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Environmental group is trying to ban single-use plastic bags in Columbia

The Columbia City Council voted to keep taxi stands on local streets.
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The Columbia City Council voted to keep taxi stands on local streets.

Columbia shoppers could be looking at an extra charge when they get to the end of the checkout line in the grocery store. The Missouri Chapter of the Sierra Club proposed an ordinance at Monday’s city council meeting that would ban single-use plastic bags. The ordinance would require shoppers to bring their own reusable bags or pay for paper bags to use at checkout.

The Sierra Club is proposing this ordinance because of the harm single-use plastic bags cause the environment. Jan Dye is the chairperson of the Columbia chapter of the Sierra Club.

"Our initial proposal is to ban plastic single-use bags at any rental store that sells perishable food items," said Dye.  

City Council Member, Ginny Chadwick, says she agrees that single-use plastic bags are bad for the environment but she thinks stores should be allowed to choose how they go about getting rid of them.

“I can see the proposition letting the store owners decide exactly how they implement that: if they want to provide paper bags, if they want to charge, you know, 10 cents a paper bag or if they want to give you a discount if you bring your own bag. That’s something that they can probably work out,” said Chadwick.

The ordinance was passed to the Columbia Energy and Environment Commission. Chadwick says the City Council will take their referral into account before an ordinance is passed. Dye says the ordinance is necessary to help save the environment.

"It adds a little bit of complexity at the checkout line but I think that complexity is worth it," said Dye.

If the City Council passes the ordinance, Columbia would not be the first city to implement a measure like this. In September, the state of California banned single-use plastic bags. Cities in Arizona and New Mexico have also banned the use of plastic bags.

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