Plastic Grocery Bag Ban Proposed
The Conservation Commission has endorsed a ban proposed by one of its members, Joseph Roberts; his proposal going to Barrington Town Council in July.
Photos
Should Barrington become the first town in New England to ban plastic grocery bags?
Joseph Roberts thinks so. So does the Barrington Conservation Commission.
Roberts, a Conservation Commission member, will introduce a proposal at the July Town Council meeting to ban plastic grocery bags in Barrington.
The proposal, written up as an academic “white paper” by the political science professor at Roger Williams University, has been endorsed by the Conservation Commission.
“Recycling simply does not work,” said Roberts.
His “white paper” says the recycling rate stood at 11.5 percent in 2010, citing an Environmental Protection Agency study.
“Recycling is not yet a viable option for the safe, effective disposal of these items,” Robert says. “To that end, the most effective way to limit the problem in the environment is to reduce usage by eliminating the bags from the supply chain.”
In addition to being buried for up to 1,000 yars in a landfill before they break down, plastic bags also are a major problem for wildlife on land and in the ocean, Robert said. The bags are eaten by turtles, whales, and seabirds, which chokes them or leads to starvation.
The Conservation Commission recommends that the Town Council “ban the point-of-sale use and distribution of plastic bags in all retail establishments in Barrington,” Roberts says.
Key elements of the ordinance:
- No retail store would be allowed to use the plastic bags at checkouts.
- Retail stores should make reusable bags available for purchase.
- Retail stores would be allowed to charge up to 5 cents per reusable bag.
Roberts believes the fee should be higher for the cloth and canvas reusable bags, but the point of the ordinance is to “encourage the use of reusable checkout bags.”
Fines for violators would put some teeth into the ordinance. A first violation by a retail store would result in a $150 fine. A second violation within a year would be $300. A third violation would be a $750 fine.
Roberts said he would phase in the ordinance over 6 to 12 months. He said the town should work closely with the business community to implement it.
DanComment
10:01 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Sounds like a wonderful idea! Europe does it and makes customers pay for extra bags (which REALLY makes people remember their own bags!).
What?
10:50 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
How long does it take for a paper bag to decompose in a landfill?
Townie
5:45 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
The bags are perfect to carry for dog waste pickup. Keep up restrictions on border town businesses and all transactions will be occuring in Seekonk.
RI GF Mom
7:26 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
They have done this on Maui for a few years now and the difference is amazing. There are no bags along highways or in the gutters or in the trees. Around here there will still be more than enough to line your trash cans and pick up dog poop if you do things like save your bread and other bags, we have been doing this in our house for years by enthusiastically using reusable bags. If Barrington does it, others will follow. Set the example.
In the moment
7:49 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
Great thought - after the big floods, I remember seeing hundred of these bags stuck in the trees along the rivers in Warwick and Cranston. But I'm with Townie - be careful about going full tilt on this in town. You're trying to change an American customer expectation and behavior all at once - very tough to do in short span. Seekonk's very close and Amazon.com's even closer. The Merchant Assn in town could possible help build "awareness" campaign to start the process, or might be good Girl Scout/Boy Scout project. For now, recyclable bags are a huge expense, especially for small businesses - tough to cover cost without alienating customers. And what would all us cheap Yankees do for small trash can liners?
Debra Mann
8:02 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
I would support a ban on plastic bags. In fact, I try to avoid plastics in general. They are not good for the environment, as well as the people that are involved in the manufacturing of them. Very toxic.
RI GF Mom
8:06 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
These were the same concerns on Maui. Mostly about costs to businesses. Now that it has been a few years, there was an article lately on how much easier it was than they thought it would be and that costs didn't rise. In fact the whole state is now considering the ban due to the success on Maui and the effect on the ocean and environment. When you go to Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or any chain grocery store there, they first ask if you even want a bag, then give you paper if you do. Every store has a sign on the door.... "did you remember your re-useable bags?" It has made a huge difference in the health and beauty of the island. I cannot imagine that anyone will go to Seekonk b/c they can't get a bag. They will go to Seekonk for what they already go for, and maybe with heightened awareness will bring re-useable bags with them.
RI GF Mom
8:17 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
before: http://www.mauinews.com/?page=photos.largeImage&showlayout=0&loc=news&photoSyndDir=&photo=548031_1.jpg&cutline=These%20two%20photos%20taken%20eight%20months%20apart%20show%20how%20the%20flying%20plastic%20bag%20problem%20at%20the%20Central%20Maui%20Landfill%20has%20changed%20since%20Maui%20County%E2%80%99s%20plastic%20bag%20reduction%20ordinance%20took%20effect%20Jan.%2011.%20This%20photo%20showing%20litter%20and%20the%20abundance%20of%20plastic%20bags%20was%20taken%20in%20July.%20%3Cbr%20%2F%3EThe%20Maui%20News%20%2F%20MATTHEW%20THAYER%20photo
after: http://www.mauinews.com/?page=photos.largeImage&showlayout=0&loc=news&photoSyndDir=&photo=548031_2.jpg&cutline=These%20two%20photos%20taken%20eight%20months%20apart%20show%20how%20the%20flying%20plastic%20bag%20problem%20at%20the%20Central%20Maui%20Landfill%20has%20changed%20since%20Maui%20County%E2%80%99s%20plastic%20bag%20reduction%20ordinance%20took%20effect%20Jan.%2011.%20This%20photo%20was%20taken%20last%20month.%3Cbr%20%2F%3EThe%20Maui%20News%20%2F%20MATTHEW%20THAYER%20photo
Gary Morse
6:41 am on Saturday, June 16, 2012
I concur, a good idea.
But where is the Conservation Commission's view of the Planning Board's "infill development" proposals. The Conservation Commission has not done enough.
For those of you who have not been following this, years ago, when RI real estate was increasing in value at a rate faster than any other place in the US, RI legislation was passed holding that we needed to use places like Sowam's and Nockum Hill for high density living (i.e. "infill development"). The legislation was pushed largely by developers.
But according to figures tracked by the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), in 2008, RI real estate hit a peak and began crashing faster than any other place in the US, and has continued on this rapid decline to this day.
The Planning Board is now charging ahead with "infill" proposals in spite of this crash. The entire concept needs to be scrapped since it is now obsolete and counter productive to holding what little undeveloped land we have left. We are a shoreline community and runoff is already too great a problem.
I'd say much worse than the plastic bag problem.