skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Beyond Earth Day: The Fight For Plastic Bag Fees

play audio
Play

Monday, April 23, 2018   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Folks around Ohio spent Earth Day picking up plastic bags, bottles and litter from parks and other areas, but efforts to prevent this type of waste pollution in the first place could be hampered.

Senate Bill 210 would prevent local communities from placing fees on disposable bags, bottles and other waste containers.

At DeSalle High School in Columbus, Michelle Maina worked on a class project about the need for bag fees. She contends disposable bags contribute greatly to landfill waste, litter the environment and harm wildlife.

"I have seen a great deal of concern of this issue in our generation," she says. "Each day we see pollution in our community, and if we don't take action now this condition will continue to deteriorate. In the future, I can't imagine how the world will look."

Maina and other students recently met with legislators on the Senate committee considering SB 210. While supporters of the legislation claim bag fees are costly for business and consumers, opponents say part of the fee would help the retailer mitigate any increased expenses. About five percent of disposable plastic bags are estimated to be recycled.

The city of Lakewood recently approved a resolution that supports a proposed 10-cent fee for disposable plastic bags in Cuyahoga County.

Council member at-large Tristan Rader says with more than three and a half miles of shoreline, his city is greatly concerned about the 5.5 million pounds of plastic pollution that contaminate Lake Erie each year. And he adds SB 210 is an attack on home rule.

"There's some people in Columbus that want to strong-arm municipalities and they're willing to forsake the constitution of the state to do that, and I think that's a gross misuse of the Legislature and the power that they have to act in Ohio's best interest," he laments.

Elissa Yoder Mann with the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter explains that addressing waste takes collaboration at the local level, as each community faces its own unique challenges.

"What we see successful is a partnership between businesses, local government and nonprofits who have curbside recycling and city waste pickup," she notes. "So taking a broad-brush approach to waste is not successful."

About 200 counties and municipalities across the U.S. have imposed a plastic-bag fee or banned them.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

From gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson to Superintendent of Public Instruction hopeful Michele Morrow, some Republicans running for office have …

Social Issues

play sound

California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a …


The California Department of Conservation is holding a public meeting online on Sept. 24, to update the public on its progress in plugging abandoned oil wells. (Alizada Studios/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package…

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

The American Heart Association said caregivers often experience personal and spiritual growth, discovering their own resilience, competence and capacity for sacrifice as they help a friend or loved one. (Justlight/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Self-Care Awareness Month and the American Heart Association in Missouri is urging caregivers to take some much-needed time for themselve…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to ensure families have school choice as a fundamental right. Kallie Leyba…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021