Ban Plastic Bags In Seattle? Fight Heats Up

A gray whale that washed up on a Puget Sound beach last year has become Exhibit A in the debate over whether to ban plastic bags in Seattle.

Environmentalists point to the contents of the dead whale's stomach, itemized in a necropsy, as a compelling argument that the thin-film carryout shopping bags should be outlawed. The inedible trash that the whale had ingested included sweatpants, a golf ball, surgical gloves, small towels and more than 20 plastic bags.

"While it's true we don't know what killed the whale, I think we can all agree those plastic bags don't belong there," said Dan Kohler, regional director of Environment Washington, which — along with several other environmental groups including People for Puget Sound and the Sierra Club — supports the city's proposed ban on plastic bags as a way to protect the Sound and marine wildlife.

But opponents of the ban, including the plastics industry and some independent grocery stores, say plastic bags represent a fraction of the litter that ends up in the water. What's more, they argue, plastic bags are convenient, reusable and recyclable.

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