by Adam Shear
COPPERAS COVE - Following in the foot steps of other Texas cities, the City of Copperas Cove is considering banning plastic bags.
Some Copperas Cove officials have grown tired of people coming into their city and thinking it is dirty because of the litter they see on the side of the road. Those city officials believe banning plastic bags could fix their image.
"[Over the last six years] we have cleaned several areas in town where there has been a lot of plastic bag litter," said Silvia Rhoads, City of Copperas Cove Solid Waste. "If we had a plastic bag regulation for us it would be better because we'd to collect less litter."
Officials say they have noticed the problem getting worse on the fence lines off of Highway 190 and vacant lots. Some officials believe a plastic bag regulation would help make their city a cleaner place.
"Our particular area of concern is that we have those bags accumulating on the far east end of the Copperas Cove where people come into the community," said Copperas Cove City Manager Andrea Gardner. "If the city doesn't look appealing, they [visitors] will choose to go elsewhere."
While some people in the city think a plastic bag ban would be great, others say they might take their shopping elsewhere.
"[My concern is] carrying a bag in [the grocery store] and finding one, because I don't keep [reusable bags], but [plastic bags] I use all the time," said Copperas Cove resident Harvey Meiske.
There are other residents who like the idea of the ban because it would clean the city up, but they are also worried about what it would cost to use reusable bags.
"The less we put in landfills, the better," said "Moose" Armstrong, Copperas Cove resident. "I'm all about saving nature, but the fact that you're going to ban plastic bags, and then force customers to buy reusable bags, that's the part I don't agree with."
City officials have hinted that the city could provide some residents with free reusable bags if the change is implemented. Those same officials added that moving to reusable bags would cost the city less money then recycling the plastic bags in the long-run and would be way better for the environment.
The Copperas Cove City Council will listen to a presentation about banning plastic bags in November, and then will consider voting on the issue. The topic was initially brought to the council's attention after one of the councilman took a trip to a city where there was a regulation on plastic bags.
"From the research that I've done and from what I've seen the cities [in Texas] that have gone to [plastic bag regulations] about after a year everybody seems to be more used to it," said Rhoads, who also works with Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful. "[Residents in those cities] seem more happy with their surroundings and the way it looks there."
Copperas Cove residents who would like to share their opinion with the city can do so by visiting the city webpage and taking a brief survey.
