Moorhead and Clay County are not working on a plan to ban single-use plastic bags.
Kirk Rosenberger, Clay County Solid Waste Director, told Moorhead City Council members Monday that education is the key to finding better ways to handle plastic bags and other recyclables. “We are concentrating on education and offering additional opportunities to recycle. We want to make it easy for people to be part of the solution,” he said.
He is part of a metro task force composed of merchants, public and private sector interests, universities and colleges, and others studying the plastic problem. The group has had three meetings. Their goal is education and finding alternatives to plastic bags.
Last Saturday Council Member Sara Watson Curry volunteered with the Minnesota State University Sustainability Club, picking up plastic bags and other garbage around the Clay County landfill. The group collected what Steve Moore, Moorhead Public Works Director, calls “fugitive litter.”
Watson Curry said, “There is no away in throw away.” Rosenberger said even recyclable plastic only degrades in perfect conditions.
Rosenberger noted how hard it is to keep the landfill and neighboring areas clear of plastic bags. “We just had a perfect storm of 50 mph wind a few weeks ago,” he said. The bags blew in from the west and created a mess.
Clay County Commissioner Kevin Campbell proposed having a drone fly over the landfill area to show people the problem.
Clay County shared a graphic of the life cycle of a plastic bag. From the store, to our homes, to reuse, recycle or garbage, to recycling or the landfill, the plastic bag survives. Properly repurposed, a plastic bag can become furniture or carpet.
Each household uses 500 to 1,000 plastic bags per year. Two percent of bags are recycled properly at grocery and other stores. The task force hopes for a greater number of visible bins.
People who save empty plastic bottles, tie them in a plastic bag and then throw them in recycle bins probably do not realize that means the entire recycle bin becomes garbage. Plastic bags damage recycling equipment.
Plastic bags cannot go into the single-source recycling system that begins July 1.
Minnesota’s new Sunday liquor sales law begins July 2. Moorhead City Clerk Michelle French gave some background on the law.
Minnesota liquor stores will be allowed to open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Municipalities could restrict Sunday sales but Moorhead has chosen to change city codes to reflect the new state law. When Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill, he reversed a restriction that stood for 159 years.
Because Moorhead is a border city with a state that already allows Sunday sales, city staff recommended moving forward on local ordinance revision. French and City Attorney John Shockley will work on ordinance changes.
Justin Blanford, manager at 99 Bottles, said they do lose sales on Sundays. “This is a positive for border cities,” he said, adding, “Your guess is as good as mine how much difference it will make.”
Kevin Hurd who spoke for Cash Wise Liquors corporate office said all of its liquor stores in Minnesota would be open on Sunday. “We welcome the change as an opportunity,” he said.
Chief of Police David Ebinger said his department has no issues with the Sunday opening. “We have had Sunday sales in Fargo for years and have on-site and tap-room sales already. The new law should not impact on any public safety concerns,” he added.
