31 Jan Bag Ordinance 1 Day Away!

Editor's Note: this article was originally published on January 31st. Headline has been edited to reflect deadline coming up. Text has been left unedited.

After years of sustained organizing, a unanimous vote by City Council and a year of rulemaking and public education, Austin is now only 29 days away from implementing one of the boldest local bag pollution policies in the country.  Thousands of Austinites wrote to the Council, dozens of local businesses and organizations stood up for the policy and after a thorough public input processes, the City adopted an ordinance which bans single-use plastic bags from retail outlets and significantly restricts paper bags as well.  As of today Austinites use about 282 million single-use bags a year; as of March 1 we will use a tiny fraction of that amount.  This was one of the environmental community’s big victories last year, and all of our hard work pays off in less than one month.

This is a cause for celebration, and so the Austin Zero Waste Alliance announced yesterday that we will be hosting a “Bag to the Future” party on February 28, the night before the policy goes into effect.  The party features local bluegrass heroes the Whiskey Shivers and other live music, a Coolest Bag Contest as well as face-painting and hand stamps to remind people to “B. Y. O. Bags.” The event location should be announced within the next week. 

Austin businesses stand to save millions of dollars as they will no longer be expected to provide free bags, nor spend the estimated $800,000 dedicated annually to control bag pollution. Taxpayers spend roughly the same amount on cleanup and response to the destruction that single use bags cause to recycling equipment, wastewater and flood control facilities.  The cost to local wildlife, wilderness and the blight caused by these bags is incalculable, but March 1 begins the process of solving this problem once and for all.

We are not completely out of the woods yet: local officials expect the bag industry to sue the city over the policy, and we expect legislators from out of town to take another crack at banning local governments from regulating bag pollution in their city limits.  Local activists and our allies from around the state have been successful beating off such legislation in recent sessions, and the city assures us they are prepared for legal action.  There has also been some coverage from local morning DJs and some of the TV news which has grumbled or whined about the new policy.  We want to show them that this is a time for smiling, for dancing and for celebrating as we take another bold step away from our disposable culture and towards real responsibility for the resources we use on a daily basis. 

This is an incredible opportunity for Austin to provide leadership for communities around the country and around the world struggling to deal with this pernicious local pollution, and it is a testament to the leadership of many local environmentalists.  Spread the word to friends, family, neighbors and colleagues, double down your efforts to remember your bags when you go to shop and come celebrate with us on February 28 as Austin goes “Bag to the Future!”

Andrew Dobbs