Starting March 1, shoppers won't be automatically offered thin plastic bags at Austin checkout counters.
This is one result of the City of Austin's new single-use carryout bag ordinance. It is intended to reduce pollution and bring the city closer to its zero-waste goals. Austin City Council approved the ordinance in March 2012. In a nutshell, the ordinance forbids most retailers and businesses from offering single-use carryout bags—the common thin plastic bag or handleless paper bags that are not made of recycled materials—at the checkout counter.
There are exceptions to the ordinance. Grocery store produce bags and some types of restaurant takeout bags, among others, can still be thin plastic bags.
Businesses are encouraging customers to bring their own reusable bags from now on. Stores can provide reusable bags but may charge a small fee for them. Stores are not required to provide any bags.
Customers who forget their bags may receive handled paper bags made of recycled materials or thicker plastic bags that are easier to recycle.
"The general feedback we've heard through a pollster is that people support a ban on single-use bags," Austin Resource Recovery Director Bob Gedert said. "When we started having the public meetings, people were concerned about bags disappearing from their selection, so it changed from a plastic bag ban ordinance to an ordinance regulating what types of bags could be offered."
Grocery stores
H-E-B spokeswoman Leslie Sweet said the supermarket planned to give away 700,000 free reusable bags in the days leading up to the ordinance taking effect.
"We'll continue to have reusable bag giveaway programs after the ordinance takes effect," she said.
H-E-B customers can buy a variety of reusable bags for 25 cents each, Sweet said. The company received permission from the city to sell single-use bags as a last resort. If an H-E-B customer forgets his or her bags, single-use bags may be purchased for $1—the price of four reusable bags, Sweet added.
The ordinance will not significantly affect the Austin locations of Whole Foods Market; the stores' paper checkout bags already meet ordinance standards, spokeswoman Rachel Malish said. The supermarket will continue to offer a 10 cent discount per bag to shoppers who bring in reusable bags.
As of mid-February, Randalls was in the process of finalizing bag options, spokeswoman Connie Yates said.
Local reactions
Rebecca Melancon, executive director of the Austin Independent Business Alliance, said she has heard a variety of responses from alliance members. She said no one is entirely happy, but some people are trying to look on the bright side.
"For some, they're viewing [the new bags] as more expensive, which it is considerably, but asking themselves how can they use this as a marketing opportunity," she said.
AIBA plans to help businesses sell any leftover single-use bags after March 1 by connecting them with businesses outside of Austin.
Arturo Lopez, whose family opened dollar store Jolly Penny on Jan. 22 on Burnet Road in North Austin, said the business is already selling bright-green reusable bags with the business name on the side for $1.
"It's great for the environment," he said of the bag ban. "I wish this would be applied everywhere. I love Austin because it's very progressive."
He said he still thinks many of his customers might not know about the ban on single-use bags.
Goodwill Industries had stopped offering plastic bags and customers had responded positively, spokesman Zubin Segal said.
By mid-February, many businesses throughout the city had already placed "Don't forget your reusable bags" signs in their parking lots.
Background
The City of Austin is committed to reducing the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 90 percent by 2040. In 2011, Mayor Lee Leffingwell said a pilot program aimed to reduce single-use plastic bags was not meeting Leffingwell's goals, Gedert said.
City Council asked staff to prepare an ordinance that would ban single-use plastic bags. Several public hearings and discussions followed, and the ordinance evolved based on public feedback.
Austin City Councilwoman Laura Morrison said there were many trade-offs to consider when crafting the ordinance.
"There were a lot of conversations about recyclable bags, 'Should we or should we not?'" she said. "If you cannot reuse it many times, which is [the case] for the thinner plastic bags, then the impact on the environment gets to be a big deal.
"There was lots of looking for where do we find the right balance in terms of protecting the environment and future and making it workable," she said.
