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Category Archives: Plastic Bag Bans

Reusable Bag Law Launches in Kauai and Maui

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans, ,

byobagIn Hawaii, Kauai and Maui are leading the way by banning single use plastic bags that easily find their way into water streams, ocean currents and the stomachs of birds and fish. The laws went into effect on January 11.

On Kauai, all commercial businesses, including restaurants and takeout food establishments, are restricted from providing plastic bags at checkout. Recyclable paper bags and biodegradable bags will replace plastic. Businesses that fail to comply face a $250 per-day fine for the first notice, $500 a day for the second notice, and $1,000 a day for the third. Plastic bags are permitted for raw meat, poultry, produce and bagging up bulk foods. Dry cleaning plastic garment bags are exempt from the ban.

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Reusable Grocery Bag Use Still Being Proposed

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans,

plastic_bag_birdThe start of the holiday season, and recent hype about the possibility of lead in reusable grocery bags, has done little to deter lawmakers from moving forward with proposals designed to increase reusable bag use.   Here are a few of note:

Little Rock, Arkansas

Sen. Denny Altes has prefiled a measure for next year’s legislative session that would prohibit larger stores from providing plastic grocery bags to customers. The Reusable Shopping Bag Act, would allow the use of paper bags and would require the sale of reusable grocery bags at stores of more than 10,000 square feet with gross annual sales of $2 million or more. Despite the proposed ban not extending to smaller stores, they too can support the bill by reselling printed reusable bags.

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Reusable Bag Day Signals Reusable Bags Are Here To Stay

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans,

maui2The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Philippines has proclaimed every Wednesday as “Reusable Bag Day”. The move is meant to encourage the public to return to basics, to move away from their wasteful habits and help prevent environmental problems.

The announcement comes on the heels of a government-signed agreement with the Earthday Network Philippines and 12 supermarket chains to help reduce the use of plastic bags in the country. As part of Reusable Bag Day, no free plastic bags will be given to customers. Also expressing an interest in joining the government’s efforts are plastics manufacturers in that country.

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Plastic Bag Reduction Strategies Are Working

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans

Supermarket chain efforts to reduce paper and plastic bag distribution are working—and the numbers are starting to speak for themselves.

Publix Super Markets estimates a daily paper and plastic bag reduction of more than one million per day since it launched its reusable bag initiatives in 2007. Recently, the chain announced the number of bags it’s saved since mid 2007 has surpassed the 1 billion mark!

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Food Association has announced a 25 percent reduction in the number of disposable paper and plastic shopping bags used since 2007 at 12 supermarket chains, including 384 stores. This is well on the way to the goal of a reduction of at least 33 percent by 2013.

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Washington DC Plastic Bag Fee Working

Plastic Bag Bans, Promotion Ideas,

The Washington DC disposable bag fee we told you about has been in effect for two months now, and we thought we’d write a quick follow up. As people adjust to the new five-cent fee, shoppers are assembling a wardrobe of bags that are functional, fashionable or both. They are getting used to bringing their own, even if they have to rush back to their cars to retrieve them. Many are buying reusable bags at store registers.

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Baltimore Explores Plastic Bag Bans and Fees

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans,

bag_banLawmakers in Baltimore are considering two bills aimed at heading off the proliferation of plastic bag litter around the city. One bill would ban grocery stores, convenience stores, and fast-food chains from giving customers their merchandise in plastic bags. Violators would be fined $250 for a first offense up to $1,000 for three or more offenses in a six-month period. The other bill would require merchants to levy a 25-cent fee on every plastic bag dispensed at carryout. Exceptions would be granted for bagging up fresh fish and meat, candy, cooked foods, dairy products, fruits and nuts and ice.

This isn’t the council’s first attempt to cut down on plastic bag litter, but supporters note the city is facing a state and federal mandate to do something about the trash littering Baltimore’s harbor, and plastic grocery and take-out bags are a big part of the mess.

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DC Disposable Bag Fee Awareness Campaign Kicks Off

Plastic Bag Bans, Promotion Ideas,

dc_bag_campaignWhen everyone is on the same page, great things happen. This summer, Washington D.C. created a 5-cent disposable bag fee, aimed at keeping trash out of the city’s waterways. Starting January 1, 2010, businesses selling food and alcohol will charge five cents for disposable plastic OR paper bags. That money will go to the newly created Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund, which will be used to remove trash from the river.

The fee is the first in the country to apply to both plastic and paper bags. The awareness campaign, called “Skip the Bag, Save the River,” launched yesterday. Before the new law goes into effect, the D.C. Department of the Environment will distribute at least 100,000 free, reusable bags to D.C. residents, mainly seniors and low-income residents.

The beige and blue bags feature the slogan “Skip the Bag, Save the River.” The city is also planning an advertising campaign to promote the reusable bags, which it will finance using the fees it collects. About $3.6 million in tax revenue is expected in the program’s first year.

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Florida State of (Reusable Bag) Mind!

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans,

Florida environmental officials are trying to make their state the first to ban single-use plastic AND paper bags. Their stance is that manufacturing paper bags creates as much pollution as disposing of plastic bags. Disposable plastic bags are a headache for those who maintain storm drains and landfill machinery and are a source of litter across landscapes and on ocean currents.

plastic_bag_recycle_binFloridians used more than 5 billion disposable plastic and paper bags in 2003, the most recent year for which figures are available. But state environmental officials aren’t deterred. They are following the lead of San Francisco and other communities by proposing to ban the bags completely .

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Plastic Bag Bill in Maine

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans

Earlier this fall, Maine State Representative Ted Koffman (D-Bar Harbor) proposed a bill which would place a fee on single use plastic bags in Maine.  A democrat from Bar Harbor and co-chair of the Natural Resources Committee of Maine, Representative Koffman is asking Maine to take leadership in the ‘Bring Your Own Bag’ movement.  But it seems Maine isn’t ready – or at least not in this legislative session.  The upcoming short session is reserved primarily for ‘emergency’ bills, so Maine’s lawmakers decided not to bring it forward.   Representative Koffman, however, is still working with grocery chains, the Maine Grocer’s Association, nonprofit groups and entrepreneurs to continue the push toward reusable bags.

Representative Koffman’s plan was loosely based on the ‘Plas Tax’ which began in Ireland in 2002.  Ireland’s action was driven by an effort to control litter — and resulted in a bill that required retailers to charge a tax (equivalent to 33 cents US) for each plastic bag used by shoppers.  Ireland also ran an awareness campaign encouraging people to bring their own bag.  In a matter of months, 90% of shoppers in Ireland had transitioned to reusable bags.  The tax has proven to be wildly successful, as 5 years later nearly everyone is on board – to the point that there is a stigma associated with plastic bag use.

Learn more about Representative Koffman’s plans for tackling the paper/plastic dilemma at mainetoday.com