Chicago's Ban on Plastic Bags Doesn't Ban Plastic Bags

The headlines scream "Chicago Bans Plastic Bags", but is that really the whole story?

Probably the simplest way to understand Chicago's new, and potentially ineffective, ban on plastic bags is the way young "Activist Abby" [Abby Goldberg of Grayslake, IL] explained the effect of the aldermen's decision on her Facebook Page. [See below]

Abby was only twelve when her petition to Governor Quinn [with tens of thousands of signatures], got him to veto a bill endorsed by plastic bag manufacturers. This bill would have prevented local governments from passing ordinances to ban plastic bags in their towns. 

Here's what Abby posted about Chicago's recent ban on plastic bags, which, for some reason, will still allow "compostable" plastic bags: 

Green Plastic Bags = Biobags or compostable bags. Are they really green?

1] These bags do not degrade on the side of the road, in our waterways, or in your backyard compost pile. Our neighborhood farm [Abby's] that collects our compost refuses these bags because their compost pile does not get hot enough to degrade them. 

2] They do not degrade enough in a capped landfill.

3] The "green plastic" cannot be recycled! Sometimes people mistakenly put them in the recycling bin used to collect ordinary plastic bags and this contaminates the whole bunch. BLOG EDITOR'S NOTE: Some towns have ordinances that require ordinary plastic bags to be picked up by companies and returned to the few plastic bag manufacturers who are willing to chop them up and combine them with new plastic to make. . .wait for it. . .more plastic bags. And they call this recycling. 

4] They [the "green" bags] are still an eyesore as litter, a danger to animals, get caught in sewer grates, and act exactly like ordinary plastic bags. 

5] The term "Biobags" and "Compostable bags" is confusing to everyone. Most often biobags still have chemicals and plastic in them. EDITOR'S NOTE: Abby calls this "Green Washing" which Wikipedia describes as a "form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is used deceptively to promote the perception that an organization's products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly."

6] We use crops [corn usually] to make these bags, which require water, fertilizer, pesticides, and lots of energy for their growth. 

7] Green plastic bags are still something we use once and throw away!

Jordan Parker, Chicago's main proponent for really and truly banning the use of all plastic bags in favor of REUSABLES, wrote an excellent opinion in the Chicago Tribune that explains further what's wrong with Chicago's ordinance. [Her byline for the piece uses a different name].

Chicago City Council Should Be Pushing Reusable Bags. 

She and Abby both agree, Chicago missed a huge opportunity because REUSABLE is the way to go.