Plastic Bags

When the city of Los Angeles held off three years ago on banning single-use, carry-out plastic bags, it missed a chance to be at the forefront of environmentally responsible lawmaking in California. By the time it inexplicably delayed a vote again in December, close to 20 cities as well as Los Angeles County had prohibited stores from providing the bags. And since then, the bags have been banned in more than two dozen additional municipalities in the state. More important, in the last three years tens of millions of plastic carry-out bags - possibly hundreds of millions - have been distributed in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a hard-fought victory to environmentalists and promising to change the way Angelenos do their grocery shopping. The City Council voted 13 to 1 to phase out plastic bags over the next 16 months at an estimated 7,500 stores, meaning shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or purchase paper bags for 10 cents each. The ban came after years of campaigning by clean-water advocates who said it would reduce the amount of trash in landfills, the region's waterways and the ocean.

The Times' editorial board and others who support banning plastic bags are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. Before the California Legislature makes any decision on this issue, let's carefully consider what the economic and scientific facts are. As the president of a plastic bag manufacturer in Los Angeles County, I know all about this issue. We make all sorts of plastic bags — reusable, recycled content and compostable. And we do it right here in the Los Angeles area.

Attention, Los Angeles shoppers: Time to start stocking up on cheap canvas tote bags.The City Council agreed Wednesday to require supermarkets to stop using plastic bags in 10 months (for large stores) to 16 months (for smaller shops). The ban, which The Times' editorial board

The June 29 Blowback by Peter Grande of Command Packaging, a manufacturer of plastic bags, offered an articulate critique of the state's proposed ban on single-use plastic bags at certain stores. Unfortunately, the information he outlined did not provide a full examination of the facts. Earthwise Bag Co., headquartered in Los Angeles County, is one of the leading suppliers of reusable bags to major grocers and retailers throughout the United States. As a California employer, one of several reusable bag makers in the state and environmentally conscious residents of this state, we feel compelled to respond.

The City Council on Wednesday will consider whether to ban stores in Los Angeles from offering single-use plastic carry-out bags. A ban would take some getting used to, but examples from other jurisdictions, including the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, show that it can be done and that shoppers and stores quickly adapt. A ban is the right move. The council should adopt it. For a city with such a strong environmental ethic, Los Angeles is lagging on the plastic bag issue.

A Los Angeles City Council committee moved forward Wednesday with a plan to end the use of paper and plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, saying such a move would spur consumers to switch to more environmentally friendly reusable ones. The council's Energy and Environment Committee forwarded its strategy for banning bags at 7,500 stores to the full council, comparing the change to laws requiring seat belts or banning smoking in restaurants. The vote occurred despite objections from workers at a plastic bag manufacturer who said their company would be devastated if bans are passed throughout the country.

It is no surprise that the organization representing makers of plastic grocery bags takes issue with your April 16 editorial urging the state to pass a new tax on bags. We simply believe that asking Sacramento to levy a draconian tax that amounts to about 1,250% of a plastic bag's value is out of line, and that all of us in California instead should focus on increasing plastic bag recycling. Plastic bag makers don't begrudge the rapid rise of reusable grocery bags and have no objection to encouraging their use. Now that nearly every major retailer sells inexpensive reusable bags (some even give them away)

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban plastic grocery bags in areas of the county under its jurisdiction, endorsing a broadly worded measure that proponents hope could become a model for California. The ban, which goes beyond ordinances adopted in Malibu and San Francisco, most directly affects 1.1 million people who live outside the county's incorporated cities. But anyone shopping at stores in such areas would encounter the new rules. Opponents suggested they might go to court to try to block the ban before the first phase takes effect in July, when 67 large supermarkets and pharmacies must stop providing disposable plastic bags.

Regarding the letter about newspaper delivery in plastic bags (Letters, Aug. 3.): If not for those bags protecting my newspaper and those of my neighbors, our papers would be soggy mush and unreadable from the automatic sprinklers that go on every morning before dawn. Since we have no control over the sprinkler system in our development, I thank you every day for those plastic bags. Please continue using them; otherwise this loyal subscriber for over 45 years would have to discontinue my subscription.

