Do Oregonians support a bag ban?
While Environment Oregon has not conducted a scientific poll of public opinion, we have talked with more than 50,000 Oregonians and have received an overwhelming positive response. During the summer of 2009, the American Chemistry Council defeated the City of Seattle’s 20-cent fee on plastic bags. The ACC cites this defeat as public opposition to laws that reduce the use of plastic bags. In reality, the ACC created a front group called “Save the Plastic Bag,” spent $1.4 million compared to the $80,000 of bag fee supporters, and called the bag fee a “tax on poor people who use food stamps.” Despite this compelling message and significant outspending, the bag fee was defeated merely 53%-47%. Based on our experience in Oregon and the fact we’re pursuing a ban rather than a fee, we feel confident Oregonians strongly support our effort.
