Environmental Leader

A ban on disposable plastic bags in Virginia has been pulled at the request of plastics industry representatives, reports DailyPress.com

The proposed bag ban came after Virginia legislators saw the success of such programs in Ireland and other countries. Support for a ban also originated with Virginia’s cotton farmers who find the bags blowing into their fields and clogging bales of cotton.

But the Virginia Plastic Bag Coalition, which includes industry representatives who have lobbied nationally against plastic bag bans, said they favored a recycling program instead. A similar measure requiring stores to charge customers 5 cents a  bag was also withdrawn.

Over 100 plastic-bag bans or taxes were brought up by cities and states in 2008, but many failed. Like Virginia, New York state last year passed a plastic-bag recycling law instead of an outright ban.

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