Las Cruces Community Radio 101.5 FM
  • Home
  • Donate
  • Listen
    • Archives
  • Schedule
    • Programs
  • Underwrite
  • Merch
  • About Us
  • Events
  • Contact Us

Walt Rubel Commentary: Plastics ban needed; new fee is not

8/25/2021

 
I don’t like plastic bags any more than members of the Las Cruces City Council, who recently passed a ban on them starting Jan. 1.

It’s not just their uncanny ability to escape confinement and sail into the nearest tree or bush, where they will flap in the breeze until somebody comes along and dislodges them. The health and ecological damages caused by plastic bags goes beyond just being an eyesore.
​According to the Center for Biological Diversity, about 730,000 tons of plastic bags, sacks and wraps were produced in the United States in 2015. Less than 13 percent of that will be recycled. The rest will be dumped in a landfill or, worse, in the ocean.

Plastics stored in a landfill never fully degrade, Instead, they break down into microplastics, which absorb toxins and present health dangers to both humans and wildlife.

We eat, drink and inhale these microplastics every day, without knowing it, according to the Plastics Health Coalition. Many products contain chemical additives associated with hormone-related cancers, infertility and neurodevelopment disorders such as autism.

And so, the Las Cruces City Council was responding to a real and growing threat when it voted to ban single-use plastic bags starting next year, with exemptions for things like drycleaning bags and newspaper wrappers on a rainy day.

I understand what they’re trying to do and why it needs to be done. If they had passed an ordinance that simply banned single-use plastic bags, my column today would be in full support of that decision.

Unfortunately, the ordinance does not stop there. It includes a new fee that will create an unnecessary burden for store owners and an additional cost for shoppers.

The ordinance requires that stores charge customers 10 cents a bag for each paper bag they use. Those who qualify for federal food assistance programs would be exempt from the fee. The stores will then be required to file quarterly resorts with the city on how many bags were given away and how many 10-cent fees were collected.

The city and the store will then split that new fee money evenly, with the store using its share to cover the transition away from plastic bags. 

The city will reportedly use its share to educate the public on the need to stop using plastic bags. I’m not sure how much of an education campaign is necessary once the bags are banned.

City Sustainability Officer Lisa LaRocque explained during a recent radio interview that the fee is intended to encourage people to bring reusable cloth bags with them each time they shop. And, maybe a 10 cent reminder will have that effect on some. But the additional burden it will place on retailers would seem to outweigh whatever advantage the new fee will have.

It would be far easier for store owners to comply with the new ban if the city government just got out of the way and let them figure out how best to serve their customers.

Beyond that, by introducing a new fee as part of this process, members of the City Council look like they’re trying to gain a financial benefit from something that needs to be done to protect our health and environment. And, they’re doing it at a time when the city is absolutely awash in federal pandemic relief money, with millions more for the city to follow if the infrastructure bill goes through.

Every new city ordinance doesn’t need to be an opportunity to collect a new fee. 



Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected]
Listen to the audio version.

Comments are closed.

    Shows

    All
    All About Books
    Cafe Con Leche
    Commentaries
    Coronavirus Update
    Delving In
    Earth Matters
    Eye On Government
    Just Community
    Live From The Market
    Live True
    Mesilla Valley Sports Show
    Speak Up Las Cruces
    Special Broadcasts
    Take On Faith
    The Sunday Show
    Think Again
    This Week In Las Cruces

    Music Shows

    You can find a two-week archive of all of our music shows and nearly every other one of our shows by going to our Schedule page.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly