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1. What aie the key ieasons that Foit Woith shoulu ban single-use check-out bags, both papei anu plastic.
Foit Woith iesiuents use moie than 26u million check-out bags a yeai. Both plastic anu papei single-use
checkout bags have significant enviionmental impacts. Plus, we can eliminate the costs of single-use bags
that aie built into the cost of oui gioceiies anu the money that the city pays foi the pollution costs, boine
by city taxpayeis. 0thei cities that have passeu plastic-only bag bans have seen a massive switch to single-
use papei bagsnot a switch to ieusable bags, which is by fai the best option foi the enviionment. West
Texas towns such as Foit Stockton anu Keimit have also citeu uangei to cattle, since livestock animals that
eat litteieu single-use bags can become ill oi uie.
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- Inteinational Texas Longhoin Association
2. What aie the enviionmental pioblems with single-use plastic anu papei bags.

Nationwiue iecycling iates of eithei type of single-use bag aie extiemely low: 6u-9u% of papei bags anu
9S% of plastic bags aie N0T iecycleu. While metal, glass, anu papei littei has uecieaseu by ovei 8u% in the
0.S. since 1969, plastic littei incieaseu by a staggeiing 16S%, making this type of pollution the thiiu most
abunuant. Plastic pollution in the ocean anu othei wateiways has been uocumenteu since the eaily 197u's
anu now theie aie gaibage patches in oui ocean. In the Pacific 0cean, it's 1,uuu miles wiue. Although papei
bags can be iecycleu by iesiuents with access to iecycling, papei bags use moie eneigy anu watei to
manufactuie than plastic bags anu iesult in moie aciu iain anu gieenhouse gas pollution.
S. What aie the financial costs of these bags.

0f the 8 cities in Texas that have alieauy passeu single-use bag oiuinance, only Austin attempteu to
quantify the cost to taxpayeis cieateu by bag pollution. At City Council's iequest, city staff uiu a stuuy on
the costs of plastic checkout bags; it founu that they cost Austin taxpayeis an estimateu $SuS,uuu to
8Su,uuu annuallyanu twice that amount foi businesses uue to littei cleanup costs, sewage anu watei
systems maintenance anu iecycling machineiy shut uowns. Baseu on a pilot pioject, the city ueteimineu a
sepaiate citywiue cuibsiue bag plastic bag iecycling woulu iequiie an initial investment of $4.S million anu
an annual cost of $1.8 million to maintain the piogiam. Theie aie othei costs to us as state anu feueial
taxpayeis, anu unquantifiable costs to the enviionment. ,166&#2%8* <& 4%% =48 >06 2-& .0)2 0> 2-& .-&./'
012 ?4$) "# 2-& =6".& 0> 016 $60.&6"&) <-&2-&6 <& 1)& 2-&@ 06 #02A
4. Why not have ietaileis conveit to biouegiauable plastic bags.

Biouegiauable bags also have gieatei enviionmental impacts than conventional plastic bags in gieenhouse
gas emissions anu watei use. They sometimes only uegiaue ovei a long timefiame oi unuei iueal compost
conuitions, so they can iesult in the same littei anu maiine pollution pioblems as conventional plastic bags.
In auuition, biouegiauable bags contaminate existing plastic iecycling piogiams. Biouegiaueable bags aie
well-suiteu foi some uses (such as compostable yaiu anu foou waste), but the costs they cieate woulu still
be passeu on to consumeis. Foi ietail check-out uses, ieusable bags aie the least expensive anu least
haimful to the enviionment.

S. Is it ieally possible foi folks to go without plastic oi papei check-out bags.

Cities acioss Texas, the 0.S. anu the woilu have shown that single-use bags aie not a necessaiy anu that the
community is much cleanei without them. Biownsville, South Pauie Islanu, Laguna vista, Laieuo, Foit
Stockton, Keimit, Fieei, Austin anu Sunset valley have all passeu similai oiuinances. Bozens of othei cities
in the 0.S. have passeu local laws against single-use bags anu some countiies such as Iielanu, New Zealanu,
South Afiica anu Rwanua have nationwiue laws to auuiess uisposable bag pollution.
6. Can't voluntaiy plastic bag ieuuction piogiams take caie of this pioblem.

Austin, San Antonio anu Ballas have all tiieu voluntaiy bag iecycling anu ieuuction piogiamsanu none
have pioven effective. Austin woikeu with ietaileis on a voluntaiy ieuuction plan, but the pioject faileu to
meet its stateu bag ieuuction goal of Su% ovei 18 months. When the ietaileis latei took the piogiam to San
Antonio, they only piomiseu a 2S% ieuuctionyet aftei a yeai, no ieuuction was founu to have occuiieu!
7. Woulu a fee oi tax on single-use bags have the same effect as a ban.

Washington, B.C. put a S cent fee on plastic check-out bags anu theii use ueclineu by an estimateu 8u%.
Bowevei, that still leaves 2u% of the pollution pioblem untoucheu. Low fees that only auuiess what we pay
to the city foi plastic bag costs fail to captuie all the costs of this pioblem at the state anu feueial level, in
auuition to the enviionmental uamage that can't be counteu. It woulu be bettei to auuiess this waste
stieam in a moie compiehensive way. Theie is also a legal question as to whethei such a fee is alloweu
unuei state law.
8. Nilk, piouuce, meat anu colu piouucts neeu plastic bags to piotect them fiom sweating. Will I still be able
to get plastic bags foi these items. What about uiy cleaning oi newspapei bags, oi foou caiiy-out.

Theie aie exemptions foi all of these bags. This effoit is focuseu on single-use .-&./'012 bags at ietaileis.
9. Coulu ietaileis pioviue $*2 check-out bags oi boxes.

