City council of Pecos, Texas, gives preliminary approval for ban on single-use plastic bags, will take final vote on Feb. 9; mayor says city will require US$0.40 fee for biodegradable, multi-use bags

Lorena Madrigal

PECOS, Texas , February 3, 2012 (Associated Press) – A West Texas city council has given preliminary approval to a ban on single-use plastic bags in the town.

The Pecos City Council will take a final vote on the ban Thursday.

Pecos Mayor Venetta Seals says the city will require the use of biodegradable and multi-use bags that will cost owners up to 40 cents each.

The single-use bags cost about 2 cents each.

Businesses will be given six months to exhaust their present stock of single-use bags and switch to new bags or paper bags.

Violators could be fined $500.

The mayor says Pecos got the idea from Fort Stockton, another city in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas that banned single-use plastic bags Sept. 1.

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