The City Council on Wednesday will consider whether to ban stores in Los Angeles from offering single-use plastic carry-out bags. A ban would take some getting used to, but examples from other jurisdictions, including the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, show that it can be done and that shoppers and stores quickly adapt. A ban is the right move. The council should adopt it. For a city with such a strong environmental ethic, Los Angeles is lagging on the plastic bag issue.

Jay, a homeless man sleeping near a Hollywood freeway onramp, awoke to the voices of police Friday morning. Los Angeles Police Department officers Julie Nony and Paula Davidson had rooted out an encampment of nine transients — including Jay — who were sleeping along the Highland Avenue onramp to Highway 101. Nony and Davidson were part of a team of roughly two dozen officers and sheriff's deputies who fanned out across Hollywood, trudging...

A Los Angeles City Council committee moved forward Wednesday with a plan to end the use of paper and plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, saying such a move would spur consumers to switch to more environmentally friendly reusable ones. The council's Energy and Environment Committee forwarded its strategy for banning bags at 7,500 stores to the full council, comparing the change to laws requiring seat belts or banning smoking in restaurants. The vote occurred despite objections from workers at a plastic bag manufacturer who said their company would be devastated if bans are passed throughout the country.

When the city of Los Angeles held off three years ago on banning single-use, carry-out plastic bags, it missed a chance to be at the forefront of environmentally responsible lawmaking in California. By the time it inexplicably delayed a vote again in December, close to 20 cities as well as Los Angeles County had prohibited stores from providing the bags. And since then, the bags have been banned in more than two dozen additional municipalities in the state. More important, in the last three years tens of millions of plastic carry-out bags - possibly hundreds of millions - have been distributed in Los Angeles.

The tale of the brazen con man known as Clark Rockefeller who lied and charmed his way into New England high society has captivated the nation, so much so that it was made into a book and a Lifetime movie. But a hearing that came to a close Tuesday asked if the man was capable of something far more sinister: Did he bludgeon a man to death, hack his body to bits, possibly with a chain saw, carefully wrap the pieces in plastic bags, then bury them all in the backyard of his victim's mother's home, all before setting out on his trail of deception from coast to coast?

Los Angeles police detectives are investigating the slaying of a man believed to be of Armenian descent whose head was discovered Tuesday afternoon by two dogs off a hiking trail below the Hollywood sign. Two women were hiking with nine dogs in the rugged hills near the 3200 block of Canyon Drive when two of the dogs found a plastic bag in the brush containing the head, according to law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation, who asked not to be identified because the probe was still unfolding.

The Santa Monica City Council approved an ordinance Jan. 25 prohibiting the distribution of single-use plastic carryout bags for most purposes. This will significantly affect the city's four certified farmers markets when it takes effect Sept. 1, but vendors and customers are just beginning to understand the ramifications. Several types of bags are used at farmers markets, for varying purposes, and the ordinance treats them differently. The law's chief effect will be to ban so-called T-shirt bags, also known as carryout or carry bags, which have two handles and are generally made of flimsy plastic.

Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a hard-fought victory to environmentalists and promising to change the way Angelenos do their grocery shopping. The City Council voted 13 to 1 to phase out plastic bags over the next 16 months at an estimated 7,500 stores, meaning shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or purchase paper bags for 10 cents each. The ban came after years of campaigning by clean-water advocates who said it would reduce the amount of trash in landfills, the region's waterways and the ocean.

A long-contemplated ban on carryout shopping bags in Los Angeles was held up on Friday when city lawmakers asked for further studies on the economic effect of such a move. The information they receive will help decide the details of the measure - whether it will ban all single-use shopping bags or follow many other California cities and counties in prohibiting plastic bags but still allowing stores to sell paper ones for a small fee. Support for some kind of bag ban appears to be strong on the City Council, where several members have pledged to get the measure passed before March 31, 2012.

Three years after it put off a vote on banning plastic carry-out bags at supermarkets and large retail stores, the city of Los Angeles is poised to try again this week. This time, the ban should be passed, with modifications. Unlike bag ordinances in other municipalities throughout California — including L.A. County — the proposal under consideration Tuesday by the City Council's Energy and Environment Committee also would ban paper bags, depriving consumers who haven't fully adopted the reusable-tote habit of a convenient and less environmentally damaging option.