PORTLAND (AP) – A bill to impose a fee of 20 cents or so on plastic grocery bags as a way to prod consumers to shift to bags that are reusable will not go before the Legislature in the coming session, but its sponsor says he’s not giving up on the idea.

Rep. Ted Koffman, D-Bar Harbor, says a switch to reusable cloth bags would be beneficial because plastic bags harm the environment and it takes a lot of oil to produce them.

Koffman, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, plans to meet this week with representatives of the Maine Grocers Association to discuss voluntary action to curb the use of plastic bags.

The idea seems to be gaining ground. San Francisco has banned plastic grocery bags, and London may follow suit. Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland charge a fee to use them.

“The whole idea is to reduce the amount of plastic bags being used,” Koffman said. “There’s an international movement in this direction.”

Koffman said the fee on each bag used by customers of large retailers would go toward incentives to get consumers to switch to reusable bags. Those with reusables could get discounts on groceries and qualify for lottery drawings, such as $1,000 in cash or groceries, he suggested.

He said the plan should not be labeled a new tax because he doesn’t think the government needs to be involved in handling any of the money.

Legislative leaders looked at the bill this fall but decided not to bring it forward during the upcoming session, which is intended to consider emergency legislation.

While Koffman says his idea is winning “very serious support” from shoppers, some expressed skepticism.

“What are we going to use for diapers?” said Jeff Dice as he loaded his car with plastic bags full of groceries from a Hannaford store in Portland. Shoppers also said they reuse the bags as trash can liners and for cat litter and dog waste.

But Betsy Graves said she already carries most of her groceries in canvas bags, which can be used again and again.

Maine grocers haven’t embraced the fee, but say the rejection of Koffman’s bill provides more time for grocers to consider what they can do on their own.

“We really want to proceed over this next year with an educational program letting people know what their current choices are,” said Amie Joseph, executive director of the Maine Grocers Association.

Major grocery chains, such as Hannaford Bros. Co. and Shaw’s, already sell and promote reusable bags. Hannaford gives shoppers a 5-cent discount on groceries for each reusable bag they use.

In addition, all Maine stores that offer customers the plastic bags also are required to collect those bags for recycling.

Koffman said he’s eager to sit down with the grocery store chains, but he said he also will keep pushing for legislation, even if that comes after the end of his term.

He likens giving up plastic bags to sacrifices his parents made during World War II.

“If we could make sacrifices then,” he said, “why couldn’t we make a small sacrifice now?”

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-11-25-07 1121EST

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