A forum hosted by Recycling Advocates

6:30 pm - Reception

7-9 pm - Annual Member Meeting & Public forum

Where: Portland City Hall, Council Chambers, 1221 Southwest Fourth Avenue

RSVP: info@RecyclingAdvocates.org

Countries as diverse as Ireland, China, Bangladesh, Uganda and South Africa have all passed laws that in some way restrict the free distribution of plastic check-out bags and many more are currently considering it. Closer to home, last year San Francisco became the first major US city to pass a bill that will eventually ban all plastic bags from grocery stores and pharmacies. Los Angeles followed suit and Seattle's City Council voted to implement a 20-cent fee for plastic and paper bags at grocery, drug and convenience stores.

Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams recently announced his plans to bring a resolution forward before the end of 2008 that will impose a fee on both paper and plastic check-out bags.

What are the implications of the massive and widespread use of plastic and paper bags? Doesn't Oregon do a good job with recycling them? How does Commissioner Adams' proposal compare to Seattle's or San Francisco's? Why aren't we proposing an outright ban? How will grocery stores and consumers handle the fee? Where do compostable bags fit into the equation? Now that Portland is considering a solution, when can the rest of Oregon expect the same? The panel includes:

· David Allaway, Waste Prevention Specialist, Oregon DEQ

· Tom Watson, King County Recycling Specialist and Seattle-Times Eco-consumer columnist

· Sam Adams, Portland City Commissioner and Mayor-Elect

· Brian Rohter, CEO, New Seasons Market

This forum is FREE and open to the public.

Please be sure to RSVP to info@RecyclingAdvocates.org.