DALLAS – The Dallas City Council is poised to pass an ordinance banning plastic bags, KXAS-TV reports. Council members meet today to consider the issue. “These bags are all over the city. And they are an environmental hazard,” said Dwaine Caraway, a council member.

However, the Texas Retailers Association points out that banning plastic bags would create a financial hardship for low-income shoppers. In addition, city businesses would lose customers, who would shop at stores outside the limits.

“We’ve seen some negative results of sales inside the market area where the plastic bags are banned and that those sales are transferred to other cities and jurisdictions outside those lines,” said Ronnie Volkening, president of the association.

Caraway said the heart of the matter is the litter caused by such bags. “Somebody has to figure out where the dinero is coming from. It is not going to come from taxpayers,” he said.

But Volkening countered that a ban on plastic bags won’t stop littering. “We’re not going to eliminate plastic bags and film from the marketplace. There needs to be some program to look at comprehensive ways to recycle plastic film, plastic bags and other film,” said Volkening.

The retailers association prefers increasing efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic bags, given how many people already use bag recycling stations at numerous stores. Texas cities Austin, Laguna Vista, Sunset Valley and Corpus Christi all have some sort of plastic bag ban or fee. Denver is considering banning plastic bags, while Los Angeles passed a ban on plastic bags in June. Meanwhile, retailers are fighting a similar ban in Ontario.