Review of COG Recycling Committee Bag Meeting 31909

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Review of COG Recycling Committee Bag Meeting
3/19/09

• March 20, 2009John Snarr, Principal Planner, COG

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Committee Agenda

• Technical session to exchange information
• 3 Panels
• The Scope of the Problem
• Proposed Solutions
• The Industry Perspective

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Panel Scope of the Problem

• Litter in the Anacostia Watershed
• COG has monitored since 1998
• Plastic bags are 1 one or 2 types of litter
  with plastic bottles
• TMDL process underway in Maryland
• Potomac River clean up efforts impacted by trash
  fed from Anacostia
• AFF Trash Treaty signed by governments aims to
  make Potomac Trash free by 2013

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Panel Scope of the Problem
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Panel Scope of the Problem
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Panel Scope of the Problem

• Anacostia Watershed Society Data
• Litter causes visual blight/psychological impact
• About half of trash found in streams is plastic
  bags extensive data presented
• Water flows make this an interstate problem

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Panel Scope of the Problem

• Plastics have other environment impacts
• Non-renewable resource
• Bio-based plastics are still not biodegradable
• Impacts on marine and bird life
• 60-80 of trash in the oceans is plastic debris
• Flooding in Bangladesh linked to bags clogging
  storm drains

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Panel Proposed Solutions

• Experience Around the County and World
• Establish Recycling Bins at Large Stores
• Curbside Collection of Plastic Bags
• Bans
• Fees on Bag use
• Bans/Fees if use does not decrease by target

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Panel Proposed Solutions

• Bans
• San Francisco/Oakland
• Los Angeles (pending state action)
• Westport, CT
• Several smaller CA and Alaska cities
• China
• Bangladesh
• Other countries

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Panel Proposed Solutions

• Fees
• Seattle (moved to ballot initiative)
• Ireland measurable impact
• South Africa
• Italy
• Germany

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Bills

• District of Columbia (Wells)
• Maryland
• HB 1210 (Carr)
• Virginia
• HB 1814 (Morrissey)
• HB 2010 (Ebbin)
• SB 873 (Ticer)
• SB 971 (Blevins)

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Bill Components

• Address plastic and/or paper bags
• Some ban plastic bags
• Some require all bags to be recyclable
• Some impose a fee on each bag distributed
• Some impose a recycled-content requirement for
  bags

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District of Columbia Bill (Wells)

• Protect Environmental and Aquatic Assets
• Ban non-recyclable plastic carryout bags
• 5 cent fee on recyclable plastic paper bags
  from
• Grocery Stores
• Drug Stores
• Liquor Stores
• Restaurants
• Food Vendors

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District of Columbia BillRecycled-Content

• Carryout bags (paper and plastic) that are
  disposable must
• Contain no old-growth fiber
• Be 100 recyclable
• Contain minimum 40 post-consumer content
• Display the word Recyclable

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District of Columbia Bill Fund

• Create Anacostia River Cleanup Protection Fund
• 1-2 cents retained by store
• 2 cents if store has Bag Credit Program
• Remaining money to Fund
• Fund used to
• Provide reusable bags to low-income residents
• Education campaigns
• Monitoring Litter
• Cleanup and Restoration of Watershed

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Maryland Bill HB 1210 (Carr)

• Similar to DC Bill
• 5 cent fee on plastic paper carryout bags from
  ALL retail stores
• Does not address required bag recyclability or
  recycled-content
• 1-2 cents retained by store
• 2 cents if store has Bag Credit Program
• Remaining money goes to the Chesapeake Atlantic
  Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund

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Maryland Bill HB 1210 Fiscal Note

• Estimated annual administrative cost of 200,000
  to 300,000
• Potential annual revenues estimated as high as
  3.9 million, but dependent on many variables

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Virginia Bill HB 2010 (Ebbin)

• Similar to DC Bill
• 5 cent fee on plastic paper disposable bags
  from
• Grocery Stores
• Convenience Stores
• Drugstores
• Does not address required bag recyclability or
  recycled-content
• Does not address retailers retaining part of fee
• Money goes to Water Quality Improvement Fund
• Left in Committee 2/10/09

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Virginia Bill HB 1814 and SB 873(Morrissey/Ticer)

• Bans retailers from distributing carryout plastic
  bags
• Left in committee
• 2/10/09 (HB 1814)
• 2/1//09 (SB 873)

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Virginia Bill SB 971 (Blevins)

• Requires in store plastic bag recycling program
  and signage at
• Chain stores
• Stores that exceed 5,000 square feet
• Requires reusable bags to be available for sale
• Requires plastic bag manufacturers to provide
  recycling
• 1/19/09 Stricken at request of Patron

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Panel Proposed Solutions

• SE Virginia Plastic Bag Impact on Farmers
• VA Plastic Bag Environmental Council formed
• Strategic Plan for Plastic Bag Control
• Looking at school pilots
• Held conference
• Will run media ads
• Work on improved signage at stores for reuse and
  recycling

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Panel Proposed Solutions

• TREX Company Winchester, VA
• Plastic wood product
• 1 Recycler of plastic bags in US
• Recycled 6.5 billion bags in 5 years
• TREX does not support bans
• Problem is littering behavior, ban is short-term
  solution
• Plastic bags convenient, reusable,
• Cheaper to make and recycle than paper
• Support increase recycling

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Panel Industry Perspective

• Giant Food
• In favor of litter reduction goals
• Not in favor of fee per bag
• 90-95 of customers want plastic instead of paper
• Offer 5 cent per bag rebate if bring reusable bag
• Suggest look at NY, DE, MA laws that mandate
  retailer reductions, education, promotion of
  reusable bags
• Fee discriminates against low income people

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Panel Industry Perspective

• Plastics Industry
• Support increase in reuse and recycling, not fee
• Dispute how much bags contribute to overall
  litter
• Last year more communities passed recycling bills
  than fee or ban bills
• Claim that San Francisco ban has not been
  effective
• Dispute that Ireland has reduced overall plastic
  consumption

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Panel Industry Perspective

• Paper Industry
• Paper bags have a 36 recycling rate
• Already contain 30-100 recycled-content
• Are not part of the litter problem being
  discussed
• Opposed to bag bans and fees

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Discussion

• Some dispute on studies and data, important to
  check sources
• Dispute on impact on low income residents
• What will replace plastic bags that people
  currently reuse at a high rate?
• How effective would enhanced recycling really be
  vs. fees/bans?