plastic bags are not biodegradable, but ultimately break into small toxic particles that end up in the world’s oceans and marine life. Similarly, Styrofoam is a plastic product that is not biodegradable, cannot be recycled, and ends up in solid waste, or spews toxics into the air when incinerated. Styrofoam and plastic bags are among the most commonly found contaminants in the world’s oceans, streams and lakes.
In early 2010, the District of Columbia imposed a 5 cent per bag tax on plastic bags given away at many retail stores. The tax reduced the number of plastic bags used in retail stores in DC from 22 million monthly during 2009 to 3 million bags used in January 2011, according to press reports. This represents an 80 percent reduction in plastic bags potentially ending up in the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.