New Mexico communities want a ban on single-use plastic bags to address litter

CARLSBAD, N.M. ― An eyesore and nuisance along New Mexico's landscape has government officials across the state looking at possible bans on single-use plastic in some communities and the state as a whole.

The city of Carlsbad discussed a possible ban in 2019. Attempts ended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the issue is bubbling up again.

Carlsbad City Councilor Mary Garwood and Terry Gregston, the environmental protection specialist and hazmat program manager of the Carlsbad Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Field Office, toured three illegal dump sites near the city limits, and plastic bags were prevalent.

Garwood, who is the former director of the Keep Carlsbad Beautiful cleanup organization, estimated the City of Carlsbad spent over $50,000 to remove trash in and around the community.

She said litter of single-use plastic bags along roads, parks and residential areas has gotten worse since the city first explored a plastic bag ban nearly five years ago. Elected to the Carlsbad City Council in 2023, she said the time appears to be right to revisit the possible ban.

“We’re not going to win the war on plastic, unless we stop it ourselves,” said Garwood.

To that end, Carlsbad can look west to Las Cruces, where a single-use plastic bag ban has been in effect for the past two years. Shoppers bring their own reusable bags into grocery stores. If they forget them, they can pay 10 cents for a paper bag.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group based in Tucson, Arizona, Americans use an average of 365 plastic bags per person per year, and 5 trillion plastic bags were used worldwide per year.

Illegal "dumping starts with plastic bags,” Gregston said.

She said plastic bags are found on state, federal and private land.

“We haven’t been proactive about cleaning it up,” Garwood said.

She added if a ban is enacted, Carlsbad could save thousands of dollars yearly on cleanup costs, and make Carlsbad's public areas and roadways "aesthetically friendly."

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Efforts to enact state ban decompose in New Mexico's legislative session

State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, a Las Cruces Democrat, sought support during the 2023 New Mexico Legislature for Senate Bill (SB) 243, titled Plastic Waste Reduction Act. The bill was revised but did not make it out of the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee during the closing days of the 2023 session.

Despite the setback, Steinborn said the legislation did well. SB 243 had wide support from environmental groups across the state, including the New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC).

The organizations executive director Sarah Pierpont, said supporters knew it might be tough to get the legislation passed during the short session, and following its failure NMRC decided to refocus efforts with education campaigns with outreach to those who work in solid waste operations.

One portion of the education process, she said, was informing people of a circular economy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes a circular economy as keeping materials and products in circulation for as long as possible.

The problem with plastics is widespread, according to a 2020 National Litter Study from Keep America Beautiful (KAB), a nonprofit community improvement organization. It estimated nearly 350 million plastic bags littered roadways and waterways in the U.S. during the study period. The overwhelming majority, or nearly 95% of plastic bags, were retail store plastic bags, according to the study.

“They don’t break down in the environment,” Pierpont said.

The University of Colorado at Boulder Environment Center notes refinement of plastics emit an additional 148 to 213 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year.

“Landfills, where single-use plastics are sent, account for more than 15% of methane emissions. The disposal of more plastics in landfills leads to increases in landfill size and these emissions,” according to the school's environmental center.

Steinborn said the potential ban across the state could be revived in the 2025 legislative session.

“It’s a public health issue,” he said.

Plastic bag ban good policy for Las Cruces

Las Cruces' plastic bag ban took effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

Lisa Larocque, the city's sustainability officer, said the council requested action on plastic bags due to concerns ranging from littering to impacts on health with plastic microbeads, animal safety and stewardship.

Larocque said retail stores cannot distribute plastic bags during the point of purchase and must charge 10 cents for each paper bag a customer requests. She said retailers keep 5 cents for the purchase of paper bags and administration and send the balance to the city for an environmental fee, which is used for education and marketing purposes and distributing reusable bags.

"The city receives about $45,000 a quarter, about 70% of the fees are from large grocery chains," Larocque said.

She said Walmart in Las Cruces contributes around two-thirds of the fees the city collects.

Larocque said retail establishments in Las Cruces do not charge fees for those on public assistance.

Steinborn, the state senator who also is a Las Cruces native, said he has not heard grumbling from residents or retailers since the ban was put in place.

“I bring a reusable bag to the store. It’s a shopping shift. It feels more environmentally friendly,” he said.

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The single-use plastic bag ban was championed by another state lawmaker and president of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce.

“We have seen the number of plastic bags flying around our community (drop) and (not) littering our beautiful city. Also, it’s less cost for businesses, and helps encourage the use of reusable bags in not only grocery shopping but in other areas of commerce as well,” said State Sen. Carrie Hamblen, a Democrat from Las Cruces.

Besides Las Cruces, single-use plastic bags are banned in Santa Fe, Silver City, Taos and Bernalillo County.

Hamblen said Las Cruces could serve as an example for other communities and counties across New Mexico.

“I believe each community can use the positive results we are seeing in Las Cruces and be motivated to implement their own plastic bag ban,” she said.

More: Ban the bag? Carlsbad considers ban on plastic bags amid litter concerns

Advice for communities considering a ban?

Larocque suggested communities considering their own ban have plenty of reusable bags to give away in the beginning.

"Despite heavy marketing, people felt we were promoting paper bags in lieu of plastic. We had a hard time deciding if we should have people go 'cold turkey' with no bags, or the use of a higher priced bag, but chose not to," she said.

Steinborn said input from local eateries and providing exemptions for single-use plastic bags for carrying uncooked food and take out meals from restaurants and taking laundry from a dry cleaners should be included in any talks in municipalities or counties consider when dealing with the public, retail businesses and industry.

Garwood said single-use plastic bags from Carlsbad restaurants or food trucks would be exempt from any ban in Carlsbad, along with ice bags and produce bags.

“What the ordinance addresses is the standard single use plastic bag we all get when we get groceries or make a stop at the convenience store. Reusable cloth bags will be encouraged for use,” she said.

Garwood said community input would be needed if Carlsbadians want to see a ban in the city limits.

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“It will be the loudest voice that gets heard when it comes time to decide on when and how this will take place. Carlsbad residents will need to get involved by attending any town hall meetings that may be held and reach out to their councilors on this,” she said.

Garwood said the proposed ordinance was aimed at keeping the community clean.

“The benefits of a cleaner town will be seen and felt by us all,” she said.

Larocque said communities can find ways to be environmentally friendly until the state or individual communities pass plastic bag bans.

"I would encourage the promotion of reuse or composability whenever possible, such as reusable bags, water bottle refilling stations, composting including the temporary storage containers that hold them. We use and dispose of too many materials that are harmful to our health the environment," she said.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico communities look at plastic bag bans to decrease litter