Portland City Council is considering extending its plastic bag ban.

Portland City Council is considering extending its plastic bag ban.

A year on from prohibiting single-use plastic bags in favour of paper bags and reusable cotton alternatives, there has been much debate as to whether regulatory burdens should be amended.

However, rather than allowing leniency towards local businesses the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability will be discussing proposals to extend the ban to apply to all retailers, not only larger stores, Oregon Live reports.

A report from the group also suggested that it might be beneficial to require businesses to charge nominal fees for each recycled paper bag used.

Outgoing Mayor Sam Adams has put forward a compromise, which would require all retail establishments and food providers to use only recycled paper bags or reusable bags by October 1st 2013, however charges were not mentioned.

Last month grocers and environmentalists requested mandatory bag fees to mitigate any unintentional increase in carrier bag usage, however it seems that businesses will have to follow any regulations decided in the coming weeks.

It has been argued that adopting a bag fee would merely shift the cost burden to consumers, rather than making the majority of people stop and consider the environmental impacts of their bag usage.

On November 15th the city council will discuss whether or not to expand the bag ban, as well as possibly introducing surcharges for customers.

The newspaper warns that while rules may ban retailers from offering free single-use bags the legislation does not prevent consumers from buying their own from other areas or purchasing them from the internet.

Instead it claims that the most effective way to reduce the city's plastic bag usage is to educate people about the environmental benefits of paper bags and other reusable and recyclable options.

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