AUSTIN -- The debate over a proposal to ban plastic bags at grocery stores in Austin was met with organized opposition Tuesday morning.
One day after Austin city leaders held a public input workshop regarding the ban, The Texas Retailer’s Association released results of their own survey of Austinites. They say their poll shows that an overwhelming number of locals are against the idea of doing away with plastic bags.
The TRA surveyed 402 registered voters by phone and say that 72 percent are against a plastic bag ban. Another 90 percent say they reuse those bags at home. Ninety-one percent said they’re aware of in-store recycling options.
Across town there was a difference of opinion at recycling center Ecology Action of Austin, located at 9th Street and Interstate 35.
“They muck up the machinery," explained Karly Jo Dixon of Ecology Action of Austin. "They get wrapped around every little piece of anything that they can find, the forklift tires, the gears. They fly!"
“I'm curious what a poll would look like before seat belts were made legal. How many people didn't want to wear seat belts and now we think of it as a public health issue and I think we need to think of plastic bags as a public health issue,” said Dixon.
The Austin City Council is scheduled to look at the plastic bag issue again early next year.
