Before the Joint Standing Committee on Business, Research and Economic Development
Good afternoon Senator Shneider, Representative Smith and members of the Committee. My name is Matt Prindiville, and I’m the Clean Production Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s leading, membership-supported environmental advocacy organization. We represent over 12,000 members and supporters and promote science-based, solutions-oriented policy on a variety of issues including energy, land conservation, river restoration and preventing toxic pollution.
As you know we’re having an active debate on this issue down the hall in Natural Resources. It is clear that pollution related to the production, use and disposal of disposable plastic and paper bags is an important environmental issue, and though NRCM is not formally supporting the approach suggested in LD 622, we are in support of moving forward with action to reduce disposable shopping bag consumption and we thank Representative Knapp for bringing this issue to the attention of the committee.
Ideally, reusable bags would become the norm in our society. We recognize that a number of approaches can help achieve that goal, including the proposed approach in LD 622. I have attached a menu of policy options to my testimony which may be helpful to the committee. For my testimony, I would like to provide some background that may be useful in your consideration of this legislation.
1) Human beings use a lot of disposable shopping bags.
2) Disposable shopping bags have real environmental consequences.
3) While recyclable, disposable shopping bags have poor recycling rates.
Also, while plastic bags are cheaper to produce and transport than paper, recycling plastic bags is an economic liability due to the necessary sorting process, ink contamination and the low quality of plastic used. Because of this reality, many plastic bags end up in landfills, where they take years to decompose. <li
We understand that some consumers are getting the message and bringing reusable bags to the grocery store while shopping. However, it is unlikely that we will see significant reduction in disposable shopping bag use without policies to encourage the use of reusable bags.
Thank you for your consideration. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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[1] Sullivan, Laurence O. “A Green Policy on Plastic Bag Use.” waste-reduction.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_green_policy_on_plastic_bag_useedition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/eco.plastics/index.html
[2] www.greeninfosource.com/bethedifference.htm
[3] Conway, Chris. “Taking Aim at All Those Plastic Bags.” New York Times www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/weekinreview/01basics.html
[4] “The Numbers: Believe it or Not.” ReusableBags.com www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=4
[5] wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_are_plastic_bags_so_bad_for_the_environment
[6] “Marine Debris: More than an Eye Sore.” Ocean Conservancy Fact Sheet. January 2008.
[7] Ibid.
[8] “The Numbers: Believe it or Not.” ReusableBags.com www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=4
[9] “Paper Bags are Better than Plastic, Right?” ReusableBags.com www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=7
[10] “Bags by the Numbers.” Waste Management. www.wmnorthwest.com/guidelines/plasticvspaper.htm
[11] Ibid.
[12] All about Recycling Plastics.” CNN.com edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/eco.plastics/index.html
