Virginia beach is tangled up in plastic bag fee issue

Source: WAVY.com

The explanation for the withdrawal of the proposed plastic bag fee in Virginia Beach

According to environmentalists, Plastic bags are one of the items that generate an ever greater quantity of trash and lead to environmental deterioration. 

Guy Tower, a councilman from Virginia Beach, proposed charging $.05 per plastic bag for shoppers at the city's grocery stores in an effort to reduce the amount of plastic bags in the environment. The cost is intended to promote the use of reusable bags, but for now the idea appears to be dead in the water. At the city council meeting on Tuesday night, the councilman withdrew it.

The public and the newly elected council members should have a chance to comment, according to Tower. He is optimistic that a fresh plan will be accepted soon. Until it was abolished in 2017 there was an eight-year ban on plastic bags in the Outer Banks.

Source: 13News Now

Consumers have conflicting views due to the implementation of a bag tax

“I don’t think it’s fair,” said Mimi Chea of Kill Devil Hills. “We shouldn’t be charged. It’s bad enough we’re doing our groceries, and everything is going up. Why should we be charged $.05 for a bag?” Shopper Steven Garrett said he’d be willing to pay a fee.

“I would be all for it, because plastic stays in the environment forever,” the Kill Devil Hills resident said. “It just don’t go away.”

Tourists primarily visit the Outer Banks and Virginia Beach for the beaches, however environmentalists claim that plastic bags commonly end up on the sand, on the roads, and in the sea. In addition to being unsightly, litter has a significant impact.

“They do harm to aquatic life as well as human life in the end, because they don’t go away,” said Lisa Renee Jennings, the Hampton Roads Grassroots Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “Plastic bags simply break down to microplastics, which are eaten by smaller fish, larger fish and ultimately consumed by humans. So, in many ways, plastic bags are not doing the environment any help.”

Some people on the Outer Banks, including avid surfer Robert Fanney, said more needs to be done to keep the bags out of the water.

“We all enjoy the ocean and I believe we all just need to take a little bit of responsibility to protect our shores,” said Fanney.

Source: 3 WTRK

TLPPACKAGING FOR SHOPPING BAGS