posted July 9 -

Every one of the more than 30 people who crowded into the council chamber at City Hall to speak at a public hearing Tuesday evening did not like the mess that plastic bags are causing in Beeville.

But many of the people who spoke also were against making the use of the bags illegal.

The issue at hand was whether or not the public was interested in having the City Council pass an ordinance banning the use of plastic shopping bags in the city limits.

Mayor Kenneth Chessir opened the meeting for comments, saying that the City Council was concerned about the amount of trash along city streets and its members wanted to hear comments from the public before considering any action that might change the way businesses operate here.

The first speaker, Coastal Bend College employee and free-lance writer Adrian Jackson, set the tone when she said she was against passing an ordinance that would make plastic shopping bags illegal in Beeville. She said she uses canvass bags provided by local businesses for a small fee. She had written a column in the Bee-Picayune a short time back explaining her reasons for using the bags.

Ms. Jackson said the practice of using canvass bags is common in Europe, where she has lived and often traveled.

Another speaker, Judy Long, said she was in favor of an ordinance. She reminded the council that plastic shopping bags are banned in China and India and said that obviously those countries are more progressive than the United States.

“We chase cows,” the speaker said, when they find that plastic shopping bags have ended up snared on the animals.

“We need to look at a bigger picture than just plastic bags,” said local minister Carl Pickett. He said he would like to see the city get rid of discarded tires and other eyesores.

“I’d like to venture a guess and say China manufactures plastic bags and ships them to us.”

Pickett said that if the city outlaws the use of plastic bags, it needs to also outlaw the use of tires, plastic drinking bottles and other items that clutter city streets.

Cathy Anderson, manager at Beeville’s Wal-Mart Supercenter, said her store provides canvass shopping bags for customers for a small fee. She said Wal-Mart will work with the city and abide by any ordinance the council passes.

One speaker urged Mrs. Anderson to have her employees pick up the plastic bags that blow from the Wal-Mart parking lot to the fence line of the Jones property north of the store.

Shelly Parks of the H-E-B Food Store echoed Mrs. Anderson’s comments, saying the city’s largest grocery store would also abide by any ordinance the city passes.

But she noted that H-E-B has been providing canvass shopping bags for some time.

“It’s not an environmental issue,” Ms. Parks said. “It’s a litter and trash issue.”

Real estate agent Sara Jane Dunn commented on the difference in plastic and paper shopping bags.

“Plastic bags will be there for 1,000 years,” she said, “and a paper bag will not.”

“I’m ashamed,” said Michelle Beck when she commented on what she sees when she drives into Beeville and sees all the litter on the roadsides.

Business owner Tammy Smith said she constantly has to pick up discarded plastic bags from her property between the H-E-B and the Diamond Shamrock convenience store.

“Paper sacks are cheaper,” she said.

“We’ll support the city any way it goes,” said Fred Morón, H-E-B store director. But he said the problem is one of educating the public. He said a certain portion of the population will litter until the people learn otherwise.

“We, as landowners, need to take pride in what we have and keep it clean,” Morón said.

“Guns don’t kill people, people do,” said former mayor and County Commissioner Carlos Salazar Jr. “People also cause trash.”

“I’ve been here quite some time,” Chesshir said, “and it’s hard to get the city cleaned up. I understand people are concerned.”

The mayor said the city has spent a lot of effort, time and money addressing the problem of litter and trash in Beeville.

“But keeping the city clean is a civic responsibility and it takes the whole community,” he said.

That prompted one man in the audience to comment on the fact that overgrown yards and broken down homes are just as much a problem as litter in the streets.

Chesshir said the agenda item did not call for action Monday evening so he recommended appointing a committee of concerned citizens who could come up with some recommendations to deal with the litter problem in the city.

A significant number of people in the audience raised their hands when he asked who would be willing to serve on the committee.

City Building Inspector Lanny Holland asked those who volunteered for the committee assignment to call his office and leave names and contact information.

“There is no easy answer,” Holland said of the problem.

Councilmen had few comments on the matter but the council’s newest member, David Carabajal, said he lived in a suburb of Portland, Ore., in 1990 and people there all used canvass bags when shopping.

“We’re 18 years behind the ball right now,” Carabajal said.

“We want to be progressive,” Chesshir said. “We want to move forward.”

By that time people in the audience were suggesting that the council take a two-pronged approach to the problem by outlawing the use of plastic shopping bags and then launching an effort to educate the public on the problem of litter in the community.

“Education is very important,” said City Litter Abatement Officer Kathleen Echevarria. “I hope to see more encouragement to use paper bags or canvass bags.”