Single-Use Bag Ban Starts
Shoppers who have grown accustomed to taking their own reusable bags into the grocery store will have to put those hard-working totes to more extensive use as a ban in East Hampton Town on the use of thin, “single-use” plastic bags goes into effect Tuesday.
All retail establishments will be prohibited from packaging goods for customers in the bags.
In a press release issued Tuesday, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, who sponsored the legislation, called the new law “an exciting opportunity to make a significant environmental impact,” as the town has worked with neighboring municipalities to jointly adopt similar legislation. A ban on thin-ply plastic bags has been in effect in East Hampton Village since 2011, and the Town of Southampton enacted its own ban on Earth Day in April of this year.
“It is one step towards solving the bigger problem of environmental deterioration and climate change,” said Ms. Overby in the release. “Locally, litter along our streets, woodland trails, and surface waters, as well as the impacts to wildlife, will be reduced.”
Under the new law, only the thin plastic bags typically used at checkout counters are banned. Plastic bags of a 2.25-milliliters thickness, or greater, are considered reusable bags and not banned; additionally, the thin plastic bags used for produce are also still allowed. Paper bags are permitted as long as they are made of 100-percent recycled material and display the words “recyclable” or “reusable.”
The legislation was passed by the town board, with Councilman Fred Overton dissenting, late last year after two hearings at which members of the public endorsed the ban. A supermarket industry representative opposed the ban at the hearings, and Mr. Overton called for more investigation before enacting legislation. The board chose the September date for its enactment in order to give retailers time to prepare — to use up their existing plastic bag inventory and convert to alternative packaging materials.
Businesses seeking more information have been asked to contact John Sousa-Botos at the East Hampton Town Department of Natural Resources; he can be reached by email at [email protected].
The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 104 billion thin-ply plastic bags are used each year in the United States, each for an average of only 12 minutes, Frank Dalene, the former chairman of East Hampton’s energy sustainability committee, reported to the town board last fall. “But they remain in our landfills for years,” he said.
The plastic, which does not disappear or break down in the environment, “is now entering the human food chain,” Dieter von Lehsten, a co-chairman of Southampton Town’s Sustainable Southampton Green Advisory Committee, had told the board.
Nationwide, 133 municipalities have adopted bans on the use of thin-ply plastic bags, including a number of big cities such as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. A statewide ban was enacted in California last year.