The Impending Plastic(and Paper) Bag Ban in Fort Collins, CO.

A newly enacted ordinance that was put in place by Fort Collins, CO city counsel is causing a large debate among it's citizens. There is an impending "ban" on disposable plastic and paper bags, but if you are willing to pay the price of only $0.05 to $0.10 a bag- you can continue using them. 

Ordinance No. 099 proposed to charge it's shoppers a fee of $0.10 a bag, having it's costs go directly to the merchants. The ordinance is also banning the grocer/ store from giving away the disposable bags after the law is set in place.

Many other Colorado towns are following suit. Boulder, being one of the first cities (Aspen, CO which was the first) to enact a disposable bag ban, began in July of 2013 and has even offered assistance for it't citizens with the cost of the reusable bags. 

The evidence that disposable bags are harmful on the environment is monumental. Some argue that it will take approximately 500 years for a plastic bag to decompose, while others argue that plastic bags never decompose and potentially release harmful toxins into the soil and our atmosphere. 

I do not think that this ban is something that takes our individual liberties away, as many angered citizens are arguing. I believe that it is simply encouraging our citizens to be more environmentally conscious, and to help eliminate our carbon footprint on the earth.