By Stephanie Raygoza
Editorial Intern
Hearing a panel of experts heavily weighing in on both sides of the proposed ordinance to ban plastic grocery bags in Long Beach, residents who attended 5th District Councilmember Gerrie Schipske’s town hall meeting at the Long Beach Water Treatment Plant, 2950 Redondo Ave., on Saturday, Jan. 29 were split on the issue, with the majority of those who addressed the audience speaking out against the issue.
The open discussion started at 10am with Schipske addressing the topic at hand by saying her email box has been flooded with messages from constituents with their opinions. The purpose of the meeting was to encourage Long Beach residents to discuss the ordinance which was passed on Dec. 7 that would ban single-use plastic bags in large grocery stores. As part of the ordinance, a 10-cent per paper bag fee would be imposed in an attempt to promote the use of reusable bags.
Second District Councilmember/ Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, who proposed the ordinance as a response to growing evidence that plastic bags are harming marine environments and negatively impacting community landscape, was in attendance, along with 4th District Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell.
“This country has grown very accustomed to utilizing plastic bags for about everything and, as a consequence, when people are not responsible and they don’t dispose of those bags responsibly, those bags wind up in places they should not be, including water off of the coast,” said Schipske, addressing a need for the ban.
The presenting panel included spokespersons on behalf of the California Grocers Association and the nonprofit environmental groups Heal the Bay, the Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation, who spoke out in favor of the ban. Sherri McCarthy with the American Chemist Council served as a dissenting voice against the ban and promoted recycling practices by adding that 90 percent of Americans reuse their plastic bags.
After the panel presented their arguments, Schipske opened the floor to her constituents, who eagerly waited to add their opinions on the issue. Responses gathered from Schipske’s emails and those in attendance who spoke out against the ban expressed that they do not want a mandatory ban on plastic bags and that a voluntary recycling program would be more effective.
Fifth District resident David E. Birdseye, one of the constituents who is against the ban, feels that the government should not restrict everyone for the bad practices of a few. “The so-called green movement should not be the sole determiner of how we live,” Birdseye said.
On the other hand, Third District resident Gordana Kajer said much of what people do today happens because of a habit. “We know about reduce, reuse and recycle. Refuse the plastic bags and help reduce, reuse and recycle,” Kajer said.
While the ban has yet to be voted, the discussion comes as the ordinance is scheduled to go to City Council sometime in February. The ordinance passed with a 6—2 vote and is backed by an Environmental Impact Report completed last year by Los Angeles County.
Last Monday, Santa Monica City Council approved a ban of plastic bags in all retail outlets except restaurants. California rejected a statewide ban in September 2010.
