There's no stopping eco-progress in Portlandia
Fresh from banning plastic bags at grocery store checkouts, and concerned about the wave of gang violence sweeping Portland, the City Council is expected to vote next week to ban single-use plastic body bags at homicide crime scenes. Police and the state medical examiner would be required to switch to paper cadaver pouches, which city sustainability experts say will use less petroleum and natural gas, and bio-degrade more quickly in landfills. Reuse of body bags at crime scenes is not feasible because it might taint evidence in a murder case.
"It's tragic that 99% of plastic body bags aren't reused," said Mayor Sam Adams in a Twitter post last night. "Their [sic] a bad habit worth kicking."
The ban, which would take effect in November, would be limited to neighborhoods with two or more gang shootings per year. But under that criterion, most of North, Northeast, and Southeast Portland would be included. The council is also expected to take up an exception to the city's new gun control ordinances that would lessen penalties for possession of stolen handguns if they are carried in reused cloth Crown Royal bags.
| Posted at 8:48 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (11)
One would think all those less-than-fresh plastic body bags could be re-used as planter box liners or some other Green Garden purpose.
Posted by Abe | July 22, 2011 9:06 AM
Is this April 1st?
Posted by Don | July 22, 2011 9:27 AM
Chris Rock has the answer to the gang violence with bullet control
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuX-nFmL0II
Posted by Gibby | July 22, 2011 9:40 AM
Landfill?! The paper bags can be composted! Just bury the people in them or stick them in the compost bin. (The bags, not the people, of course.)
Posted by dg | July 22, 2011 9:42 AM
Is this is an effort to emulate The Onion?
Posted by boycat | July 22, 2011 10:48 AM
There should also be an exception for carrying a stolen handgun in a "recycled" holster made out of a Steel Reserve 24 oz. can.
Posted by dg | July 22, 2011 11:21 AM
I nearly finished the first paragraph before I realized that the tongue was firmly attached in the cheek. The sad thing is that it really sounds like a Portland idea.
Posted by Larry Norton | July 22, 2011 12:07 PM
As for a second use of body bags, it seems logical that City of Portland would propose using them as fabric-style weed cover for the street-side bioswales.
This, too, sounds too real to be considered parody.
Posted by oregbear | July 22, 2011 12:15 PM
No need for body bags. Bio-Fuels!!!!!! Just think of all of the cemeteries that can be excavated (Metro's already been doing that...ahem...) and reused for a higher and greater purpose and sold off to developers for pennies on the dollar.
Posted by Erik H. | July 22, 2011 12:46 PM
The City could further reduce carbon emissions by requiring homicide victims to be removed by public transit.
Posted by Isaac Laquedem | July 22, 2011 3:52 PM
Nothing like a little eco-gangster awareness to bring environmental responsibility to the fore. Next to come, low carbon emission gunpowder.
Posted by Newleaf | July 22, 2011 4:12 PM