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After years of wrangling, Oregon grocers and environmental groups are lining up behind a statewide ban on single-use plastic checkout bags aimed at cutting plastic litter and boosting the state's paper bag makers.

A draft ban proposed for next year's legislative session would bar the plastic checkout bags by November 2011. It would require at least a nickel charge on recycled paper checkout bags to cover their higher cost and encourage use of reusable bags, but would likely increase paper bag use even with the extra charge.

A hearing at the Capitol Wednesday featured support from the

grocer Fred Meyer, paper-bag maker

, recycler

and environmental groups, including

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If it clears the Legislature, Oregon would likely be the first state to adopt a statewide ban.

Environmental groups like the ban's potential to cut "litter that never goes away," as Brock Howell of Environment Oregon puts it.

The nickel charge -- opponents call it a "stealth tax" -- also helped win support from the grocers association, whose members have seen paper bag use soar at stores that eliminate plastic checkout bags.

And the potential for higher use of paper bags helped draw in International Paper, which operates a Kraft bag manufacturing plant in Beaverton.

State Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, spearheaded the effort, with support from Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point. The two co-sponsored a bill banning plastic checkout bags that failed in the short legislative session earlier this year.

That version didn't include a nickel fee on paper bags and left grocers wary. Hass said he's encouraged by business support of the new proposal heading into a legislative session likely to focus on jobs.

"These plastic bags have taken their toll on Oregon's environment, but they've also taken their toll on Oregon's economy," Hass said. "The number of Oregon jobs (making paper bags) has steadily eroded in large part because of the use of plastic, non-biodegradable bags."

Plastic bags cost less, but they are recycled less and littered more often, according to a study earlier this year for Green Cities California.

They fly away from landfills and garbage cans. They often end up in the ocean, Surfrider and other ocean advocates say, threaten marine life and birds and contribute to the garbage gyre in the North Pacific.

The bags, which aren't supposed to be included in curbside recycling, also regularly jam Oregon's recycling sorting machines, sending more recyclables into the garbage pile.

Opponents of plastic bag bans, including the American Chemistry Council, are likely to sue if a ban passes. They say claims of damage from plastic bags are exaggerated and communities can do more to recycle them.

The biggest environmental drawbacks of paper bags include "significantly larger greenhouse gas emissions" than plastic and higher water consumption, the study for Green Cities concluded.

If resusable bags are used at least a few times, they have "significantly lower environmental impacts," the study said.

Fourteen U.S. cities and counties, with San Francisco in the lead, have banned plastic checkout bags, drawing lawsuits in California. Washington, D.C., debuted a nickel fee on all single-use bags Jan. 1.

Hass's draft proposal would exempt pharmacies, restaurants, farmers markets and other outlets whose main business is preparing food and drink. It would not apply to non-checkout bags, including plastic bags in produce sections.

But the ban would apply to all other retailers, including department stores and convenience stores. It would also bar local governments from enacting self-styled bans, as Portland considered earlier this year.

Paper bags would have to be at least 40 percent recycled content to be used at checkout. Besides covering higher store costs, the minimum charge of five cents on paper is designed to encourage shoppers to switch to reusable bags.

Mike Ellis, Fred Meyer's president, told the

Wednesday that reusable bag use has steadily increased.

But paper bag use soared sixfold after the grocer eliminated plastic checkout bags at its Hawthorne store in Portland in 2009. A subsequent pilot ban at all 10 Portland stores also drove up use of higher-cost paper bags, he said.

"We achieved great success eliminating plastic bags, but really shifted from one disposable bag to another," Ellis said. "Any legislation removing plastic must incent customers to switch to reusable bags."

Ellis didn't say it, but it's clear that Fred Meyer and other retailers don't want to unilaterally impose a paper bag fee. That's why the draft proposal requires retailers to charge a fee.

In September, California's Senate rejected a similar statewide ban. Republicans and some Democrats opposed the bill, saying it would add costs for shoppers and intrude on personal choice.

Joe Gilliam, president of the grocers association, said he's not sure how the ban proposal will fare in Oregon's Legislature.

"This is a big behavioral change for consumers," Gilliam said. "There will be a lot of interest (from legislators) in how it impacts the stores in their districts."

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