By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Besides electing two members to the Assembly and one to the School Board, voters in the October municipal election will decide a ballot question on implementing a “disposable plastic shopping bag prohibition.”
The proposition, placed on the ballot by initiative petition, says retail sellers would not be allowed to provide disposable plastic shopping bags to customers for their purchases. A number of exceptions would allow plastic bags for items such as produce and bakery goods sold in the store.
The question asks:
“Shall the Sitka General Code be amended to add Chapter 9.28 entitled ‘disposable plastic bag prohibition,’ which prohibits a retail seller from providing or distributing disposable plastic shopping bags, enacts a fee for alternative bags and establishes a fine schedule for violations? Yes or No”
The purpose, as stated in the ordinance, is to “reduce the generation of waste from disposable plastic shopping bags and address the environmental problems associated with disposable bags.”
A shopper uses plastic bags at AC Lakeside this afternoon. (Sentinel Photo)
A number of Alaska communities have already enacted similar bans or fees, including Wasilla, Palmer, Cordova and Anchorage, where the plastic bag ban will go into effect in September.
The plastic bag proposal goes back six years, sponsored by citizen groups Bags for Change and Sitka Global Warming. In preparation for the October vote, educational events, public speakers and an art show at AC Lakeside, “The Ugly Side of Plastic,” aim to raise awareness about the harmful effects of plastic on the environment.
“We really have tried to give people every opportunity to have reusable bags, to use reusable bags,” said Michelle Putz, a volunteer with Bags for Change who worked on the current initiative petition.
Organizers asked the Assembly last September to implement a single-use bag fee by ordinance. It narrowly passed on introduction but was postponed indefinitely on final reading. Assembly members said after it was introduced they received a huge amount of correspondence on the issue, mostly against, and expressing concerns about impacts on businesses.
“It didn’t fail but it didn’t pass either,” said Putz, who worked on the ordinance that went before the Assembly.
Supporters went back to work, refining the proposal and seeking advice from places where a ban or fee is already in effect.
“We tried to learn: what did people say?” Putz said. “How can we help people do this? ... The challenge is every community is different. What works well in Cordova doesn’t work as well here.”
The language of the Sitka petition ordinance was certified by the city clerk March 22, following a legal review. Organizers then collected 691 signatures from registered voters, well above the 598 minimum required to place the item on the ballot.
As it is now stated, the initiative ordinance would ban the use of plastic shopping bags, and impose a fee for the use of “alternative (paper) bags.” Merchants and stores would be allowed to keep the fees collected.
Organizers worked with the local grocery stores, which distribute an estimated 2 million bags a year to customers, and plan to continue promoting the use of reusable bags by working with downtown merchants, the Chamber of Commerce and Cruise Line Agencies.
Putz and other supporters are also working to raise public awareness. A workshop will be held 10 a.m. Aug. 10 at the science center, where kids and adults will be invited to make rear view mirror tags that say “Remember the Reusable Bag.”
“Whether it gets passed or not, I think we’re changing people’s minds, hearts and habits.” Putz said of the ballot question.
The ordinance gives a definition of the disposable plastic bags that would not be allowed, and also a list of plastic bags that would be allowed in stores for special uses. A bag covered by the ban is one made “exclusively or primarily of soft plastic or plastic-like material (including plastics marked or labeled as ‘biodegradeable’ or ‘compostable’) that is designed to carry customer purchases from the retail seller’s premises.”
A minimum fee of 10 cents would be charged for an alternative disposable bag, which “generally means a paper bag,” says the proposed ordinance. The ordinance would go into effect next April, but retailers would be allowed to distribute plastic bags already in their inventory.
Violations would be in the category of “minor offense,” and the maximum fine would be $500.
The text of the proposed ordinance is available on the city website, www.cityofsitka.gov.
