The chief sponsor of the bill to ban plastic retail bags in Baltimore has backed off in favor of trying a "mandatory-voluntary" recycling campaign to reduce the litter blanketing the city's trees, streams and harbor.
Councilman James B. Kraft, a Democrat representing Canton, outlined his new approach at a City Council committee work session on Thursday, where he explained that he wanted to revise the ban he'd proposed and work with retailers to discourage the free distribution of disposable plastic and paper bags at the checkout counter.
He suggested a public education campaign, in which retailers tell their customers they'll only get a bag at checkout if they ask for one. Meanwhile, the city, retailers and community groups would promote shoppers' use of reusable bags or recycling of any bags given out at stores - much like the sign photographed above as it appeared in a Whole Foods market in Annapolis in 2007.
"I don't think we're ready to move forward with a ban," Kraft said after the session. He added that a "lot of legitimate concerns have been raised" by retailers about the ban he had proposed last year. The idea, Kraft explained, is "so we could show with cooperation and participation by everyone that we're reducing the number of bags out there on the streets and in the harbor." Kraft asked council members Bill Henry and Mary Pat Clarke to work with representatives of the city's retailers, bag manufacturers and advocates for sustainability on crafting a new bill. The revamped measure is scheduled now to be presented on March 16.
Left on the council committee table, for now at least, is the alternative bill sponsored by Henry, a North Baltimore Democrat. It would levy a 25 cent fee on all carryout plastic and paper bags. Henry said he was still mulling whether to push it with a reduction or change in the proposed fee. One option under consideration is dropping the fee to as little as 5 cents a bag, not unlike the litter reduction ordinance that I wrote about in the District of Columbia.
Clarke, a Democrat representing north central Baltimore, indicated she'd prefer to hold retailers' feet to the fire by setting goals for the voluntary bag reduction campaign and then having a fee or ban automatically kick in if those goals are not met after a suitable time, such as a year or two. Kraft, though, who is chairman of the council committee considering the bills, said he could not support any measure that would automatically trigger a fee or ban.
Robert Santoni of Santoni's, a local supermarket chain, welcomed Kraft's shift to working with retailers to reduce customers' carryout bag usage. He said since city council members have begun talking about banning or taxing bags, his stores have been promoting reusable bags and recycling, with success. He argued that whatever educational campaign the city and retailers came up with ought to be given three years to prove itself. And he cautioned council members against doing anything that might depress sales in the city.
"I'm not about to lose one bag of groceries to a county store because they (customers) don't want to jump through all of the hoops," Santoni said.
But others at the council session questioned whether a voluntary push would reduce bag litter enough quickly enough.
"I'm not confident that any voluntary programs are going to work,'' said Lynn Heller, a Roland Park resident who is a member of the city's sustainability commission. She held out for consideration of at least a modest fee of five cents a bag on disposable satchels. "Nothing changes behavior like money. If you really want to get plastic bags out of the harbor in the next three years, you charge a fee."
Henry, chief sponsor of the fee bill, said he was willing to explore Kraft's idea for now. "I want less litter," Henry said. He added that he's become convinced that large grocery chains like Santoni's and Safeway are not the sources of most of the plastic bags he sees on the streets or in streams. But Henry added that if other council members do not support Kraft's idea, he was still prepared to push for a fee on all disposable plastic and paper bags.
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(2007 Baltimore Sun file photo by Jed Kirschbaum)