In the town of Salem, 25 local businesses have thrown their support behind a campaign against using plastic bags for shopping. The campaign began in a unique way with a visit from the “Bag Monster”. This monster wears 500 plastic bags to represent the amount of plastic bags that one person uses in a year.
A petition with 800 signatures asked the council to pass an ordinance that no longer allows plastic to be used for shopping bags in the city. Salem is not the only town to consider this campaign. Other towns are also involved, including Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Tigard, Bend, and Ashland. However, a statewide ban failed earlier in the year.
Three towns, Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene, already have the ban in place. Those who support the initiative say that plastic bags are hard to recycle and end up in nature areas and waterways.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130801/NEWS/308010002/Campaign-against-disposable-plastic-shopping-bags-finds-support-local-businesses