Highlights:
- In December, Seattle passed an ordinace that bans use of plastic bags starting on July 1st.
- American Progressive Bag Alliance issued a release today denouncing the ban by claiming that the purchased bags carry bacteria and are produced primarily overseas...costing American's jobs.
- Group claims that plastic bag and related recycling industries employ 30,800 workers across the country.
From press release:
Starting July 1, Seattle residents will face a ban on plastic bags and five-cent tax on paper bags at all retail stores in the city. The ban is a result of the City of Seattle's vote to regulate plastic bags in late December.
The following is a statement from Mark Daniels, Chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, an organization representing the United States' plastic bag manufacturing and recycling sector, which employs 30,800 workers in 349 communities across the nation – whose jobs depend on plastic bag manufacturing and recycling.
"Seattle's plastic bag ban will have an immediate negative impact on the wallets of Seattle shoppers and, ironically, the environment. Seattleites will now be forced to purchase reusable bags which cannot be recycled, are predominately imported from China, and have been proven to harbor dangerous bacteria. Those interested in real solutions to reducing litter and protecting the environment should pursue scientifically sound, common sense policies – ones that encourage a comprehensive statewide recycling solution that address all forms of plastic bags, sacks and wraps.
"We intend to continue to fight to protect American jobs, which are at risk by ideologically-driven policies that seek a political solution, instead of an environmentally sound one."
