Council stays up late to hear bag ban arguments

Thursday’s Council session stretched past midnight, with a vote pending on the proposed plastic bag ban. If approved, the measure would limit the use of single-use bags within the city limits. Approval seemed likely, despite the 11th-hour efforts of both the Texas Retailers‘ Association and Texas Disposal Systems (TDS). The Retailers’ had hoped to give Council Members pause with a coordinated phone call campaign. TDS had hoped to talk Council Members into a curbside bag recycling program. Neither effort looked likely to succeed. It was still unclear whether paper bags would be included in the ban, or whether Council Members would agree to impose an interim fee to help bridge the gap to a ban. –Mike Kanin.