It was a packed house at the Eugene City Council meeting Monday night as the city council voted on two heated issues. At the end of the night, the council decided to pass a plastic bag ban and they opposed bringing coal trains through
The Register-Guard reports that the ban on thin plastic bags passed 6-2 Monday night. The coal train resolution was approved in a 5-3 vote.
The bag ban will take effect in six months. The ordinance requires retailers to charge a minimum of 5 cents for each paper bag dispensed in place of plastic bags. Councilor Alan Zelenka says that’s an incentive to switch to reusable bags.
The ban contains some exemptions, such as the bags used to carry produce, meat and bulk food.
Lane County Management said the plastic bags are recyclable, but the number of bags they actually see recycled is going down.
They expect more people are throwing them away and sending them to landfills.
The coal train resolution arose in response to the possibility of coal being shipped by railroad through
Also on the agenda Monday night, the Eugene City Council voted 5 -3 to discourage coal trains from passing through
There is a plan to bring coal trains from
However, the Eugene City Council decided to vote against it anyways.
Some council members said they are not sure if they have the authority to ban the trains since it’s regulated by the federal government, and treated this vote as a symbolic message.
