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January 13, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Plastic bag ban will hurt merchants and customers

As an average citizen I could not idly let stand Seattle City Council's misrepresentation that plastic shopping bags are “single use.”

Even ignoring the disruption this law will cause thousands of retail merchants in Seattle — and attendant higher prices for customers — this ban is bad law spun from a myth the most customers dispose of their plastic bags irresponsibly. No we don't! One plastics industry study detected that 92 percent of customers reuse their plastic bags in some manner.

In August 2009 Seattle voters rejected a similar ban by a vote of 53 percent. This time around the plastics industry had begged off because they are overextended in opposing coordinated attacks on this product across the nation. They also think they can counter the Seattle and other bans inside Washington state by pulling strings in Olympia. Actually, they are sorely mistaken, and will be lucky if their “suits” can prevent a statewide ban.

My credit card bank has seen fit to advance me some of their TARP funds to place 79,000 petitions in front of registered Seattle voters. But time is drawing short up to our Jan. 17 signature deadline.

Only now are businesses waking to the jeopardy they face. But they can make an impact every day now through this weekend by offering the petition to their customers. Anyone can print the petition from the download posted at http://www.SaveOurChoice.us.

Craig Keller

co-founder Save Our Choice


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