Brianna Gibbs/KMXT (follow link for complete story & interview):

Last week the Homer City Council passed a measure that will bar stores from packaging goods in plastic bags. While Homer is the first town on Alaska’s road system to do so, the halibut capitol of the world joins a growing list of U.S. cities to ditch the plastic bag for more eco-friendly options.

As a coastal community, much of the argument in favor of the bag ban referenced the growing amount of plastics marine debris that can cause harm to marine mammals and birds.
Here in Kodiak, where many residents’ lives revolve around the health of our waters, a plastic bag ban has yet to come before the city council. KMXT’s Brianna Gibbs caught up with City Mayor Pat Branson to discuss the recent bag ban in Homer and whether or not Kodiak could follow suite [sic].

Homer’s bag ban will go into effect on January 1, but whether or not Kodiak is next on the list remains to be seen. As Mayor Pat Branson said, it’s up the community. Until someone comes forward to suggest a ban, plastic bag use remains a personal decision, not a law.

Originally broadcast  9/5/2012 on KMXT Kodiak, Alaska