A new campaign was launched on March 4 in Bellingham by community members, Bag It Bellingham, to get rid of single use plastic bags in grocery stores.

The goal is to have stores within the city limits of Bellingham stop providing single-use plastic bags, and have a 5-cent fee for paper bags, according to Seth Fleetwood, city councilmember.

Fleetwood introduced the ordinance to the public to get feedback, he said. As of now, the ordinance is still in the process of being passed by the city council.

The proposed ordinance will be the first in Washington state to not only prohibit single-use plastic carryout bags, but to also provide incentives to use reusable bags by requiring a customer to pay 5 cents for a recycled paper bag, according to the press release.

The 5 cents would go toward the stores to reimburse them for the bags being used.

Fleetwood has gotten a lot of personal feedback that was positive, but some people are against it, he said.

“Even though there are people against it, I have high hopes that this will pass,” Fleetwood said.

Bellingham’s Community Food Co-op on North Forest Street and Village Books on 11th Street have already showed their support for the campaign. Village Books got rid of plastic bags years ago and have received positive feedback, according to the press release.

The Bellingham Surfrider chapter is supporting the campaign as well.

The Surfrider Foundation is an international nonprofit organization that focuses on protecting our oceans, beaches and water. The

Northwest Straits chapter in Bellingham is supporting the Bag It Bellingham campaign because plastic bags pollute beaches and oceans and getting rid of plastic bags in grocery stores is a small step to correcting the problem, according to Eleanor Hines, president of the Northwest Straits Surfrider chapter.

The United States uses 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually, requiring an estimated 12 million barrels of oil, according to the Surfrider website.

“Plastic bags are one of the biggest polluters,” said Kellie Dalrymple, Surfrider executive of the Bellingham chapter. “There are six pounds of bags in the ocean to every pound of plankton; we need to change that.”

The campaign concept was created in 2009, but a lack of volunteers limited the campaign, Hines said. Jill MacIntyre Witt, a Bellingham resident, stepped up and volunteered to restart the campaign in the fall.

“Jill is highly motivated,” Hines said. “(She's) exactly the kind of person to take on a project like this.”

MacIntyre Witt said she got involved because she knew the harm plastic bags could cause to the environment and wanted to do something about it, she said. With the joint effort of businesses, organizations and volunteers, they were able to get a campaign started, MacIntyre Witt said.

If the campaign goes as well as they hope, Bellingham will be getting rid of 22 million plastic bags per year that could otherwise pollute the environment, the press release said.

Bag It Bellingham has also partnered up with RE Sources, which is a nonprofit environmental education organization founded as Bellingham Community Recycling, according to MacIntyre Witt.

They came together to declare April 2011 as Plastic Pollution Reduction Month. During the month of April they will put on events throughout Bellingham to raise awareness about the use of plastics and the harm they cause to the environment.

Western junior Tawna Reed said she understands why this campaign was started but does not like it. Reed said plastic bags are more convenient; they are easier to carry and can hold more items.

Plastic bags have many uses, Reed said. She uses them as garbage bags and for her lunch. Reed said she does not like the idea of having to pay for paper bags because if she has to pay every time she goes grocery shopping, the money will add up.

“I have reusable bags at home, but I never remember to bring them,” Reed said.

Western junior Brandon Bethel, who grew up using reusable bags, said this campaign is a good idea. Bethel said it is beneficial for everyone, especially the environment. The only concern he had was the 5-cent fee because he wondered where the money was going.

If it is going toward raising awareness about the campaign, then he agrees it is a good idea. If it is just going to be used as an incentive to get people to remember their reusable bags, he does not agree with that, he said.

Other chapters of the Surfriders in Washington have created a similar campaign. The nearest one was in Edmonds, and they eventually got the campaign to pass, Dalrymple said.

Starting a campaign like this can be tricky, she said. There are big companies that will try to stop the campaign, Dalrymple said.
Companies tried to counter campaign in Edmonds, but the Edmonds chapter prevailed in the end, Dalrymple said.  When the Seattle chapter tried a similar campaign, they were not able to pass the bill because of the large companies, she said.