HASSO HERING

A perspective from Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley

Pick up those plastic bags!

Written December 3rd, 2012 by

This bag was dangling on a roadside bush on Albany’s Bryant Way before it was recovered and disposed of in a trash can.

Hey, if you don’t want the next Oregon legislature to ban the use of plastic grocery bags, quit throwing them around the countryside. Far too often we see plastic bags dangling in the bushes or being blown into ditches. This provides a handy argument for those who want the bags banned.

The last legislature narrowly rejected a statewide bag ban. But the next one likely will not show as much restraint. Dominated by Portland legislators and Democrats from other urban centers, you can expect the 2013 Salem session to renew the push for a statewide ban.

Portland and a few other cities including Corvallis have already acted on that front. The ban deprives grocery shoppers of a choice that many of them now make. Some of us prefer the plastic bags — not all the time, but now and then — because they come in handy at home. They serve all kinds of uses for storage and disposal.

Beyond that, the ban is accompanied by a government requirement that grocers charge a nickel per paper bag. This is an annoyance more than a big expense, but why should this be the subject of a law? If grocers want to charge us for bags, let them do so on their own. We will see what happens then.

In the meantime, we have reason to resent all those plastic bags fluttering in the wind and rain. If we see one and can do so, let’s pick it up and throw it in the nearest trash. Each one left outdoors serves as a silent argument to go ahead with a statewide ban. (hh)


Posted in: Commentary
Tags: , ,



Comments are closed.

 

 
HH Today: A perspective from Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley
Albany Albany City Council Albany council Albany downtown Albany Fire Department Albany housing Albany parks Albany Planning Commission Albany police Albany Post Office Albany Public Works Albany riverfront Albany schools Albany Station Albany streets Albany traffic Albany urban renewal apartments ARA Benton County bicycling bike lanes Bowman Park Bryant Park Calapooia River CARA climate change COVID-19 Cox Creek Cox Creek path Crocker Lane cumberland church cycling Dave Clark Path DEQ downtown Albany Edgewater Village Highway 20 homeless housing Interstate 5 land use Linn County Millersburg Monteith Riverpark North Albany ODOT Oregon coast Oregon legislature Pacific Power Portland & Western Queen Avenue Republic Services Riverside Drive Santiam Canal Scott Lepman Talking Water Gardens The Banks Tom Cordier Union Pacific urban renewal Water Avenue Waterfront Project Waverly Lake Willamette River


Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved. Hasso Hering.
Website Serviced by Santiam Communications
Hasso Hering