Plastic bag ban discussed in Burlington

BURLINGTON – Wearing her signature plastic bag scarf, self-proclaimed “Bag Lady” Carol Sullivan encouraged Burlington residents to support a plastic bag ban Monday at the Burlington Public Library.

Sullivan, leader of Skagit BAG BANd Wagon, has been meeting with cities and towns within Skagit County for months, asking them to adopt ordinances that would prohibit retail businesses from providing customers with plastic bags.

Such ordinances, which passed in Bellingham in 2011 and La Conner in June, can and should be copied, Sullivan said.

“We’re not inventing the wheel,” she said.

The Burlington City Council has heard from Sullivan and is reviewing a potential ban, Mayor Steve Sexton said. No decision has yet been made.

Worldwide, more than 60 countries have introduced bans and levies to curb single-use plastic waste, including Taiwan, Brazil, Greece and Ireland, according to a 2018 study published by the United Nations Environment Programme.

The study reported 30 percent of countries that passed national bans saw a drop in plastic pollution and consumption within one year, while 20 percent reported little to no impact.

On Monday, some audience members questioned what impact a Burlington bag ban would have on the world.

Brooks Anderson, who helped spearhead Bellingham’s ban, spoke to that question.

“Even though the 10 most polluted rivers aren’t in the U.S., that doesn’t mean what we do won’t have an impact,” she said. “It starts with each one of us.”

If Burlington passes a ban such as La Conner’s, it would apply to local stores, shops, gas stations, markets and festivals. Organizations providing social services or local restaurants offering takeout food would not be affected.

Paper bags would take the place of plastic, possibly with a small fee that could be used to offset business costs associated with the switch, Sullivan said.

Those on food assistance programs would not have to pay the fee, she said.

Bellingham has charged customers 5 cents for paper bags since July 2012.

Some have pushed back on such bans, airing concerns of how they’ll dispose of pet waste if plastic isn’t an option, while others question whether paper bags are better for the environment, as producing them uses a lot of water.

In response to the first concern, Sullivan encouraged families to do an audit of how much plastic comes into their homes. As she spoke, she began pulling chip bags, salad bags and produce bags out of a paper bag.

All of these can be used to dispose of waste that wouldn’t go into a paper bag, she said.

Callie Martin, solid waste outreach coordinator with Skagit County Public Works, addressed the second concern.

Even though paper uses a lot of water, it still has a decent market for recycling, she said. Plus, it composts.

A 2018 National Geographic article titled “We made plastic. We depend on it. Now we’re drowning in it,” stated it is unknown how long it takes for plastic to completely biodegrade, though estimates range from 450 years to never.

Referencing the article’s title, Sullivan asked the crowd, “If your bathtub is filling with water, do you start bailing, or do you turn off the faucet?”

“The time is right,” she said. “We believe future generations deserve to have us be environmentally conscious.”