COLUMBUS – The city of Columbus plans to start a pilot program next year to reduce the use of plastic bags by retailers.
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City officials say they will ask businesses along N. High Street in the University District and Clintonville and along the Morse Road corridor to participate in the voluntary program.
Erin Miller, Columbus’ environmental steward, said this is not a ban. Instead, retailers will be asked to do other things, such as asking customers whether they need a bag or if more items can be placed in a bag so fewer bags are used. They also should encourage reusable bags.
They’ll also ask retailers to accept all kinds of plastic bags for recycling, including dry-cleaning bags and the plastic bags inside cereal boxes.
This is a far cry from a year ago, when Mayor Michael B. Coleman said he was looking at everything from fees for using plastic grocery bags to outright banning them. This week, officials with the Ohio Sierra Club said they wonder if the voluntary program is enough.
Elissa Yoder, the group’s conservation coordinator, said she applauds “these first steps,” but the Sierra Club would prefer a 10-cent fee per bag. Six months after Boulder, Colo., instituted a 10-cent fee on disposable grocery bags, use of paper and plastic bags fell there by 68 percent, she said.