BOSTON — City councilors are discussing a proposed plastic bag ban in Boston Wednesday, which would effectively ban all plastic bags in the city and tax all other bags.
The ordinance, proposed by Councilors Matt O'Malley and Michelle Wu, aims to reduce environmental impacts of plastic bags, along with the burden of the city's recycling systems.
What the bag ban would mean for consumers
Shoppers would either need to bring their own reuseable bags, or be prepared to pay at least 5 cents per paper bag or compostable plastic bag.
What the bag ban would mean for retailers
Retailers are not allowed to give consumers any plastic bags. They are allowed to keep the 5 cents on the paper or compostable bags. If they violate the ordinance, businesses will first receive a warning. After the warning, another offense is $50 and the $100 for the second and all offense thereafter.
Who would be exempt?
Retail establishments may be granted exemption only if the city finds the requirements to cause "undue hardship" for the business. One example of "undue hardship" is if the business has no reasonable alternatives to plastic bags for its product. Also, if the business has a large stock of plastic bags, they may fill an exemption to continue using them until their inventory is empty.
When would this go into effect?
If it passes, it will go into effect within a year of the approval date.
What people are saying about it
"There are more than 20 tons of plastic bags in our single stream recycling every month in the city of Boston," said O’Malley.
The retailers of Massachusetts say they understand the environmental concerns but they're against the ordinance.
“It certainly may leave a bad taste in a lot of consumers mouths and they might start to say I just might do all my shopping online,” said William Rennie of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
O’Malley says he thinks that’s unlikely.
“To suggest that someone is going to buy something online and pay $5 to $15 shipping and handling fee, I don't think holds much water,” he said.
American Progressive Bag Alliance, an national organization, says that it doesn’t believe the ban will create any meaningful environmental benefits for Boston when considering the negatives.
“Bag bans and taxes threaten local manufacturing jobs, push consumers to less environmentally-friendly carryout bags, drive shoppers out of the city and disproportionately hurt low-income families and senior citizens on fixed incomes,” said Mark Daniels, Chairman of the American Progressive Bag Alliance.
There are exemptions for produce and dry cleaning bags, and the businesses would get to keep the 5 cents they charge consumers for the paper or biodegradable plastic bags.
Somerville and Cambridge currently already have plastic bag bans in place.
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