Plastic Bags Could Get Boot From Big D

City Leaders to discuss banning plastic bags in stores.

Plastic bags will be a hot topic of conversation among Dallas city leaders Tuesday.

Dallas’ Transportation and Environment Committee is scheduled to debate whether or not to ban plastic bags in the city.

"We have become a throwaway society and a part of that throwaway society is the use of plastic bags for everything," said Wendel Withrow chairman of the Sierra Club Dallas.

The group is thrilled to hear the city talking about such a ban. "Certainly even the fact that we are even having this briefing is wonderful. We've taken a huge step forward that the city of Dallas is going in the direction," said Withrow.

The idea is mentioned in broad strokes as part of a plan to significantly reduce waste in the city.

There aren’t any detail of when it would start, if it will be phased in or will be just an outright ban.

In the city's proposal it's not deemed to be mandatory until 2021, but considering this is the first of any discussions anything can change.

The hope is that people use reusable-cloth bags instead.

"A canvas bag just like this can hold as much as 3 or 4 plastic bags," said Withrow.

Outside the Dallas Farmers’ Market where almost all the bags given out are plastic we found Ronnie Foster who is no stranger to the disposable sack.

"I've got probably, I don't know, 300-400 plastic bags at home and when you get them you know you just kind of stuff them in each bag," said Foster.

He’s in favor of the ban for environmental reasons.

"If the wind is blowing you can kind of see them blowing across the freeway or whatever," said Foster.

Contact Us