Supervisors ban plastic bags for yard waste

The correct way to put yard waste on the curb.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 Feb. 23 to
ban the use of plastic bags for curbside yard waste pickup.

Instead of plastic bags, county residents now must use paper bags or reusable bins. Another alternative, suggested Eric Forbes of
the Fairfax County solid waste division, is to practice “grass cycling” by
leaving grass clippings on the lawn.

Every one of the dozen or people who testified at the BoS
hearing supported the ban.

Environmental harm

Several members of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
spoke about how plastic bags cause environmental harm. When yard waste is
composted in the Fairfax County recycling center, they said, bits of plastic eventually
get into the soil and streams, harming wildlife and human health.

Plastic comes from petroleum, a huge drive of climate
change. Eric Goplerud, board chair of the Faith Alliance, said it’s a moral
issue for everyone to take whatever steps are necessary to reverse climate
catastrophe.

Related story: Fairfax County phasing out plastic bags for yard waste

Helene Shore, co-chair 350 Fairfax, an environmental group,
said if current trends continue, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean
by weight than fish.

Loretta Rowe of the Climate Action Group of the Unitarian UniversalistCongregation of Fairfax, said  microplastics not only end up in water, air, and  food – they also end up in our bodies

Braddock District resident David Kuebrich, called plastic “immortal”
because once it gets into the environment, it never disappears. And once
microplastics get into the human body, they can cause nervous diseases, cancer,
infertility, and developmental delays.

Create your own mulch

Instead of leaving yard waste on the curb for pickup,
several people urged residents to mulch or compost the waste themselves and use
it on their own plants.

Decomposing leaves are good for trees and offer a shelter
for insects that support bird populations, noted Renee Grebe, Northern Virginia
conservation advocate for the Audubon Naturalist Society.

While paper bags are preferable to plastic, they have an
environmental cost, too, as the manufacturing process uses a lot of water, said
Whitney Redding of Friends of Holmes Run. Reusable bins are a better solution.

Paper bags cost more – about 50 cents a bag compared to 30 cents for plastic – but the long-term cost is higher, said Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay. Plastic damages the county recycling equipment and the environmental harm has a long-term cost.

Supervisor Daniel Storck (Mount Vernon) noted the process to
ban plastic bags began in 2016. Since then, he said there has been extensive
outreach to the community, including meetings, flyers, and discussions with
HOAs, private hauler, and landscaping companies. Other Northern Virginia jurisdictions have
already banned plastic bags for yard waste.

Residents will have to adjust 

Supervisor Penny Gross (Mason) voted for the ban but noted she
felt conflicted about it as many constituents complained it would be inconvenient.

Supervisor Pat Herrity (Springfield), the only supervisor to
vote against the ban, cited the higher cost of paper bags, debris caused when
paper bags get wet, environmental problems caused by manufacturing paper bags,
and community opposition. He proposed an amendment to allow biodegradable plastic bags, but the motion failed to be seconded. 

Supervisor James Walkinshaw (Braddock) noted that plastic bags
marketed as biodegradable do not actually keep plastic out of the environment.  

McKay said the emails he received were evenly split among
those who supported and opposed the ban. “Change is hard,” he said. “Sometimes what’s inconvenient is
the right thing to do.”