ANNAPOLIS (AP) — As Annapolis prepares for a vote to enact what would be the nation’s toughest plastic-bag ban — and the first on the East Coast — a few merchants gathered yesterday to support the idea.
The city council in this waterside community of about 40,000 will consider next month whether to ban retailers from using plastic shopping bags. The proposal has sparked opposition from town grocers, but some retailers said the tough ban is needed because plastic shopping bags are clogging waterways and landfills.
“It’s going to cost us a little bit more, but you’ve got to start somewhere, folks,” said Gary Amoth, owner of Hard Bean Coffee and Booksellers, which overlooks the city dock. Mr. Amoth said he recently switched to paper bags even though they cost more.
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“I think the greater good has to outweigh the small, little things,” Mr. Amoth said.
Alderman Sam Shropshire, who introduced the ban, said he has the votes to get his ban approved by the eight-member council Nov. 19.
“I fully expect … that this legislation will pass,” Mr. Shropshire said.
San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., passed plastic shopping bag-bans, but those ordinances would exempt compostable plastic bags when they take effect. The Annapolis ban would prohibit any plastic bags.
Mr. Shropshire said the bags need to be banned altogether because the different kinds of plastic bags would get mixed up.
“The only way to effectively deal with the problem is to eliminate plastic bags,” he said.
Brian Cahalan, owner of 49 West coffee shop, said he still uses some plastic bags but supports an all-out ban. Pointing to a cloth bag, Mr. Cahalan said the public should stop having a plastic option.
“If we stop being lazy and take these in our trunks or our pockets, we can make a big difference,” he said.
Barry Scher, lobbyist for Giant Food, a grocery chain based in Landover, doubted whether people would change to cloth bags because of a ban. Giant, which sells the reusable cloth bags, has one store in Annapolis and opposes Mr. Shropshire’s bill.
“It’s ironic that 30 years ago there was an outcry from customers to stop using paper bags because of all the trees that were being composted,” Mr. Scher said. “What goes around comes around.”
Comparing plastic with paper bags, Mr. Scher said, “neither is good for the environment. But what is good for the environment is reusable bags.”
Environmental groups have signed on to the plastic-bag ban. David Prosten, chairman of the Anne Arundel County chapter of the Sierra Club, said paper bags are better than plastic because almost all plastic bags end up in landfills, where they take much longer to biodegrade. He predicted that Annapolis would be the first to ban all plastic shopping bags.
“This is a very environmentally friendly city with concern for this kind of thing,” Mr. Prosten said.
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