Plastic Bag Ban

The Sarasota City Commission recently approved eliminating the use of plastic bags for yard waste collections. Sarasota is the only local government in Sarasota County that still allows its customers to use plastic bags for yard waste.

ManaSota-88 recommends that the city also determine the feasibility of reducing or eliminating plastic grocery bags' negative impact on our environment and landfills. The Solid Waste Department should determine the costs associated with plastic grocery bag disposal and cleanup.

Reducing or eliminating the use of plastic grocery bags is necessary because:

Plastic grocery bags create a significant litter problem for Sarasota's streets, beaches, sewer systems, and marine environment. It is estimated that plastic accounts for 80% of the volume of litter on roads, parks, and beaches and 90% of floating litter in the ocean.

Plastic grocery bags are difficult and costly to recycle or compost. They increase taxpayer costs by reducing the value of recycled and composted materials contaminated with them. Additionally, they increase disposal costs associated with removing plastic bags from the recycling and composting streams.

Plastic grocery bags add cost to the City’s street cleaning programs and stormwater sewer maintenance programs.

According to the Worldwatch Institute, only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled nationally, and Americans throw away about 100 billion plastic bags annually.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, plastic bags endanger wildlife by polluting land and water, and it takes more than 1,000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill.

The environmental damage caused by plastic bags is significant. The taxpayers of Sarasota are currently subsidizing the production of an unnecessary waste product, and this is unacceptable.

Glenn Compton is the Chairman of ManaSota 88, a non-profit organization that has spent over 30 years fighting to protect the environment of Manatee and Sarasota counties.