Letter: Urge City Council to ban single-use plastic bags

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

At its upcoming Sept. 27 meeting, Asheville City Council will deliberate whether to take up a ban on single-use plastic shopping bags and Styrofoam. At the last Governance Committee meeting, city staff asked for a two-year delay before voting to reduce plastic pollution.

The Plastic-Free WNC coalition urges City Council to act now. Every year the city waits to pass an ordinance, approximately 63 million single-use plastic bags will end up in local landfills, breaking down into even more microplastic pollution and littering our forests, rivers and streams.

Mountain Xpress readers: Please attend the Sept. 27 meeting and urge Asheville City Council to take immediate action to protect public health and the environment. No more delays; we need to fight plastic pollution today. For more information, visit: [avl.mx/c0w].

— Anna Alsobrook
French Broad Watershed Outreach Coordinator
MountainTrue
Black Mountain

Editor’s note: MountainTrue representatives tell Xpress that the proposed ban on single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam won’t be discussed at City Council’s Sept. 27 meeting but has been delayed until an unspecified meeting in October. MountainTrue will post updates at plasticfreewnc.com/avl.

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4 thoughts on “Letter: Urge City Council to ban single-use plastic bags”

  1. Taxpayer

    There are so many huge issues in Asheville right now my concern over plastic bags is having difficulty gaining traction.

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  2. A

    There’s much more important issues to worry about than plastic bags…is this serious? What about poor people who can’t afford to buy reusable bags? This is a waste of time.

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  3. kw

    Surely, we can handle more than one challenge at once. Reducing plastic is a no-brainer if we wish to safeguard our environment. How can the Sierra Club continue to endorse these people if they’re not going to step up and get this done now? Waiting 2 years is silly and myopic. If those experiencing homelessness need cloth bags, BCTDA/Sierra Club/MountainTrue/Wealthy Retirees can surely find a way to provide them with bags.

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