Michigan Should We Ban The Banning of Plastic Bag Banning
Well it appears the plastic shopping bag controversy has not gone away.
Back in 2016 the Michigan legislature passed legislation that was signed by Lt. Governor Brian Calley that prohibited Michigan local government units from regulating plastic shopping bags.
Well that did not sit right with some in our current legislature and now Mlive is reporting about State Representative Robert Wittenberg, D-Huntington Woods, who wants to reverse the law passed in 2016. He has introduced House Bill 4500 which would repeal the law the legislature passed in 2016.
State Representative Wittenberg was quoted saying:
So there was a push to ban. And then they banned banning. And now we are banning the banning of banning
This new bill, which has Republican State Representative Gary Howell, R-North Branch as a co-sponsor, would give the power back to local governments but would not require the local governments to ban plastic bags.
Will the banning of plastic shopping bags help our environment, well an article published in an NPR Michigan Radio publication thinks not. In that article they state:
Plastic haters, it's time to brace yourselves. A bunch of studies find that paper bags are actually worse for the environment. They require cutting down and processing trees, which involves lots of water, toxic chemicals, fuel and heavy machinery. While paper is biodegradable and avoids some of the problems of plastic, Taylor says, the huge increase of paper, together with the uptick in plastic trash bags, means banning plastic shopping bags increases greenhouse gas emissions. That said, these bans do reduce nonbiodegradable litter.
Now what are the people who are for banning plastic shopping bags going to do? Well maybe the half alien half human hybrids have an answer for us all.
The bill has been referred to the Michigan House Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee.
My thoughts: let the individual stores, chains and people decided what they want to do. The Republicans had it right in 2016, less regulation by governments is always the first solution and then we debate what is best for the country and if a regulation is truly needed.
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