philly.com
Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
share
email
font size
options
 
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Plastic prevails, bag bill fails

A ban on the use of traditional plastic bags by retail stores failed in City Council today under pressure from the business community and the plastics industry.

Councilman Frank DiCicco's bill was rejected by Council this morning in a 6-10 vote. Council President Anna C. Verna, whose husband was buried yesterday, was absent.

The bill would have prohibited stores from using plastic bags that are not biodegradable or cannot be composed. Most bags currently in use are simply reclyclable; they do not meet the standard and would have to be replaced by the alternate plastic bags, paper, or reusable bags. Industry opponents said the plastic bags would force many stores to use paper, which has an even greater environmental impact, they said.

The propopsed law would not not have gone into effect until July 2011, allowing time for what Council members described as a public education campaign. DiCicco's bill originally called for a 25-cent fee for each bag, to encourage use of reuseable bags. That was amended to a complete ban as lobbyists complained that the bill would adversely impact the poor.

Councilman Jim Kenney, a co-sponsor, blamed ShopRite for lobbying against the bill, and encouraged Philadelphians not to shop there. DiCicco accused the plastic bag industry for undermining the bill.

"I have never dealt with an industry that has been so manipulative," DiCicco said on the Council floor.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Posted by Jeff Shields @ 12:30 PM  Permalink | 31 comments
Comments   
Comment removed.
Posted 01:04 PM, 06/18/2009
mikegdj
They want to ban the bags to prevent them from turning into litter - Why not just enforce the already existing littering laws? A few $300 littering tickets would make the news and spread the word and do a lot more good because litter is more than just plastic bags.
Posted 01:06 PM, 06/18/2009
CleanupPhilly
I'm SO glad Council is getting stuff done. I mean, they have a budget due to PICA on Monday that doesn't include the sales tax hike. That's like having to take your boards that you never studied for in a week while you finish the requirements of a noncredit class.
Comment removed.
Posted 01:10 PM, 06/18/2009
CleanupPhilly
Mike for mayor, seriously. Of the 50 houses that back up to my alley, there are about 15 that have serious litter violations and should be fined, and made to pay, not just a lien put against the house, but have that fine count toward the debt that the city can foreclose upon to have paid. Call it the Chickenhead Tax.
Posted 01:11 PM, 06/18/2009
CleanupPhilly
Rachel for governor.
Posted 01:13 PM, 06/18/2009
Nick19128
Who were the six yes votes? Obviously, DiCicco and Kenney were two, so, who were the other four?
Posted 01:19 PM, 06/18/2009
EnoughAlready
It's amazing that city council members are wasting time and effort on something as silly as "banning" plastic bags.
Posted 01:21 PM, 06/18/2009
CleanupPhilly
I'm interested in knowing the six who supported it also. That's the ratio of progressives to regressives on Council, 6 to 10.
Posted 01:28 PM, 06/18/2009
chrissmith
Is this what the city council is spending its time on????????????????????????
Posted 01:30 PM, 06/18/2009
Landfill
Poor people ruin everything
Posted 01:38 PM, 06/18/2009
Frank the Tank
The key is you can't ban them, you need to apply a mandatory $0.25 tax on each bag so that it just provides incentive. Look up the Ireland system. It works perfectly.
Posted 01:38 PM, 06/18/2009
Adam Lang
So are Diccio and Kenney saying the other 10 council members were manipulated by Shoprite and the plastics industry?
Posted 01:47 PM, 06/18/2009
cool guy
Personal responsibility trumps the need for legislation every time. That said, I'll be looking into getting a resusable bag the next time I shop.
Posted 01:48 PM, 06/18/2009
Wassup!
What a waste of legistlative time. Instead of focusing on the act of littering, some idiot thinks that banning plastic bags will rid the littering problem. This is the same pitiful thought process that drives these savants in thinking that banning guns will remove the criminal element. How about enforcing the litter laws in front of businesses in Philly? Begin with a warning, then follow up with fining these places. Most importantly, force the businesses to pay the fines with the threat of not renewing their business privilege license. This will more than pay for hiring additional sanitation workers. There is no correlation between the existence of plastic bags and human behavior. Bad behavior will result in littering regardless of what material the litter is made out of.
Posted 02:04 PM, 06/18/2009
LJL
Look at all the examples of typical myopic idiots who can't see farther than two feet in front of them.....Try looking up "Gulf of Mexico dead zone" or "atlantic ocean plastic bags" and do a little research. Estimates are that 30-90 million plastic bags from NEW YORK ALONE end up in the Atlantic. Philadelphia has a chance to be a leader, but fails, again, and show's it just a dirty little city with no class and no leadership.
Posted 02:28 PM, 06/18/2009
bottomline
I'm glad the bill failed and I agree with an earlier comment, enforce the current littering laws, which would also include styrofoam take-out containers. As far as that, don't shop at Shoprite statement, it betrays a little lack of character - he could have said don't shop in Philly, since, it seems, the majority want to keep the plastic bags.
