Updated 11/09/2012 10:12 AM
Council votes to beef up 'bag ban'
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Austin City Council approved measures to beef up its plastic bag ban Thursday.
They set a minimum of four-thousands of an inch for the thickness of the reusable bags that will replace the current bags. The new bags would be considerably thicker than the bags currently used by most businesses.
Council also removed a cap that would limit what retailers could charge for the bags.
Austin's Resource Recovery Director Bob Gedert says the cost of bags you use is already listed on grocery bills, but that making it more obvious will change how people think of the reusable bags.
"It's considered a low-value item that can be disposed of easily,” Gedert said. “If the retailers charge a price for a reusable bag, it may be more valued by the consumer to get a second, third, fourth, fifth use out of it."
The "bag ban" ordinance is set to go into effect next March.