Philly bloggers push for plastic bag ban
Philadelphia area bloggers are on a one-day blitz today to push for a plastic bag ban in the city. The idea comes from Beth Funari and Julie Hancher, who write the Green Philly Blog. They've started a petition on the social media site, www.change.org.
Philly bloggers push for plastic bag ban
Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist
Philadelphia area bloggers are on a one-day blitz today to push for a plastic bag ban in the city.
The idea comes from Beth Funari and Julie Hancher, who write the Green Philly Blog.
Beth got her start in the green world as a kid. She was appalled by litter. Now, she writes, "My philosophy is that you don’t need to go full-throttle tree-hugger to be a better citizen of the earth. Awareness of how we use everyday resources is one of the first steps to making a difference."
Julie says she knows she can't change the entire world on her own, but "I believe I can help others to start taking small actions."
And now they want a big action: a ban on plastic bags in Philly. City council had considered one, but the measure failed. Last year, Councilman Kenney said he might take another crack at the legislation this year, but so far, no go.
"Yet, Mayor Nutter has declared consistently that Philly is going to be the #1 greenest city in the US," Beth and Julie write in their post today. "We, Green Philly Blog, were frustrated when with this defeat 3 years ago, but decided to unite our amazing Philadelphia Bloggers to address this issue on their blogs, social media outlets and in person. Together, we can reach a wide audience of Philadelphians."
They're urging other bloggers to take up the cause today, so keep an eye on their blog to chart progress.
Also, they've started a petition on the social media site, www.change.org, which I wrote about recently in this column. As of a few minutes ago, the petition had 38 signatures.
Nicole Jones signed and wrote, "I work and shop in Philadelphia. I see so many plastic bags littering the already dirty streets."
Lauren Leonard wrote, "Hate plastic bags, love a clean, green city!"
Other cities have tried for fees or bans, with mixed success. The industry pushes back hard, naturally, in some cases filing legal action. It promotes plastic bag recycling as an alternative.
Idea: put that plastic bag on your head.— Just_Recently_Banned- Nothing more compelling that somebody sitting behind a computer , telling you what to do. I am going to jump on that bandwagon!— Tom813
- Hi Tom813. If you read the full blog post we wrote, we mention and recognize that this is only step 1 of a long process to get the plastic bag ban approved. The point of uniting (online) is an easy way for Philadelphia residents to show their support with a click of a mouse. We have long term plans to continue the plastic bag ban, but starting a grassroots movement is the first baby step to accomplish a huge goal. - Julie, GPB — jmh510
- The effort should also include retailers and shop owners, who seem tied-into the practice of handing out bags for every purchase. I've had to ask cashiers NOT to give me a bag for purchases of one item. I was able to walk it to the counter on my own - why do I need a bag to carry it out? The reliance on plastic bags is something that society has to address.— apreziosi
Yea, let's keep the guns on the street but ban the plastic bags.- This comment has been deleted. — pbnewcomer267
- If we keep the guns then we are going to need all of the plastic bags that we can get to scoop up all of the loose body parts off the sidewalks.
- First Hippies get paper bags removed to save trees, now they want to ban plastic bags...presumably for cloth, which will have to be washed fairly regularly, wasting water and electricity. What's next?
How about you busy-bodies worry about your own damn selves?— Only in Philly... 
Comment removed.- The simple (green) solution is to reuse plastic bags that you get at the grocery store. When I go on a trip, I always use them to put my shoes and dirty clothes in. That is something that a I could not use a paper bag for. I also use them as trash bags and lunch bags. Banning plastic bags shouldn't be the responsibility of the government, but if individual companies like Whole Foods want to do it that is fine.— CMR
- Crime should be outlawed first.— Mr. Smith
- Subhumans will litter with anything in their hands that they won't carry. I've seen people throw bottles into the street, apple cores onto busy sidewalks and half-full checkers cups out of their car windows. Personally, I love bags. They can be used for wastebasket liners, pet droppings, lunch containers, etc. It's about re-using, not eliminating.— The Destroyer
- Comment removed.
- All the greenies want us all to think about the consequences of our actions, but they never take into account the cost of switching to a green alternative. Eg: where are all those car batteries goint to end up from hybrids and electric cars. Not to mention the extra manufacturing plants needed to build the batteries. Short-sighted.— JusWonderin
- There is some truth to this... creating corn-based bio-fuel, which was supposed to save the earth, made corn prices go through the roof, starving people in third world countries.
Hybrid cars require much more copper than a standard car, the largest copper deposit on earth (about to be mined) is in the primary breeding area of the only sustainable salmon population in the world.— GroJLart
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science. Reach Sandy at sbauers@phillynews.com.
- Former DEP secretary John Hanger
- A daily forecast of water quality in the Schuylkill River
- Academy of Natural Sciences’ Center for Environmental Policy
- All about Philly recycling
- Baltimore Sun’s environmental blog
- Bucks County Audubon Society
- California’s Beth Terry goes without
- Citizen journalism on the environment.
- Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future
- Clean Air Council in Philadelphia
- Clean Water Action in PA
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Delaware Riverkeeper Network
- Delaware Valley Ornithological Club
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Dumpster Divers of Philadelphia
- Energy Coordinating Agency
- Environment New Jersey
- Environmental issues and Transition Cheltenham
- Environmental news and commentary from grist.org
- Green Living from the Natural Resources Defense Countil
- Greenspace blog
- Interfaith Partners for the Environment
- Mayor’s Office of Sustainability
- Mother Jones' enviro blog
- National Geogoraphic’s Green Guide
- New Jersey Audubon Society
- New Jersey Environmental Federation
- NJ environmental policy expert Bill Wolfe
- NJ Pinelands Commission
- NJ PIRG
- NJ wildlife and conservation expert Larry Niles
- NJ’s American Littoral Society
- NJ’s Clean Ocean Action
- PennEnvironment
- Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education
- Pennsylvania environmental advocacy
- Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Philadelphia Air Management Services
- Philly urban sustainability
- PhillyCompost
- Philly’s Women’s Health and Environmental Network
- Pinelands Preservation Alliance
- RecycleNOW Philadelphia
- Regional air quality partnership
- Sierra Club, NJ Chapter
- Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter
- Sustainable Delaware County
- The Daily Green
- The Nature Conservancy, Pennsylvania Chapter
- Transition Cheltenham
- Transition Town Media
- Treehugger green living site
- Valley Forge Audubon Society
- What’s happening birdwise at Cape May
- Wissahickon Growing Greener
- Wyncote Audubon Society