Posted 02:48 PM, 06/18/2009
Shoppingbagsetc
The bill was set to imply a 25-cent fee on the bags to "ENCORUAGE" the use of reusable bags. If people don't have the extra funds to pay for the bags, more than likely, they will bring their own bags each time! Maybe people can bring their own reusable bags without the bill being passed.
Posted 04:57 PM, 06/18/2009
ritaf
Bags don't litter cities people do. (sounds like the gun statement) - people in Philadelphia don't give a dam about making their city a nice and safe place to live. The population has become a group of animals, that steal, cheat, kill and yes litter. Worse yet the city council, the mayor and the police do precious little to stop any of this unless it is a policeman or fireman then everything stops to fix the problem. Nearly every day of the week some poor mother or wife has a family member killed and the very ext day it is business as usual. Pretty darn sad.
Posted 05:48 PM, 06/18/2009
mikegdj
I have an even better solution - Ban the people and the stores and the problem disappears. See how ridiculous 'banning' laws are? By the way, regarding plastic bags in landfills and the ocean - There is no evidence they are doing any environmental harm. The main material used to make plastic is natural gas - A natural element.
Posted 06:31 PM, 06/18/2009
chefamybeth
If China, India and many African coutries (in a addition to Whole Foods, Trader Joes and the city of San Francisco)can ban plastic bags so can we! As a petroleum by product that chokes marine life and birds, plastic bags need to go. Humans/civilizations survived for thousands of years without plastic bags. We need to think out of the box.
Posted 07:17 PM, 06/18/2009
The_Unknown-Poster
Best comment so far is Rachel D's. I love it!
Posted 07:54 PM, 06/18/2009
Tartan69
People who make decisions purely for "green" reasons tend to not understand the impact of unintended consequences. Banning plastic bags will kill a LOT more trees, which will speed up Global Warming. The steps required for the production of paper bags also is FAR worse on the environment than the production of plastic bags. Heck, even the move to electric cars has a lot of negative impact on the environment (batteries are extremely toxic, plus the electricity has to be generated by a power plant SOMEWHERE). History is full of these kinds of examples...but these "green" clowns just don't bother to pay attention.
Posted 09:41 PM, 06/18/2009
dolce
RIGHT ON RACHEL! "I have never dealt with an industry that has been so manipulative," DiCicco said ', THAT IS STRONG STUFF COMING FROM THE MOST MANIPULATIVE, CORRUPT, SELF CENTERED, DO NOTHING IN PHILADELPHIA POLITICS. THE SNAKE WHO SPEAKS FROM BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH. LETS ALL GO TO SHOPRITE!
Posted 09:41 PM, 06/18/2009
dolce
RIGHT ON RACHEL! "I have never dealt with an industry that has been so manipulative," DiCicco said ', THAT IS STRONG STUFF COMING FROM THE MOST MANIPULATIVE, CORRUPT, SELF CENTERED, DO NOTHING IN PHILADELPHIA POLITICS. THE SNAKE WHO SPEAKS FROM BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH. LETS ALL GO TO SHOPRITE!
Posted 09:50 PM, 06/18/2009
dolce
GOODNESS, and that blowhard kenny,taking up the big issues, ranting about plastic in his trees. HOW ABOUT: 1. GETTING RID OF THE PATRONAGE AT THE REGISTER OF WILLS. 2 FIRING EVERYONE AT THE BRT 3. CRACKING DOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO LIVE 15 IN A HOUSE THAT SHOULD HOUSE 4. 4. COLLECTING ALL BACK TAXES OWED TO THE CITY. 5. ETC ETC ETC NOOOOOOO KENNY WAILS ABOUT PLASTIC IN HIS TREES. ANOTHER GRAND DO NOTHING. HOW DO THEY STAY IN OFFICE?
Posted 10:22 PM, 06/18/2009
xmar
I keep four cardboard boxes in my trunk. I just put my order in the cart after the cashier checks it . Then I wheel it to my car and put it in the boxes. No bags involved. So easy a caveman could do it.
Posted 01:18 AM, 06/19/2009
MsLou
I purchased several of those permanent bags for sale in the supermarket. But, I just keep forgetting the dam things.
Posted 01:40 PM, 06/19/2009
2BHeard
ShopRite should lower its head in shame. This is the same market group (Brown Family) that enjoys substantial public support (i.e. our tax dollars) to underwrite the development of new stores, such as the one in Philly's Parkside neighborhood. Where's the justice? Where's the accountability? Where's the good corporate citizenship? I suggest that neighbors collect those ugly yellow bags with their bright red printing, and deposit them at the Brown corporate headquaters.
Posted 06:29 AM, 06/21/2009
FJG JR
I am sending the yes councilpeople, a YO-Yo, for Christmas. It will give them something else to play with.
Posted 10:47 AM, 06/24/2009
CleanupPhilly
No, but what is awesome is that the city is owed $522 million in overdue property taxes because collection is broken in Philly even for vacant lots and empty houses, there is $1 billion of forfeit bail owed the city because it's a local bailbondsman for the finest among us who never show to court, and the city never collects. And assessments in Philly are technically illegal, because they are not based on any objective criteria. All of this needs legislation from Council to be fixed, but we are still working on PLASTIC FREAKING BAGS people. They need to put the bags on their heads and tie them tight.
31 comments | View All By Latest | Paginate Comments