Yes. Stoies coulu pioviue ieusable bags of any mateiial. Theie aie inuustiy stanuaius foi ieusable plastic
bags (4.u mil in thickness) anu papei bags (6S# weight). Reusable bags must also have hanules foi easy
caiiying. Some stoies alieauy pioviue customeis the boxes useu to uelivei piouucts foi fiee, which woulu
continue to be alloweu. The goal is to ieuuce single-use, uisposable bags: Biownsville officials estimate that
theie aie S7S,uuu fewei bags in the wastestieam EvERY BAY since theii single-use bag ban went into
effect.
1u. Wheie am I going to get tiash bags foi the kitchen anu home waste baskets.

Tiash bags can be puichaseu sepaiately. The sale of tiash bags woulu not be affecteu.
11. Woulu this ban affect phaimacy anu convenience stoie usage.

The uetails of which ietail stoies aie affecteu will be ueciueu aftei a stakeholuei piocess makes
iecommenuations to the City Council. vaiious cities have exempteu phaimacies, veteiinaiians, gaiment
bags, anu papei bags foi iestauiants, caiiy-out beveiages anu liquoi stoies.
12. What am I am I going to use to pick up uog poop.

Pet owneis can still use any of the exempteu bags foi this, oi puichase pet waste bags sepaiately.
1S. Bow will low-income families be able to get low cost oi fiee ieusable bags.

Retaileis anu otheis may pioviue fiee ieusable bags as the oiuinance is being implementeu. In othei cities
with similai oiuinances, low-cost 2S cent ieusable bags aie available at some stoies. It's possible that
consumeis with extia bags will be able to uonate bags foi use by otheis. Bopefully, ietaileis will pass on

some of the money they save fiom not having to pioviue fiee uisposable bags to consumeis anu lowei the
piices of theii piouucts foi eveiyone.
14. Bow coulu the single-use bag ban encouiage economic uevelopment.

A ban on single-use bags can cieate an oppoitunity foi local economic uevelopment. Theie is at least one
Austin-baseu business selling ieusable bags, Blue Avocauo. In auuition, manufactuiing ieusable bags local
coulu pioviue a low cost entiepieneuiial oppoitunity foi unemployeu anu unuei-employeu people. Suiplus
anu sciap textiles aie S% of oui oveiall uiscaiu stieam. Textiles have always been a uifficult categoiy of
mateiials to iecycling oi ieuse locallythose mateiials coulu become the iaw fabiics foi the local
manufactuiing of ieusable bags. The City, Chambeis of Commeice, anu local business finance oiganizations
coulu assist stait-ups. Businesses affecteu by the bag ban coulu be encouiageu to buy the locally piouuceu
bags foi iesale anu to pay foi auveitising on them - two ievenue stieams foi the new businesses.
1S. I have ieau that ieusable bags become "hothouses foi bacteiia." Bow can this be avoiueu.

Simply washing youi ieusable bags occasionally will avoiu this pioblem. Bowevei, even an inuustiy-funueu
stuuy commissioneu by bag ban opponents founu no haimful bacteiia on the ieusable bags they testeu.
Consumei Repoits uebunkeu this claim as well. Theie is simply no eviuence that ieusable bags haiboi
uangeious bacteiiabut washing youi bags is still a goou iuea, just like eveiything else you wash.
16. Bo ieusable bags have toxic chemicals.

Theie was one instance in which leau paint was useu in some Chinese-maue bags. Theie is no eviuence
that these bags poseu an immeuiate thieat to the public. The offenuing bags weie iuentifieu anu iecalleu.
17. Bon't papei bags cost ietaileis moie than plastic bags anu give ietaileis an incentive to be less wasteful.

Yes, but consumeis absoib those costs in the piice of theii gioceiies. Cost savings fiom a single-use bag ban
within the ietail anu giocei inuustiies coulu be put towaiu a public euucation paitneiship with the City of
Foit Woith to implement the ban on both papei anu plastic check out bags, pioviue low oi no-cost ieusable
bags anu ieuuce piices foi consumeis.
18. Bon't plastic bags iecycle just easily as plastic soua bottles. Why uon't the tiash companies oi whoevei
picks up iecyclable mateiial want to ueal with the bags in the same mannei as the bottles.

Plastic bags aie not iecycleu in the same plants that soit plastic bottles anu othei typical iecyclables. Plastic
bags can jam anu even uamage the automateu machineiy useu to soit plastic bottles, glass, metal anu
papei. Anothei pioblem is that the economic value of useu plastic bags is veiy small compaieu to othei
common iecyclables anu they must be clean anu fiee of foou waste in oiuei to be iecycleu.
19. Why shoulu the goveinment intiuue fuithei in oui piivate lives.

This type of oiuinance is like othei health anu safety oiuinances that aie foi the common goou. We alieauy
have sanitation anu anti-littei laws. B-") 06:"#4#.& <"%% 4%)0 -&%= 1) 6&:1.& 2-& .0)2 0> $0C&6#@&#2
)&6C".&) 4#: -&%= -0%: :0<# .0#)1@&6 =6".&)A Leaining to biing in youi ieusable bags when shopping is
an easy habit to leain, just like buckling youi seat belts.
2u. What will be the penalty foi non-compliance.

This will be ueteimineu when the final oiuinance is wiitten. The city will meet with stakeholueis befoie
wiiting this oiuinance. Biownsville's oiuinance has a $Suu fine on ietaileis foi violating theii oiuinance.
21. Bow will this affect foou pantiies anu othei non-piofit oiganizations.

The oiuinance will piobably only apply to ietail stoies, not foou pantiies oi most non-piofit
oiganizations.