Two plastic shopping bags caught in live oak trees outside City Hall on Tuesday set the backdrop for an hours-long discussion about the problem.
The bags became fodder for a rally held by the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation where about 50 residents gathered in support of a fee to discourage use of plastic bags. The conversation later continued inside City Hall where City Council members discussed the proposal and other ways to tackle the plastic bag litter problem, which costs the city about $190,000 a year in cleanup.
Council members agreed the city has a litter problem and needs to have tougher laws and enforcement but stopped short of giving consensus about a bag fee.
Mayor Joe Adame wants the community to work together on a solution within the next two to three months.
"The easy decision is to ban plastic bags," he said.In Style Accessories collecting mencanadagooseparka to donate to shelters. "We have got to figure out a unique way to change people's behavior in the community."
Some City Council members supported the idea of a plastic bag fee, while others said it's not the government's place to tell businesses what to do.
There was some consensus among the council, including an idea for public anti-litter campaign to put more teeth behind the city's litter ordinance, and ramping up litter enforcement. Some council members said it might be effective to embarrass those caught littering by putting their faces in the newspaper or on TV.
People know littering is wrong and the city won't change that behavior without a stronger incentive, said several residents who spoke during public comment.
"We are going to have something stronger than an educational purpose if we are going to make a difference in the litter blowing around on our streets," said Cliff Schlabach, president of the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation. "There is a whole lot of energy going into this effort and I hope we are able to tap into it."
Three schoolchildren from Metro E read essays they wrote about the environmental problems caused by plastic bag litter.
"It's a really bad thing,Most bestchloehandbags can ship the same day FREE via Ground shipping." student Nathaniel Ramirez said. "We need to take responsibility for our Earth."
Many who spoke during public comment supported the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation proposal for a city ordinance to assess a plastic shopping bag fee. The fee would encourage retail customers to bring their owns bags or pay $1 per transaction to use plastic bags.
Most of the money collected would pay for litter cleanups, education and more code enforcement officers.IWC watches are warranted by our omegawatches for a period of one year from the original date of purchase. Some would go to retail stores to cover administrative costs.
The discussion about a plastic bag ban, which for the past two years remained at city committee level, recently gained momentum after the local Surfriders chapter took up a national initiative called Skip the Plastic. The initiative encourages people to bring reusable bags for shopping.
Americans throw away more than 100 billion bags a year, and every hour about 200,000 plastic bags are placed in landfills,List of affordable Breitling prices for used and authentic Breitling in goodhermesbirkin. according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
It's facts like those that prompted resident Katy Frontell to join the local efforts. She carried a sign that said "Our cities' health and beauty vs. convenience," during the Surfrider-led rally outside City Hall.
"We definitely can't eliminate (plastic bags), but we can reduce it," she said.
Several residents asked the council to be courageous and take a stand against the problem so Corpus Christi would not be the last city to do something about it.
Brownsville adopted a plastic bag fee last year, becoming the first Texas city to adopt the ordinance. Three other cities, Fort Stockton, South Padre Island and Pecos, passed similar ordinances. Ordinances also are proposed in Austin, San Antonio and McAllen.
Others offered a different proposal for curbing plastic bag use. The city could offer businesses incentives instead of forcing them to collect a fee, said Allan Johnson, owner of local laundry chain Peerless Cleaners. Stores that don't offer plastic bags or reduce the number they use should in return receive incentives from the city, he said.
Whatever Corpus Christi decides to do will influence neighboring cities and counties,ralphlaurenhoody is proudly powered by WordPress and WPMU Theme pack. said Theresa Finch, environmental coordinator for the Coastal Bend Council of Governments. Finch runs a recycling education program in area schools. Corpus Christi's single-stream recycling program has other communities talking about doing something similar.
The bags became fodder for a rally held by the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation where about 50 residents gathered in support of a fee to discourage use of plastic bags. The conversation later continued inside City Hall where City Council members discussed the proposal and other ways to tackle the plastic bag litter problem, which costs the city about $190,000 a year in cleanup.
Council members agreed the city has a litter problem and needs to have tougher laws and enforcement but stopped short of giving consensus about a bag fee.
Mayor Joe Adame wants the community to work together on a solution within the next two to three months.
"The easy decision is to ban plastic bags," he said.In Style Accessories collecting mencanadagooseparka to donate to shelters. "We have got to figure out a unique way to change people's behavior in the community."
Some City Council members supported the idea of a plastic bag fee, while others said it's not the government's place to tell businesses what to do.
There was some consensus among the council, including an idea for public anti-litter campaign to put more teeth behind the city's litter ordinance, and ramping up litter enforcement. Some council members said it might be effective to embarrass those caught littering by putting their faces in the newspaper or on TV.
People know littering is wrong and the city won't change that behavior without a stronger incentive, said several residents who spoke during public comment.
"We are going to have something stronger than an educational purpose if we are going to make a difference in the litter blowing around on our streets," said Cliff Schlabach, president of the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation. "There is a whole lot of energy going into this effort and I hope we are able to tap into it."
Three schoolchildren from Metro E read essays they wrote about the environmental problems caused by plastic bag litter.
"It's a really bad thing,Most bestchloehandbags can ship the same day FREE via Ground shipping." student Nathaniel Ramirez said. "We need to take responsibility for our Earth."
Many who spoke during public comment supported the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation proposal for a city ordinance to assess a plastic shopping bag fee. The fee would encourage retail customers to bring their owns bags or pay $1 per transaction to use plastic bags.
Most of the money collected would pay for litter cleanups, education and more code enforcement officers.IWC watches are warranted by our omegawatches for a period of one year from the original date of purchase. Some would go to retail stores to cover administrative costs.
The discussion about a plastic bag ban, which for the past two years remained at city committee level, recently gained momentum after the local Surfriders chapter took up a national initiative called Skip the Plastic. The initiative encourages people to bring reusable bags for shopping.
Americans throw away more than 100 billion bags a year, and every hour about 200,000 plastic bags are placed in landfills,List of affordable Breitling prices for used and authentic Breitling in goodhermesbirkin. according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
It's facts like those that prompted resident Katy Frontell to join the local efforts. She carried a sign that said "Our cities' health and beauty vs. convenience," during the Surfrider-led rally outside City Hall.
"We definitely can't eliminate (plastic bags), but we can reduce it," she said.
Several residents asked the council to be courageous and take a stand against the problem so Corpus Christi would not be the last city to do something about it.
Brownsville adopted a plastic bag fee last year, becoming the first Texas city to adopt the ordinance. Three other cities, Fort Stockton, South Padre Island and Pecos, passed similar ordinances. Ordinances also are proposed in Austin, San Antonio and McAllen.
Others offered a different proposal for curbing plastic bag use. The city could offer businesses incentives instead of forcing them to collect a fee, said Allan Johnson, owner of local laundry chain Peerless Cleaners. Stores that don't offer plastic bags or reduce the number they use should in return receive incentives from the city, he said.
Whatever Corpus Christi decides to do will influence neighboring cities and counties,ralphlaurenhoody is proudly powered by WordPress and WPMU Theme pack. said Theresa Finch, environmental coordinator for the Coastal Bend Council of Governments. Finch runs a recycling education program in area schools. Corpus Christi's single-stream recycling program has other communities talking about doing something similar.
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