An ordinance that would ban the distribution of non-compostable plastic shopping bags in the Haines Borough was introduced by the assembly on April 23.

If approved, the draft ordinance would take effect January 1, 2020, to give businesses time to transition. Plastic bags used to package bulk items such as produce, nuts, candy or leaking products are excluded.

Assembly member Heather Lende, who introduced the ordinance, said the sixth-graders and Haines Friends of Recycling who brought the ordinance forward deserve more credit than her. “This isn’t really my ordinance; I agreed with their sentiment,” she said.

Assembly member Tom Morphet said the draft ordinance is “symbolic and good,” but wished the assembly had started by asking business to stop distributing plastic bags. “That might have been friendlier,” Morphet said.

The ordinance was a proposed solution coinciding with this year’s Earth Day celebration that centered on the theme of plastic pollution.

Nearly 90 residents gathered at Haines Senior Center Friday and Saturday to hear local and out-of-town speakers discuss the effects of plastic on the Chilkat Valley’s watershed, raptors and ecosystem.

The event, put on by Haines Friends of Recycling and an ad hoc committee, also included a community-wide cleanup, a screening of the Mario Benassi film “Toxic Treasures” and a school poster contest.

Speakers from the American Bald Eagle Foundation, conservation groups in Cordova and Sitka, and a recycling group in Mat-Su were present.

Ramona Holmes, who has served on the Haines Friends of Recycling board for about two decades, said that having a focal point on a particular issue helped fuel this year’s event.

Haines Sheldon Museum director Helen Alten spoke about the chemistry of plastic degeneration. Alten holds a master’s degree in material science.

Josh Sanko from the American Bald Eagle Foundation presented on how plastics can harm and even kill raptors.

Audience member Jeanne Kitayama said the talks left her depressed but was encouraged at the response to environmental concerns. “Plastic is everywhere,” she said. “It’s in the shellfish, well then it’s probably in all the salmon that we eat, (it’s in) our gardens. It’s unavoidable. I said to the person next to me, ‘I have some bubble wrap if you want to use it.’”

Shae Bowman, representing the Copper River Watershed Project in Cordova, spoke about the success of Cordova’s plastic bag ban. Cordova has about 2,400 year-round residents. According to Bowman’s presentation, businesses distributed an average of 1.2 million bags per year prior to the 2018 ban.

Molly Boyer, recycling specialist in the Mat-Su borough who spoke on their successful bag ban, said she was impressed by the Earth Day event turnout.

“I think that the community participation was incredible,” she said. “It really was inspiring to see the diversity of the interests of the community.” She said the key to success will be “taking what people learned and making sure they’re sharing that with others.”

The ordinance is scheduled for its first public hearings on May 14 and May 28.

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