Bill would ban plastic bags

This thread should be bronzed as a testament to American family values.

"I'm driving down the road right now and looking out my window and in the trees and in the gutters and on the fences, everywhere are plastic bags...."

If he drives down east amid all the cotton fields 'he will look out of his window and in the trees and in the gutters and on the fences, everywhere will be cotton' that has fallen off the back of the trucks hauling it to the gin. During cotton picking season the roads are littered with cotton. Add that to the bill. It is unsightly. And biscuit wrappers. And plastic cups. And cans. And cigarette butts. And junk mail. And beer bottles. And campaign signs that are still posted. And signs that say fresh strawberries next right.

Ban it all.

are you able to pick up 100 billion of these infernal things?

The guy could cure Cancer and some of you would go on the N&O website and complain about it.

There is an area in the Pacific Ocean the size of Texas that is covered with these bags.

"Josh do you know why grocery stores use these RECYCLABLE plastic bags?
Because environmental wackos like yourself said we were cutting down TOO many trees to make paper bags."

That's not really true, Paul. While there were several "save the trees" movements in the 60's & 70's, the real trigger for the widespread use of these (grocery) bags was economics—they became much cheaper than paper.

Environmentally speaking, there are many good reasons to stop using these bags. But I can tell that many commenting here don't really want to know about that stuff, so I'll give you something else to chew on: in North America alone, around 100 billion of these bags are used and discarded every year. Most of those are made from polyethylene, which is a petrochemical byproduct from (mostly) natural gas. The next time you have to take out a loan just to pay your gas bill, keep that in mind.

Could we have a bill.... to outlaw STUPID IDEAS like this one? Give me a BREAK. Feel better about yourself Josh? Legislating all of us to make your conscience clear? Why not organize a cleanup day yourself and do something productive instead of make my life more complicated by having to remember to bring bags to the store. I really wonder how sanitary it is to have raw meat with juice leaking out and more dripping from dairy products sit there in a cloth bag. What a bacteria fest. WAY TO GO JOSH.

Hey Josh! When you see plastic bags on the street and "in the trees" why don't you get out of your car and pick 'em up instead of complaining about it and TAX US AGAIN with all of the gobble-dee-gook that you politicians love to shove down our throats!

TAX them--that is the Democrat Party answer to all problems. Think of all the revenue the Democrats could raise by taxing these bags.

What dumb***,Sen. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat, waste of tax dollars in action.

"Stein said most people would switch to reusable plastic and cloth bags, which can cost as little as a dollar"

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Apparently Mr Stein, for whom I voted, does not need to shop at Walmart to save money for his family. If he did he would know that their reusable plastic/cloth bags only cost fifty cents. While I applaud his efforts to attempt to protect the "smaller" retailer, I have a feeling that his legislation will only in the long run hurt the "smaller" consumer.

Josh do you know why grocery stores use these RECYCLABLE plastic bags?
Because environmental wackos like yourself said we were cutting down TOO many trees to make paper bags. Again here is a liberal that wants it both ways. Does he want to pass a law saying you have to bring your own clothe bags to the store? Again this is more NANNY state ridiculousness.

We all wants a safe, clean, and healthy environment. There are just some people like Josh who want someone else to pay for it.

Nice :)

Hey Josh, it's called litter. And it isn't the plastic bags you should go after, it is the litterbugs. Solve the State budget crisis by having a $999 fine for every incidence of littering. Driving down the roads, I don't notice the plastic bags, I notice the cigarette butts. It isn't all smokers, but a large minority that litter -- my yard is their trash can. Let's enforce the laws on the books. Between the cops, the courts and some PSAs, you could get the word out. Then go after the water bottles, soft drinks and beer cans. They are everywhere -- your 'state flower'. Then, go after the fast food wrappers. You won't solve any problem in this culture until you go after the wallet. Solve drugs: take all the money away from the users and dealers. Solve litter: take all the money away from the litterbugs. Solve jerks in traffic: take their money away. It's not much more complicated than that.

Oh, and rather than go after the distribution points, why not make it financially attractive to use biodegradable plastics. We've spent decades making them, but only tax law can introduce them to the masses. Your solution solves a vanishingly small part of the litter problem.

Those grocery bags are wonderful on a massive scale. They are the cheapest thing on earth. School children should make things out of these bags. NCState would have to watch their students to ensure they don't suffocate, but otherwise, why would anyone pick on plastic bags? They don't take up space and have multitudes of uses.

Isn't there anything else going on that might distract the elected politician? Or am I being too obtuse?

Josh get off the phone while driving! That is dangerous.