The Freeport Ordinance Committee, weighing a proposed ban, is told that plastic bags are not environmentally hazardous.

Backers of a ban or tax on the use of carry-out plastic bags in Freeport have been consistent with their argument since the initiative began a year ago: Plastic bags are made from petroleum-based material that is not biodegradable, and therefore environmentally hazardous. The bags are a danger to marine life, an important factor in a coastal town, and are strewn through the countryside, hanging from trees and bushes.

Until recently, not many people were arguing those points. Last week, however, an official from the American Progressive Bag Alliance spoke via conference call during a July 28 meeting of the Freeport Ordinance Committee, which is studying a proposed ban on all carry-out plastic bags in town.

Mindi Mebane, manager of the alliance that represents plastic bag manufacturers and recyclers, told the Ordinance Committee that plastic bags are 100 percent recyclable. In an interview with the Tri-Town Weekly on Friday, Mebane, speaking from her office in Washington, D.C., reiterated many of the points she made to the committee.

“We do not believe that plastic bag bans or taxes are environmentally friendly,” Mebane said. “We believe that they are not environmentally hazardous, as they are purported to be.”

The Ordinance Committee is dealing with a proposal from the Recycling & Solid Waste Committee that Freeport should ban the use of carry-out plastic bags at all businesses. The Ordinance Committee studied a 14-page report submitted by the Recycling & Solid Waste Committee, and decided at its July 28 meeting the issue requires considerably more study. The Ordinance Committee also suggests that, ultimately, the matter should be decided in a public referendum, rather than by the Town Council.

Sandy Thompson, a member of the Recycling & Solid Waste Committee, said last Thursday that there is a “lot of misinformation” on the American Progressive Bag Alliance website. Benzene, a component of gasoline used in vehicles, is used in the manufacturing process of plastic bags, she said. And the bags are made from fossil fuels, which are not renewable.

“And only a small percentage of plastic bags are dropped off at places where they can be recycled,” Thompson said.

Mebane countered those arguments.

For one thing, she said, a 2014 Rhode Island study showed that plastic bags account for 1.2 percent of the litter stream in New England. And the Environmental Protection Agency says that plastic bags constitute 0.4 percent of the municipal solid waste in the country.

Mebane said that recycling the bags, which can be done at many supermarkets, is the solution. Plastic wraps that go around produce, plastic bags and plastic film that is used for such things as pallets all can be recycled into new products, including plastic bags, she said. Some 1.4 billion pounds of such plastics were recycled in 2013, she said.

Mebane countered the argument that plastic bags are made from fossil fuels, and thus are not biodegradable. She said that they are made from a byproduct of natural gas, and that any container, plastic or otherwise, goes into a landfill.

Mebane said there are 30,000 workers in the plastic bags industry nationwide, including 100 in Maine.

The Ordinance Committee, a Town Council subcommittee, has decided that it needs more information on the pros and cons on the use of plastic bags prior to making a recommendation to the Town Council. The Recycling & Solid Waste Committee report is based largely on a proposal made last year by Elly Bengtsson and Meredith Broderick, who were Freeport High School seniors at the time.

Sarah Tracy, Ordinance Committee chairwoman, said the committee agreed that if the full council moves forward with the plastic bags issue, the matter should go to a public referendum, rather than a council vote.

“We just felt that it was outside of the normal governmental function, and it’s controversial enough so that it’s not a slam dunk,” Tracy said.

Tracy said Town Manager Peter Joseph estimated that the Ordinance Committee might have a recommendation ready by September, but the committee feels it needs more time.

“We are not pushing to have a ballot issue on this in November,” Tracy said.

The Ordinance Committee also adopted a suggestion from Thompson, who took a lead role in the Recycling & Solid Waste Committee report. Thompson advised the Ordinance Committee that it would be useful to confer with officials in other cities, such as Portland and Brookline, Mass., which have adopted bans or restrictions on the use of plastic bags in retail businesses. The committee asked Joseph to make the appropriate contacts, Tracy said.