Still unhappy with last year's ban on plastic bags for yard waste, Louisville Metro Councilman Kelly Downard is seeking to reverse it.
The District 16 Republican and former mayoral candidate has filed a draft ordinance that would make non-compostable plastic bags "specifically permitted" for the collection of yard waste, a practice stopped last year by Louisville's solid waste management district board. Compostable Bin Liners
The ban has been in place since Jan. 1, and Downard said he wants to "have a discussion" about whether it's worked, whether district and city officials promises were kept and whether the district had the authority to take the action it did.
"I don't know whether there is going to be a change or not," he added.
But he said he believes paper yard waste bags are more expensive and less useful; they hold fewer leaves, he said, and they rot if left out in the rain.
The district has suggested a variety of alternatives to plastic bags they said can save money and help the environment over the long run, including reusable containers, mulching and composting.
Metro Council members twice considered the yard waste issue since 2008, but never mustered the votes to impose a plastic bag ban for yard waste. With the backing of Mayor Greg Fischer, the state-sanctioned waste management district board used what it described as its authority under Kentucky law to act and did so with the advice of the Jefferson County Attorney's Office.
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District officials last year said the ban was needed because plastic contaminates yard waste and makes it hard to produce commercial compost. The goal is to keep yard waste out of landfills, but when it's contaminated with plastic, that's where it ends up. A lot of other cities have similar policies to discourage plastic bags for yard waste, they argued.
Fischer's spokesman Chris Poynter defended the ban.
"This ordinance would be a huge step backward," he said. "The ban on plastic bags is good for the environment, good for the landfill and citizens get it. It’s a non-issue. There is simply no need to change it.”
Downard said he's received some complaints from constituents but "not as many as you'd think."
Pete Flood, a supervisor with the solid waste district, said there has been a 99 percent compliance rate.
"That's just phenomenal," he added, saying residents are understanding why the district made the change,
Republican Councilman Kevin Kramer unsuccessfully tried to get the bag ban repealed in February. He argued that Metro Council, not mayoral appointees, should have made the decision.
Last week, an ordinance sponsored by Kramer was passed that will require council approval of waste board appointees and require the waste board to report any new rules to the council within three days of adopting them.
Downard's proposed ordinance is scheduled to be introduced at Metro Council on Thursday.
"We want to discuss all these issues again," Downard said.
biodegradable bags Reach reporter James Bruggers at (502) 582-4645 and at jbruggers@courier-journal.com.