Plastic bag ban

Opposed the ban, arguing the board never considered persuasion and stakeholder-led alternatives to government mandate.

Cited UK Environment Agency and UNEP life-cycle studies showing replacement bags need heavy reuse to break even, calling the ban government overreach with net negative environmental impact.

Smith's Marketplace assistant store leader said small businesses can't absorb packaging costs like his store can, and asked for clarity on fee purposes and a broader approach to plastic waste.

Founder of 'Save the Bag Los Alamos' opposed the ban, citing bag reuse, Albuquerque's 2024 rescission of its ban, and punitive penalties she called possibly unconstitutional.

Said she reuses plastic bags constantly for many purposes and would just buy bags elsewhere if banned, preferring education over an outright ban.

Argued the ban could increase carbon footprint from residents driving off the hill to shop, hurt the business community, and noted most residents oppose it.

Business owner who opposed the ban, suggested cleanup days and biodegradable alternatives instead, and asked that a defeated item not return for a decade or more.

Strongly supported the ban, showing wet plastic bags she collected that day and comparing the issue to the long delay in New Mexico's smoking ban.

Estimated the county uses roughly five million single-use bags a year costing retailers about $100,000, and cited microplastics and fossil-fuel harms in full support of the ban.

Described how carrying her own bag became second nature during ten years in Switzerland, favoring cultural persuasion over a ban.

Offered EPA-style language defining single-use plastic bags and data showing Smith's Los Alamos dispenses about 2.1 million plastic bags a year (White Rock about 800,000), plus older estimates of 330,000 bags a month needing paid disposal.