They're Back: RGISC wants to ban the bag.

Well, I guess since Austin just banned single use plastic bags, the RGISC (Rio Grande International Study Center) does not want to be left behind and is, again, calling for a ban on single use plastic bags.

I hope you readers take the time to really investigate bag bans that have been in effect for some time, and just how ineffective they are in reducing trash.  The only economic impact is to the retailers bottom line, and the wallets of the consumer.

But locally, in todays Laredo Morning Times:

While in front of the Laredo Citizen's Environmental Committee, he RGISC and City of Laredo staffers claimed that a bag ban will clean up Laredo and save the city lots of money on trash clean up.

The RGISC also reported they got some money from a grant to buy reusable bags (for the poor folks I guess) and to advertise for a bag ban.

Here are some questions for the RGISC:

1.  How many people will get free re-usable bags for shopping with your $6,000?  My guess, is at 7 to 8 bags per family, and at $1 each, about 750 families.

2.  With over half the population of Laredo being classified as "in poverty," how do you expect the poor to add these re-usable bags to their home budget?  And don't forget the time and cost to wash the bags regularly.

3.  What will you tell the public when they still see all the trash on the streets, in the creeks, and other plastic hanging on the trees?  Will your response be "We need more bans?"  (Remember, the TxDOT study that found only .6% (six tenths of one percent) of the trash along Texas highways were single use plastic bags.

4.  What will you tell people who reuse their single use bags for trash disposal, litter box cleaning, storage, or any of a hundred other uses people find for these bags that they will now have to BUY bags for such use.

5.  How do you address the increase in folks visiting the hospital for contaminated food illnesses, and possible deaths?  More bans?

These are just a few questions that I have heard people ask.  We await your answers RGISC.

According the Laredo Morning Times, the RGISC just completed a public opinion poll that ask Laredoans if they support a ban on single use plastic bags.  According to the RGISC, 48% of our citizens were in favor of the ban, and 15% were not sure.   I guess that leaves only 37% of us against the ban.  I would like to see the questions that were asked of those polled.  I wonder what percentage of those polled were poor and on food stamps, as they will be impacted the most.  I wonder if the poor were asked some of these simple questions:

A:  Do you know if a ban takes place, you will be forced to buy your own bags for groceries, shopping at the mall, shopping at the mini-mart near you?   Ask now, do you agree or disagree with the ban?

B:  Do you know if a ban takes place, only .6% of the trash on Laredo streets will go away?  Ask now, do you agree or disagree with the ban?

C:  Do you know if you use the re-usable bags, you MUST wash them regularly or you and your family could get sick?  Ask now, do you agree or disagree with the ban?

D:  Do you know the stores will make money off you when you purchase these reusable bags for about one dollar apiece?   And that they most likely will not reduce the price of their products at all, even though they are no longer paying the cost of the plastic bags?  Ask now, do you agree or disagree with the ban?

E:  Do you realize that if you have to make a quick stop at the store, and have left your reusable bags at home, you may have to buy new bags at one dollar apiece to get your groceries home?  (If you leave them in your hot car, the reusable bags grow germs faster)  Ask now, do you agree or disagree with the ban?

My guess, none of the above questions was asked in the survey.  My guess is also that the survey conducted was not scientific in polling the people by economic means.

I will wait on that to be proven wrong.

Below is a statement an link to a study discussing the health impacts of these "re-usable" plastic bags:

The study, by Jonathan Klick of University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Property and Environment Research Center and Joshua D. Wright of the George Mason University School of Law, found that in jurisdictions where plastic bags were banned saw ER visits increase by about one-fourth, with a similar increase in deaths compared with neighboring counties where the bags remained legal.

Basically people were schlepping leaky packages of meat and other foods in their canvas bags, then wadding to the bags somewhere for awhile, leaving bacteria to grow until the next trip, when they tossed celery or other foods likely to be eaten raw in the same bags.

Washing your bags reduces the risk, but let's be honest: who does that? 

To quote the study:

We find that the San Francisco County ban is associated with a 46 percent increase in deaths from food borne illnesses. This implies an increase of 5.5 annual deaths for the county.

City council, don't fall for the easy, ineffective ban on plastic bags.  It will not solve the littering problem, it will not save the city money on trash mitigation, and it will do nothing more than add Laredo to a list of cities that are reacting to an over zealous group of environmentalist whose only solutions to community problems involve the banning of things they do not like.

City council  if you want to clean up the littering problem, work on instilling some pride in this community that will prevent people from littering.

Laredo, Wake Up and tell me what you think.