Michael Wiener, a member of the Albuquerque City Council, has been urging the council to impose a citywide phase-out of plastic bags, which he says can harm the environment.
Wiener says that paper sacks are less dangerous to animals and children, and that they decompose more quickly than plastic.
On Monday the Council voted on Wiener's proposal. It stopped short of banning plastic shopping bags. Instead, the council voted to encourage grocery and retail stores to eliminate the use
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of plastic bags.
The council voted 8–0 to encourage people to use paper sacks. Members also asked that the mayor study a plan that would require the city to phase out plastic garbage bags.
"I don't think there's enough trees in the world to go back to all paper packaging," Truett Gill told the council before the vote. Gill is the president of the New Mexico Growers Association. He said that he supports voluntary recycling programs but not a ban.
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education