Across the country, cities like San Francisco to small towns like Westport, CT, there is a movement to eliminate free plastic bags because of the problems environment. This move does not sit well with Big Oil, which is the fight against all efforts that could hinder the industry 4 billion dollars.

Seattle approved a 20 cent fee for plastic bags, despite the efforts of the media in plastic bags Affiliates (PBA), a group of manufacturers of these bags, like Exxon-Mobil and Dow Chemical. PBA has a concentrated campaign to collect the signatures necessary to put a tax on the upcoming elections, which oil companies once again to keep their business in plastic bags in Seattle.

In California, the PBA held a campaign advertising tried to scare people to think they have to pay $ 400 a year due to taxes, and has completely ignored the fact that the tax will encourage people to carry reusable bags, which then cost the taxpayer nothing.

In 2002, Ireland imposed a tax similar and showed an immediate drop of 90% in the use of plastic bags. Ireland, the reduction in appropriations to save 400,000 barrels of oil per year. China believes it will save 34 million barrels of oil, now has banned free plastic bags.

PBA ads also say that plastic bags are fully recyclable, which is true. But the ads fail to mention that the majority of U.S. cities do not accept plastic bags for recycling, because it can ruin the machine. Less 2% of plastic bags are recycled, according the EPA. It also costs more to recycle plastic bags that the use of virgin resin to make new bags, for it is uneconomical to recycle the bags, despite what the oil companies would have us believe.

Fear of losing billions in sales because Big Oil Movements Come Out roll. To obtain the tax referendum in Seattle, said he estimated that it paid about $ 8 cost of signing the ad. To circumvent California's efforts to ban or tax the airways were filled with gas, food, however, such advertising on the radio! condemn a potential tax on plastic bags. The announcement said the tax would be particularly devastating for small low-income families, people elderly and people living on fixed incomes. Once again, the PBA does not mention that the tax paid by these people would be void if they brought their own bags, which is the main objective of the proposal.

In Annapolis, where the ban was proposed, Donna Dempsey, a spokesman for the plastic bags industry, said paper bags that up to seven times more space than plastic bags, more expensive to transport by truck to the warehouse and shop to shop. Again, makes no mention of reusable bags that cost no shops and storage space.

U.S. lags behind the rest of much of the world when it comes program of reducing plastic bags in large part to money, power and influence of the big oil companies that sponsor the plastic bags Affiliates campaigns to end plastic bag taxes and bans.

Kit Parks is the president of Ecoroot, a reusable products company which donates 20% of its profits to environmental education programs. She writes about environmental and lifestyle issues. Parks can be contacted via the Ecoroot website http://www.ecoroot.com

Paul Guppy interviewed about the Seattle Bag Tax proposal