kudos to the C-J editorial board

A surprising op-ed piece in yesterday's C-J...

Why so surprising? Well, in this case, a C-J editorialist has carefully weighed the costs and benefits of government activism (wow!), finding that government activism is not likely to be pragmatic. That's often what happens when you do a thorough cost/benefit analysis of both the obvious and subtle implications of a government solution...


A (too) simple solution?

Jim King, who sometimes seems to believe this editorial page has taken an unduly negative view of his work as 10th District councilman, may feel we're picking on him by raising questions about his proposed ban on plastic shopping bags that don't biodegrade.

Similar measures have been passed in San Francisco, Oakland and Baltimore. Many other communities are considering such legislation, and even more have banned the use of plastic bags for yard waste.

There's no question too many such bags end up clogging storm drains, or decorating trees, bushes, creeksides, riverbanks, city lots and other public spaces. Fish and frogs can't breathe through them. They're made from plastic, which is a petroleum byproduct, and that makes them part of our energy independence challenge.

Having said all that, they're also convenient, strong and more or less drip-proof. And they can be recycled.

Kroger's Mid South division, based in Louisville, recycled 632,000 pounds of plastic bags last year, turning them into more plastic bags, landscape bricks and plastic lumber. Nationally, some 650 million pounds of plastic bags are recycled each year, by Kroger and and a host of other firms.

Kroger already includes the sale of reusable 99-cent canvas tote bags in its broad environmental initiative. Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market has both reusable bags and recycled paper bags at its Louisville store.

The point is, there may be solutions to the plastic bag problem other than an outright, all-inclusive ban. "I'm not big on mandates," says Mr. King. And he shouldn't be.

Maybe a more narrowly crafted solution would not suffice, but he and others who favor the full ban should be sure before imposing it.