Outside MD: Oregon's plastic bag ban fails

Disappointing news out of the Pacific Northwest today as a proposed plastic bag ban has been shelved in Oregon. After building tremendous support from businesses and legislators over the last couple of years, advocates ran into heavy opposition from the plastics industry, and time ran out on a compromise.

Just as in Maryland, the end of the 2011 statewide campaign is leading to several municipal-level proposals, with Portland Mayor Sam Adams vowing to ban the bag in his city of 583,000. Grocers had pushed for a statewide law, preferring that over piecemeal ordinances that vary by county.

For more details, see this article from The Oregonian.