Paper, plastic, and drama

What about the dog do?

Anytime you try to change people's behaviors, there are going to be some unintended consequences.

In the case of Seattle's effort to get rid of disposable paper and plastic grocery bags, there are many, one of which is that dog owners may have to pay for the plastic they use to scoop up what their pets are returning to nature.

Someone mentioned that problem Tuesday evening at a City Council committee's public hearing on ditching plastic.

The city wants to ban polystyrene containers and charge customers of grocery and convenience stores a 20-cent fee for each disposable bag they use starting in January.

I listened to grocers complain. The fellow from QFC said his customers are voluntarily reducing their use of plastic bags.

But if there is to be a fee, he suggested it be applied by the transaction because a fee applied to each bag will slow down the checkout process.

Grocers said leaving clerks to deal with customers is unfair.

Steve Williamson of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 said his union supports the city's goals but has concerns.

As customers try to stuff more into fewer bags, his members have to lift heavier loads. And if some shoppers bring unsanitary bags with them, clerks will have to touch them.

Safeway's speaker said she is concerned about the impact on people with limited income.

Reusable bags can be bothersome. We have a big supply of them, but too often I don't have one with me when I need it. (Which means buying more, thus the growing pile.)

Worse, I show up at PCC with Safeway bags in the trunk. Carrying a PCC bag into Safeway is no biggie, but the other way around is socially embarrassing. Someone might think I buy white bread and produce that isn't organic.

There's a Whole Foods near work. I'd sometimes pick up lunch there, so I bought one of their reusable bags, but I always leave the office without it, which means I can't buy lunch at Whole Foods. The upside is that I've saved a lot of money. There's always another side.

One speaker said that grocers concerned about low-income customers could give them reusable bags.

Another mentioned a market that keeps a supply of reusable bags on hand for people who've forgotten theirs.

Some folks noted grocery bags are a small part of the pollution problem, but several said doing something about them is the easy first step in a broader lifestyle change.

That's how I see it. The problems we have with food, pollution and energy are going to change the way we live, whether we are ready or not.

One man said, "If you think that is too hard, try finding another planet that will sustain human life."

Ellie Rose of Foam-Free Seattle showed off a tall stack of postcards signed by people who support the city's plan to bag plastic. "People will learn how to bring their own bags in the same way we learned to buckle our seat belts and the way we will soon learn to drive without talking on a cellphone," she said.

We'll just have to step around the unintended consequences.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.