Plastic Bag Group Issues Statement over Proposed Bag Ban in LA

The American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA) has sent a letter to the Los Angeles City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee over the council’s decision to ban all paper and plastic retail bags in the city.

The committee approved the measure April 4, 2012. Once the plastic bag ban is in place, supermarkets in Los Angeles will be required to charge 10 cents  for each paper bag used. Six months later, paper bags will be prohibited as well.

In a separate statement pertaining to the issue, Mark Daniels, vice president of sustainability and environmental policy for the plastics bag manufacturer Hilex Poly, writes, "The proposed policy will have no real impact on litter, instead it will only force residents to purchase less environmentally friendly alternatives like reusable bags, nearly all of which are not recyclable, are less sanitary, are made in China using foreign oil and often contain heavy metals. Worse, bag bans inflict a regressive tax on the disadvantaged, impose a burden on small businesses, and are a threat to local manufacturing jobs. More than a thousand workers in the Los Angeles area alone rely on quality jobs in the plastic bag manufacturing industry and urge the City Council to consider the impact this legislation will have on them and their families."

Daniels also is the chair of the APBA.