Paper bag maker happy about local ban

Some readers might have wondered, why did Brownsville, Texas, become the 12th U.S. city to ban single-use plastic grocery bags? Most bag bans have been in California, or on the coasts. But Brownsville is also home to a big Duro Bag Manufacturing Co. plant. The plant employs 120 and makes about 9 million paper bags a day. This story from The Brownsville Herald points out that Duro -- which touts itself as the world's No. 1 paper bag maker -- considers the plastic bag ban to be good news. "We're hoping for the good of the community, for the good of the people and the environment," plant manager Carlos Villarreal told the newspaper. The story, headlined "Local company may benefit from plastic bag ban," points out that the plant used to employ 250, but business took a hit when groceries switched to plastic bags. A plastic bag ban in Brownsville isn't going to bring back all those jobs at Duro. But it is noteworthy that Brownsville is joining the bag ban parade. Unlike Brownsville, however, most communities that are banning or taxing single-use bags are urging residents to use reusable bags instead -- not simply switching from plastic to paper.