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You are here: Home / Environment / Conservation / Paper or biodegradable?

Paper or biodegradable?

February 21, 2008 By WRN Contributor

Wisconsin retailers could soon be required to make their plastic bags more environmentally friendly.

Proposed legislation at the Capitol would ban stores from using non-biodegradable plastic bags. Instead, those who continue to offer plastic bags would have to offer those typically made from corn or vegetable oil.

State Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison) says petroleum-based plastic bags are clogging our landfills and environment. They typically take over a thousand years to break down and less than five percent are recycled each year.

Retailers have argued that such a mandate would be too expensive for them to follow. But Pocan, a co-sponsor of the measure, says the bags would only cost a few pennies more. He expects prices would drop as demand increases.

Also, with the cost of oil increasing, Pocan thinks it's only a matter of time anyway before alternatives are needed. The Madison Democrat says this just allows Wisconsin retailers to get an alternative in place now.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 1:08)

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Filed Under: Environment / Conservation





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