The Baltimore Bag Bill.

By Will Fadely, Baltimore Program Organizer - Follow Will on Twitter - @TrillChillWill Each week, Clean Water meets with residents and community associations and we continue to hear one overwhelming environmental concern – an abundance of trash in our neighborhoods. Whether we’re in Hampden, Westport, Park Heights, Armistead Gardens, Curtis Bay, or Sharpe-Leadenhall the complaint is the same; trash. The most visible element of this trash: plastic bags. Plastic bags in the trees, gutters, alleys, playgrounds, and waterways. There are too many plastic bags and something needs to be done. Community complaints have not fallen on deaf ears. Over the last few years, and again last April, the Baltimore City Council introduced legislation to create a five cent surcharge on single-use plastic and paper bags. The idea is to encourage the use of re-usable bags instead of single use plastic and paper bags, which are the major cause of litter in our streets. Whether a resident pays the surcharge or not is a matter of choice. It will not impose a fee or tax on anyone who changes their behavior and adopts the re-useable bag. The so-called ‘bag bill ordinance compliments the City Council’s efforts and policies of expanding recycling, while reducing the amount of pollution and litter in communities. It moves Baltimore closer in a practical way to a sustainable metropolitan jurisdiction with an achievable “zero waste” goal. Working towards this goal will also bring us closer to the City’s commitment of a fishable and swimmable Harbor and Patapsco River by 2020. A week ago, Clean Water Action testified in support of the ‘bag bill,’ a five-cent fee on single-use plastic bags. Unfortunately, the bill which was passed out of committee did not include paper bags as Clean Water requested in amendments. This is unfortunate, as doing nothing to prevent paper bags from causing the same problem as plastics amounts to a half-measure solution. However, we were hopeful that the Council would both act on our suggested amendments and also support the bill. To everyone’s surprise at a hearing held Monday night, the bill was drastically amended, not to add paper, but to completely ban single-use plastic bags in Baltimore. This ad hoc amendment, done without an opportunity for public input, can only result in two things: the sole option of using paper bags, and an immediate veto by mayor. Our support for a policy that gave residents choice and focused on changing behavior had been replaced by a ban. Why did Clean Water support a ‘bag bill’ policy that focuses on encouraging different behavior? The fact is, we’ve seen success of a surcharge on plastic and paper bags in places like Montgomery County and Washington, D.C., In D.C. 80% of residents say they shop with reusable bags, reducing bag litter, in neighborhoods by more than two-thirds. In four years D.C.’s bag fee generated $7 million, invested in small green businesses working to restore local waterways, leading to the creation of green jobs. Juxtapose businesses from mom & pop shops to national chains, report saving on overhead and less litter on their properties. Understanding that source reduction is a good first step in ridding our waterways of trash and litter, we commend the City Council on their efforts to give residents the clean and healthy neighborhoods they deserve. However, given the trash problem in the city, and paper being absent from the Council’s most recent policy proposal we cannot support a ban on re-usable plastic bags. Clean Water Action believes encouraging residents to use reusable bags through a change in resident behavior is a much more effective method of reducing bag pollution and litter in Baltimore neighborhoods. If we do not protect our City’s streams and waterways, we cannot protect the livelihood on which communities and local economies depend. Continuing to leave critical water resources vulnerable jeopardizes drinking water sources, public health and quality of life, as well as jobs and revenue for businesses that depend on clean water.