Seattle Council unanimously passes plastic bag ban... (Mercer Island: fit in, live in)

[Ancalagon]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

Didn't the voters shoot this down in 2009? I believe they did. Which means that Seattle's out of control politicians have, once again, rammed something in against the will of the people. The extreme lefties will be thrilled with it - but then again, they're thrilled with anything that has the government forcing others to live like they do.

Danny Westneat covered this pretty well:

No need to tear into this bag law
As soon as the Seattle City Council voted Monday to ban plastic grocery bags, the bag industry came out with a campaign to try to undermine it.

Danny Westneat
Seattle Times staff columnist

As soon as the Seattle City Council voted Monday to ban plastic grocery bags, the bag industry came out with a campaign to try to undermine it.
Their pitch is a powerful one in politics. It's that your elected leaders arrogantly ignored you.

"In 2009, voters repealed a fee on their grocery bags. But this week, Seattle's city council decided voters made the wrong choice," reads an online petition put up by Hilex Poly, one of the country's largest bag makers.

Moderator cut: a link and a snippet is enough

Danny Westneat | No need to tear into this bag law | Seattle Times Newspaper

[Freebird2007]

I myself is against such a ban. It is a useless policy meant to do nothing more to make a few people feel good about themselves while pissing off the majority.

Why is it that there is no mention of recycling the bags? I bet the majority of the people who voted for the ban don't even think about taking the used bags to the recycling bin. You want jobs? Hire a dozen or so people to sort thru recyclables at the landfills.

What is next? Ban cars because people insist on driving SUVs? Ban coffee because it contains too much caffeine?

This ban only bans grocery and store plastic bags. NOT takeout bags, meat bags, vegetable bags...etc etc. Like I said....pointless. Encourage plastic bag recycling like they did with paper and plastic bottles....it will take time but it will catch on.

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Seattle banned styrofoam to go containers a couple of years ago. Life goes on. You can still get your teriyaki plate to go. A lot of plastic bags end up in Puget Sound and harm marine life. I voted against the initiative a couple of years ago because I felt it was too imposing, but I think the current law passed is better. It's just not that huge of a deal. It's not like they're banning possession of coffee. That would spark a huge revolt.

so you need to ban the uneducated and idiots from Seattle then who can't seem to get it through their thick skulls to recycle

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

I wish this would happen in Baltimore. Tired of seeing the urban tumbleweeds.

[mrman78]

Bottom line is, you have the freedom to choose where you live. If you don't like the taxes, laws, weather, whatever where you are then just move somewhere that is more appealing to you. Most don't want the 'inconvenience' of a move and therefore come up with excuses as to why they can't move - money, job, family, etc. I think those people just enjoy moaning. Yeah, it might be difficult, but it's rarely impossible. I just don't get why people stay in places with issues that clearly bother them!

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by mrman78

Bottom line is, you have the freedom to choose where you live. If you don't like the taxes, laws, weather, whatever where you are then just move somewhere that is more appealing to you. Most don't want the 'inconvenience' of a move and therefore come up with excuses as to why they can't move - money, job, family, etc. I think those people just enjoy moaning. Yeah, it might be difficult, but it's rarely impossible. I just don't get why people stay in places with issues that clearly bother them!

well, when it springs up on you its not as easy to just get up an move so that rationale is out the door.

[Seacove]

I doubt your love for plastic bags is the single reason you would relocate. As you said, you really don't like the people of Seattle. That's a very good reason to relocate and those people didn't just get here. Maybe it takes time but you'll find a place that makes you happy.

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I doubt your love for plastic bags is the single reason you would relocate. As you said, you really don't like the people of Seattle. That's a very good reason to relocate and those people didn't just get here. Maybe it takes time but you'll find a place that makes you happy.

well shoot....I didn't think he was mentioning me specifically. But since we are on the subject...I am currently obligated to be here for the next few years....after that...hallelluiah

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

well, when it springs up on you its not as easy to just get up an move so that rationale is out the door.

My point exactly, not easy, but entirely doable. I doubt anyone would move based soley on this law though! Laws and other inconveniences are going to come and go, there is nothing you can really do about it. You either put up with them or move to greener pastures.

[Xanathos]

The beauty of this area is that it's only a 10-15 minute drive to a city where the people aren't so completely absurd. You'd never see a ban like this take place East of Lake Washington. It's a Seattle mentality thing (mostly brought on by San Francisco and Portland implants).

It's not even so much that I particularly care about plastic bags, because, frankly, I don't. It's the concept that the government should be trying to mold my behavior, even if the people don't want the government to do it, that I find distasteful.

If the people wanted to use those eco-friendly hemp bags, the people would use them. If the people wanted to use paper bags - in a city where it's always wet - they would have done so. The nanny staters didn't like that their idea of making everybody carry around reusable bags (you know, on top of their cell phone, a briefcase/binder, an umbrella, a purse in the case of women, etc.) gained no traction, so now they do an end-around and try to force people into it. That's the real issue, not the matter of "oh woe, no more plastic bags, the world is over!"

The big-brother crowd can claim it's for whatever reason they like - beautification (non-issue, the city is already clean), "bags finding their way into the waters" (odd, I own a boat - something I would wager the hippies defending this can not say - and rarely see a plastic bag on any of the waters I go to), not allowing Seattle to "become Texas" (again, not so much an issue given that South Texas is a lower educated, higher poverty sort of region, which statistically means a higher degree of dirty people), or whatever else they want to use as their validation. The end result is the same: The government is trying to mold behavior, and that's not what the government should be doing.