Reported By Emily Lampa
TALLAHASSEE -- In an effort to reduce waste, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is considering phasing out the use of disposable bags at retail stores, which means you may soon have to bring your own bags to grocery stores and the mall.
Currently, the DEP is collecting information about how much waste is really generated from one time use retail bags.
They estimate billions of bags make it into landfills each year.
The plan is still in the proposal phase, but already it's caused quite a stir at checkout lines in Central Florida.
Deleigh Sowers uses reusable bags when she shops at her local Publix in Altamonte Springs.
She supports the DEP's plan to cut back on one time use paper and plastic bags.
"My third grader encouraged me to buy them because they were talking about recycling at Wekiva," Sowers said.
According to the DEP, the proposal stems from the Energy, Climate Change and Economic Security Act of 2008, which asks state environmentalists to reduce waste output through regulations on disposable bags.
But not all other shoppers support the idea.
Bonnie Compton reuses her shopping bags, and worries the DEP proposal would end up costing her in more ways than one.
"I use them for -- oh my goodness -- all kinds of things,” Compton said. “Trash bags in my smaller trash cans, my sons come over and take items home, and they're just really handy to put all lot of things in. I would like to keep having the plastic that we can reuse and recycle."
If the legislation is accepted under the proposed plan, the single use bags would continue to be available to customers, but for an escalating fee -- starting at a nickel a bag -- to try to deter shoppers from using them.
"I use the others so much, and I'm so forgetful with the cloth ones,” said Connie Hutcheson. “Now if there were no others but cloth ones, I'd remember them I'm sure."
"What we're finding is that all single use bags -- whether they be plastic or paper -- have a negative impact on our environment as a whole, and the fact of the matter is so few of them get recycled, and we can do a better job of using less. And that's what we're trying to do," said Jeff Prather from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The DEP has four months to collect information about retail bag waste.
They must present their recommendations to the Florida Legislature by February.
The DEP will be hosting public meetings in Tallahassee to give people a chance to speak out on the topic.
The next meeting is Nov. 19.
If you can't make it out to Tallahassee, you can also leave your comments on the Florida DEP’s Web site or via e-mail at Retail.Bags@dep.state.fl.us.
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