Plastic bag ban in Logan up for debate
Two years ago, the Logan City Council voted to implement a new plastic waste management program, planning to ban retailers from distributing single use plastic bags on April 22, 2020.
After two delays, the council will meet one final time on Dec. 7 to decide if the ban will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
The council is currently debating two different options which they will vote on in the Dec. 7 meeting.
One is the ban on plastic bags, which will go into effect as planned to start in the new year. The ban would make it illegal for retailers to provide customers with single use plastic bags and would encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags or to use recycled paper bags instead. It would not include newspaper bags; bags used to contain bulk items like produce, grains, or candy; bags used to wrap frozen items; or bags used to wrap flowers or potted plants.
The other option is a broader plan that will affect the entire county. In that case, customers will be charged for their plastic bags and more responsibility will shift to stores to recycle the plastics generated by packaging and other items. This plan would apply to all businesses, not just retail and grocery stores.
According to council member Amy Anderson, who voted yes for both the ban and the county waste management program in 2019, the strict ban is more of a means to an end when it comes to reducing Logan’s economic impact.
“I think the idea was always to find a better approach to how we deal with plastic coming into our landfill,” Anderson said, “as opposed to the idea that people use single-use bags and sometimes they blow away in the wind.”
The ban was originally delayed to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. According to Logan environmental director Issa Hamud, it was delayed a second time to allow retailers and stores to better prepare for the implementation and for citizens to be better prepared, but many are still unaware the ban is even being considered.
“I had no idea there was going to be a ban,” USU student Brianna Enright said. “I like the idea, but I think it would be better to phase out the bags so people have time to get used to it.”
If the ban goes through, Logan will be the third city in Utah to have a law against plastic bags. Park City was the first in Utah to ban single use bags in May 2017, and Moab followed in 2018. Both have had successful results, but Logan is a much larger than both cities.
According to the Logan city website, plastic bags are the number one source of litter, and the number one contaminant in recycling containers. If the ban is passed though, it will not eliminate this issue.
The ban will not affect stores in North Logan, where many residents still shop. One popular store that will not be affected is the North Logan Walmart.
Regardless of whether the ban passes or not, Anderson encourages students to be responsible when they go shopping. There are many programs that encourage recycling, like the Kroger “Be a Zero Hero” initiative where they provide recycling bins in front of their stores and offering incentives to recycle store brand products.
Walmart has stopped using plastic bags in their Mexico locations and has joined other large brands like Target and CVS Pharmacy to try and find a solution to single use bags according to Forbes magazine.
In the end, Anderson said, it comes down to education more than policy.
“Changing habits is hard, I would hope that our county at large could change habits without having to exert bans,” Anderson said. “But that’s why bans have become a tool to use, because once you start doing it, it becomes easier.”
-Maggie.Erekson@usu.edu